There are two methods of rare earth ore processing, namely, hydrometallurgy and pyrometallurgy.
Hydrometallurgy is a chemical metallurgy, the whole process is mostly in solution, solvent, such as the decomposition of rare earth concentrates, rare earth oxides, rare earth compounds, a single rare earth metal separation and extraction process is the use of precipitation, crystallization, oxidation reduction, solvent extraction, ion exchange and other chemical separation process.
Now more commonly used is the organic solvent extraction method, it is the industrial separation of high-purity single rare earth elements of the general process. Wet metallurgy process is complex, high purity products, the method of production of finished products is widely used.
The pyrometallurgical process is simple, high productivity. Rare earth pyrometallurgy mainly includes silicon thermal reduction method of rare earth alloys, molten salt electrolysis method of rare earth metals or alloys, metal thermal reduction method of rare earth alloys. Pyrometallurgy *** same characteristics are produced under high temperature conditions.
Rare earth ores in the earth's crust mainly in the form of minerals, its main three kinds: as the basic constituent elements of minerals, rare earths in the form of ionic compounds endowed with the mineral lattice, constituting the essential components of minerals' this kind of minerals are usually called rare earth minerals.
Rare earth minerals as impurity elements of minerals, in the form of isomorphic substitution, dispersed in rock-forming minerals and rare metal minerals, such minerals can be referred to as containing rare earth elements of minerals, such as apatite, fluorite, etc., was adsorbed in the ionic state on the surface of some minerals or between the particles.
Expanded Information:
Rare earths is a general term for the 15 elements of the lanthanide series (lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, and lutetium), and the 21st element scandium, and the 39th element yttrium (****17 elements) in the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements.
According to the differences and similarities in their physicochemical properties, they can be divided into three groups: the light rare earth group (lanthanum to promethium), the medium rare earth group samarium to dysprosium), and the heavy rare earth group (holmium to lutetium plus scandium and yttrium).
More than 250 kinds of rare earth minerals have been discovered, of which about 50-60 kinds have industrial value, and the most important rare earth minerals are cerium fluorocarbon (lanthanum) ore, monazite, yttrium phosphorite, ion adsorption-type rare earth minerals, and yttrium brown niobium ore.
Baidu Encyclopedia - Rare Earth Ore Processing Methods