106-766: Lynas Rare Earths, Ltd. is an Australian rare-earths mining company with two major operations: a mining and concentration plant at Mount Weld in Western Australia , and the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) in Kuantan , Malaysia . The company was founded in the 1990s and is headquartered in Perth, Western Australia. The LAMP is the only major rare-earth processing plant outside of China. The project produces radioactive waste , and has met with resistance from local communities. Lynas
212-530: A counsellor and was also responsible for setting up a voluntary counselling unit, which is named Unit Kaunseling Islah JIM (1993) where she later became the advisor and trainer for the volunteers there. In the early stage of Reformasi movement in Malaysia, Fuziah Salleh was one of the leaders of an Islamic NGO, Jamaah Islah Malaysia (widely known as JIM) and also the "early bath group" joined National Justice Party ( Malay : Parti Keadilan Nasional ) which
318-549: A fissile material . The principal sources of rare-earth elements are the minerals bastnäsite ( RCO 3 F , where R is a mixture of rare-earth elements), monazite ( XPO 4 , where X is a mixture of rare-earth elements and sometimes thorium), and loparite ( (Ce,Na,Ca)(Ti,Nb)O 3 ), and the lateritic ion-adsorption clays . Despite their high relative abundance, rare-earth minerals are more difficult to mine and extract than equivalent sources of transition metals (due in part to their similar chemical properties), making
424-609: A CO 2 -rich primary magma, by fractional crystallization of an alkaline primary magma, or by separation of a CO 2 -rich immiscible liquid from. These liquids are most commonly forming in association with very deep Precambrian cratons , like the ones found in Africa and the Canadian Shield. Ferrocarbonatites are the most common type of carbonatite to be enriched in REE, and are often emplaced as late-stage, brecciated pipes at
530-502: A civil protest movement. The online portals and social media have played a significant role in keeping more people informed about the hazardous LAMP project in Gebeng , Kuantan . On 2 May 2011, Fuziah presented the Lynas rare earth refinery case study that claimed far-reaching consequences on Kuantan communities' civil , political, economic, social and cultural rights, as well as
636-532: A component of magnets in hybrid car motors." The global demand for rare-earth elements (REEs) is expected to increase more than fivefold by 2030. The REE geochemical classification is usually done on the basis of their atomic weight . One of the most common classifications divides REE into 3 groups: light rare earths (LREE - from 57 La to 60 Nd), intermediate (MREE - from 62 Sm to 67 Ho) and heavy (HREE - from 68 Er to 71 Lu). REE usually appear as trivalent ions, except for Ce and Eu which can take
742-597: A component party of the PH coalition. She has also served as the Secretary-General of PKR since September 2024. She also served as the State Chairperson of PKR of Pahang from May 2024 to September 2024, Women Chief of PKR from July 2020 to July 2022 and Vice President of PKR from November 2010 to August 2014 as well as the State Chairperson of PH of Pahang from March 2019 to September 2022. Fuziah Salleh
848-665: A few percent of yttrium). Uranium ores from Ontario have occasionally yielded yttrium as a byproduct. Well-known minerals containing cerium, and other LREE, include bastnäsite , monazite , allanite , loparite , ancylite , parisite , lanthanite , chevkinite, cerite , stillwellite , britholite, fluocerite , and cerianite. Monazite (marine sands from Brazil , India , or Australia ; rock from South Africa ), bastnäsite (from Mountain Pass rare earth mine , or several localities in China), and loparite ( Kola Peninsula , Russia ) have been
954-544: A maximum number of 25 was estimated. The use of X-ray spectra (obtained by X-ray crystallography ) by Henry Gwyn Jeffreys Moseley made it possible to assign atomic numbers to the elements. Moseley found that the exact number of lanthanides had to be 15, but that element 61 had not yet been discovered. (This is promethium, a radioactive element whose most stable isotope has a half-life of just 18 years.) Using these facts about atomic numbers from X-ray crystallography, Moseley also showed that hafnium (element 72) would not be
1060-432: A melt phase if one is present. REE are chemically very similar and have always been difficult to separate, but the gradual decrease in ionic radius from light REE (LREE) to heavy REE (HREE), called the lanthanide contraction , can produce a broad separation between light and heavy REE. The larger ionic radii of LREE make them generally more incompatible than HREE in rock-forming minerals, and will partition more strongly into
1166-404: A melt phase, while HREE may prefer to remain in the crystalline residue, particularly if it contains HREE-compatible minerals like garnet . The result is that all magma formed from partial melting will always have greater concentrations of LREE than HREE, and individual minerals may be dominated by either HREE or LREE, depending on which range of ionic radii best fits the crystal lattice. Among
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#17327870450041272-507: A mine in the village of Ytterby in Sweden ; four of the rare-earth elements bear names derived from this single location. A table listing the 17 rare-earth elements, their atomic number and symbol, the etymology of their names, and their main uses (see also Applications of lanthanides ) is provided here. Some of the rare-earth elements are named after the scientists who discovered them, or elucidated their elemental properties, and some after
1378-483: A permanent disposal facility for water leached purification residue at Gebeng industrial estate. In February 2023, the Malaysian government required Lynas to stop operating the cracking and leaching portion of the plant, because they were still generating radioactive waste. They also renewed permitting for other activities for an additional 3 years. Rare-earth The rare-earth elements ( REE ), also called
1484-414: A quarry in the village of Ytterby , Sweden and termed "rare" because it had never yet been seen. Arrhenius's "ytterbite" reached Johan Gadolin , a Royal Academy of Turku professor, and his analysis yielded an unknown oxide ("earth" in the geological parlance of the day ), which he called yttria . Anders Gustav Ekeberg isolated beryllium from the gadolinite but failed to recognize other elements in
1590-456: A rare-earth element. Moseley was killed in World War I in 1915, years before hafnium was discovered. Hence, the claim of Georges Urbain that he had discovered element 72 was untrue. Hafnium is an element that lies in the periodic table immediately below zirconium , and hafnium and zirconium have very similar chemical and physical properties. During the 1940s, Frank Spedding and others in
1696-549: A second gold mine at Paraburdoo, in the Ashburton region of Western Australia, with Sipa Resources. In 2000 Les Emery identified an opportunity to diversify Lynas into the rare earths industry, when he became aware that Ashton Mining was attempting to sell off the Mount Weld rare earths project. He concluded an agreement for Lynas to purchase the project and in 2001 Lynas changed its name to Lynas Corporation Limited. Later in
1802-404: A separate group of rare-earth elements (the terbium group), or europium was included in the cerium group, and gadolinium and terbium were included in the yttrium group. In the latter case, the f-block elements are split into half: the first half (La–Eu) form the cerium group, and the second half (Gd–Yb) together with group 3 (Sc, Y, Lu) form the yttrium group. The reason for this division arose from
1908-512: A share sale. In November 2010, it signed an agreement with the Japanese rare-earths trading company Sojitz to export €450 million Euros worth of rare-earth minerals from its mine in Mount Weld. In April 2011, Lynas was attempting to sell its Crown polymetallic deposit (which is particularly prospective for niobium ) at Mount Weld to Forge Resources. Forge, a company listed on the ASX, also shared
2014-420: A similar effect. In sedimentary rocks, rare-earth elements in clastic sediments are a representation of provenance. The rare-earth element concentrations are not typically affected by sea and river waters, as rare-earth elements are insoluble and thus have very low concentrations in these fluids. As a result, when sediment is transported, rare-earth element concentrations are unaffected by the fluid and instead
2120-579: A target of 11,000 tonnes per annum. On 2 September 2014, Lynas was issued a 2-year Full Operating Stage License (FOSL) by the Malaysian Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) In September 2018, the newly elected Pakatan Harapan government called for a thorough review of the Lynas plant. Fuziah Salleh was appointed as the chairwoman of the evaluation committee, and promised a fair review, saying that she will "look out for
2226-423: A temperature of 400 °C (752 °F). These elements and their compounds have no biological function other than in several specialized enzymes, such as in lanthanide-dependent methanol dehydrogenases in bacteria. The water-soluble compounds are mildly to moderately toxic, but the insoluble ones are not. All isotopes of promethium are radioactive, and it does not occur naturally in the earth's crust, except for
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#17327870450042332-515: A trace amount generated by spontaneous fission of uranium-238 . They are often found in minerals with thorium , and less commonly uranium . Though rare-earth elements are technically relatively plentiful in the entire Earth's crust ( cerium being the 25th-most-abundant element at 68 parts per million, more abundant than copper ), in practice this is spread thin across trace impurities, so to obtain rare earths at usable purity requires processing enormous amounts of raw ore at great expense, thus
2438-462: A valence of 3 and form sesquioxides (cerium forms CeO 2 ). Five different crystal structures are known, depending on the element and the temperature. The X-phase and the H-phase are only stable above 2000 K. At lower temperatures, there are the hexagonal A-phase, the monoclinic B-phase, and the cubic C-phase, which is the stable form at room temperature for most of the elements. The C-phase
2544-465: Is called the bixbyite structure, as it occurs in a mineral of that name ( (Mn,Fe) 2 O 3 ). As seen in the chart, rare-earth elements are found on Earth at similar concentrations to many common transition metals. The most abundant rare-earth element is cerium , which is actually the 25th most abundant element in Earth's crust , having 68 parts per million (about as common as copper). The exception
2650-611: Is high, weathering forms a thick argillized regolith, this process is called supergene enrichment and produces laterite deposits; heavy rare-earth elements are incorporated into the residual clay by absorption. This kind of deposit is only mined for REE in Southern China, where the majority of global heavy rare-earth element production occurs. REE-laterites do form elsewhere, including over the carbonatite at Mount Weld in Australia. REE may also be extracted from placer deposits if
2756-489: Is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange as a S&P/ASX 200 company. Rare earth elements are critical minerals used in the defense industry and for electronics. China controls 80% of global rare earth production. The Lynas Advanced Materials Plant is the largest rare earth production facility outside of China. The company was founded in 1983 as Yilgangi Gold NL. The company took on
2862-445: Is possible to observe the serial trend of the REE by reporting their normalized concentrations against the atomic number. The trends that are observed in "spider" diagrams are typically referred to as "patterns", which may be diagnostic of petrological processes that have affected the material of interest. According to the general shape of the patterns or thanks to the presence (or absence) of so-called "anomalies", information regarding
2968-443: Is synthetically produced in nuclear reactors. Due to their chemical similarity, the concentrations of rare earths in rocks are only slowly changed by geochemical processes, making their proportions useful for geochronology and dating fossils. Rare-earth elements occur in nature in combination with phosphate ( monazite ), carbonate - fluoride ( bastnäsite ), and oxygen anions. In their oxides, most rare-earth elements only have
3074-517: Is the highly unstable and radioactive promethium "rare earth" is quite scarce. The longest-lived isotope of promethium has a half-life of 17.7 years, so the element exists in nature in only negligible amounts (approximately 572 g in the entire Earth's crust). Promethium is one of the two elements that do not have stable (non-radioactive) isotopes and are followed by (i.e. with higher atomic number) stable elements (the other being technetium ). The rare-earth elements are often found together. During
3180-542: The Barisan Nasional ruling coalition even provoked PKR Kuantan MP Fuziah Salleh when she arrived on the scene of the IAEA review panel. The review led by the IAEA panel concluded on 28 June 2011, and it claimed "was not able to identify any non-compliance with international radiation safety standards" by putting forward eleven recommendations for Lynas to meet before beginning operations, which have been adopted by
3286-700: The Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of religious affairs in the PH administration under former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and former Minister Mujahid Yusof Rawa from July 2018 to the collapse of the PH administration in February 2020 and the Member of Parliament (MP) for Kuantan from March 2008 to November 2022. She is a member of the People's Justice Party (PKR),
Lynas - Misplaced Pages Continue
3392-603: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to conduct a month-long review by a team of nine international experts on the construction of the Lynas rare earth refinery plant in Gebeng, Kuantan. During the visit of the IAEA-led team to Kuantan , its meeting with stakeholders ended in chaos. Several anti-Lynas activists and journalists were injured and threatened, and 3 UMNO assemblymen from
3498-563: The Oddo–Harkins rule : even-numbered REE at abundances of about 5% each, and odd-numbered REE at abundances of about 1% each. Similar compositions are found in xenotime or gadolinite. Well-known minerals containing yttrium, and other HREE, include gadolinite, xenotime, samarskite , euxenite , fergusonite , yttrotantalite, yttrotungstite, yttrofluorite (a variety of fluorite ), thalenite, and yttrialite . Small amounts occur in zircon , which derives its typical yellow fluorescence from some of
3604-607: The environment at the ASEAN Civil Society Conference / ASEAN Peoples' Forum in Jakarta , Indonesia. In May 2011, the LAMP issues have started to attract more attentions from both the local and the international media – especially both Al-Jazeera 101 East and Australian Network Newsline broadcast programs observing the present situation of Kuantan 's people over the Lynas project. This followed by
3710-533: The rare-earth metals or rare earths , and sometimes the lanthanides or lanthanoids (although scandium and yttrium , which do not belong to this series, are usually included as rare earths), are a set of 17 nearly indistinguishable lustrous silvery-white soft heavy metals . Compounds containing rare earths have diverse applications in electrical and electronic components, lasers, glass, magnetic materials, and industrial processes. Scandium and yttrium are considered rare-earth elements because they tend to occur in
3816-486: The upper mantle (200 to 600 km depth). This melt becomes enriched in incompatible elements, like the rare-earth elements, by leaching them out of the crystalline residue. The resultant magma rises as a diapir , or diatreme , along pre-existing fractures, and can be emplaced deep in the crust , or erupted at the surface. Typical REE enriched deposits types forming in rift settings are carbonatites, and A- and M-Type granitoids. Near subduction zones, partial melting of
3922-528: The "Stop Lynas Rare Earth Refinery" campaign has started to gain momentum. The anti-Lynas group led by Fuziah Salleh had gradually evolved into a bigger civil society group, i.e. "Save Malaysia Stop Lynas" (SMSL). SMSL was initiated and loosely formed by Fuziah and her PKR team in March 2011, after a signature drive launched and public talk on the urgent need to cease the Lynas plant from commencing operations in Malaysia. Fuziah and team then passed their contacts to
4028-428: The "heavy" group from 6.965 (ytterbium) to 9.32 (thulium), as well as including yttrium at 4.47. Europium has a density of 5.24. Rare-earth elements, except scandium , are heavier than iron and thus are produced by supernova nucleosynthesis or by the s-process in asymptotic giant branch stars. In nature, spontaneous fission of uranium-238 produces trace amounts of radioactive promethium , but most promethium
4134-568: The 4 f orbital which acts against the electrons of the 6 s and 5 d orbitals. The lanthanide contraction has a direct effect on the geochemistry of the lanthanides, which show a different behaviour depending on the systems and processes in which they are involved. The effect of the lanthanide contraction can be observed in the REE behaviour both in a CHARAC-type geochemical system (CHArge-and-RAdius-Controlled ) where elements with similar charge and radius should show coherent geochemical behaviour, and in non-CHARAC systems, such as aqueous solutions, where
4240-472: The BN ruling coalition. Despite the claimed hazards, the government of Malaysia is eager for investment by Lynas , even offering a 12-year tax holiday. Fuziah Salleh, local residents, environmentalists and professional bodies such as Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) and Malaysian Bar Council have questioned the credibility of the IAEA review. They have called for the LAMP to be scrapped by pointing out
4346-503: The IAEA review panel didn't include the medical experts and the IAEA report doesn't assure LAMP will be safe. Also, it is claimed that neither the long-term waste management nor the possible contamination of surface water and atmosphere by radioactive waste material were addressed in the radiological impact assessment (RIA) report. These worries have been further spurred by the New York Times article dated 29 June 2011, reporting
Lynas - Misplaced Pages Continue
4452-456: The LAMP may be needed redesign work, with memos, e-mail messages and photos from Lynas and its contractors provided to the journalist by the engineers who worked at the LAMP. Regardless of the criticisms, Putrajaya dismissed offhand this New York Times report without probing, and such flippant attitude of the Najib administration was slammed by Fuziah. On 2 September 2014, Lynas was issued
4558-506: The LREE. This has economic consequences: large ore bodies of LREE are known around the world and are being exploited. Ore bodies for HREE are more rare, smaller, and less concentrated. Most of the current supply of HREE originates in the "ion-absorption clay" ores of Southern China. Some versions provide concentrates containing about 65% yttrium oxide, with the HREE being present in ratios reflecting
4664-640: The Lynas Gold N.L. name in 1985. It became publicly listed in 1986 on the ASX. In 2001, it sold off its gold division and focused on rare earths. Lynas was founded by the Sumich family of Perth, Western Australia. Perth based mining identity, Mr Les Emery was appointed its first CEO and Managing Director in 1986, remaining with Lynas until 2001. In 1994, following an exploration discovery, Lynas opened its first gold mine at Lynas Find, 130 km south of Port Hedland, Western Australia. In 1998 it jointly developed
4770-624: The Parliament of Malaysia since 18 November 2008. "Concerned Citizen of Kuantan" was a civil society group initiated by Fuziah in December 2008 to discuss actions should be taken by the Kuantan community against the hazardous Lynas rare earth refinery project. Committee of "Concerned Citizen of Kuantan" was formed after a meeting held by Fuziah to discuss the LAMP issues with about 20 residents and professionals from different ethnic groups and NGOs near Kuantan . The awareness campaign about
4876-491: The Prime Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Mohammad Najib Abdul Razak . Both UMNO and MCA are the major component parties of the BN ruling coalition. Fuziah Salleh has spearheaded the "Stop Lynas Rare Earth Refinery" campaign in Kuantan after being elected as the Member of Parliament for Kuantan in 2008. Fuziah has been raising her concern over the risks of having Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) near Kuantan in
4982-530: The SMSL committee with verbal agreement that all "Stop Lynas Rare Earth Refinery" NGOs, activists, professionals and experts to work together, and under the umbrella of Kuantan MP YB Fuziah Salleh. Along the path of her struggle against LAMP, various anti-Lynas groups, NGOs and NGIs have been mushrooming. During the early days of the "Stop Lynas" campaign, Fuziah led the local residents and environmentalists in petition collecting, PicBadging, leafleting, briefing and
5088-606: The TV2's Mandarin programs. After fighting a solo battle for more than two years to stop the Lynas plant from being built in Malaysia. In early March 2011, public awareness has been heightened by the articles on the Lynas project published in the New York Times . At the same time, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster has ramped up fear in the Malaysian people about the risks of radioactive exposure . Since then,
5194-530: The United States (during the Manhattan Project ) developed chemical ion-exchange procedures for separating and purifying rare-earth elements. This method was first applied to the actinides for separating plutonium-239 and neptunium from uranium , thorium , actinium , and the other actinides in the materials produced in nuclear reactors . Plutonium-239 was very desirable because it is
5300-569: The Western Australia Nuclear Waste Storage (Prohibition) Act 1999 forbids the import of radioactive waste. On 19 December 2012, the Malaysian Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by SMSL against a temporary operating licence granted to Lynas, with costs in favour of Lynas. The refining facility entered production in 2013, producing 1,089 tonnes of rare-earth oxides in the first quarter of 2014, with
5406-449: The accompanying HREE. The zirconium mineral eudialyte , such as is found in southern Greenland , contains small but potentially useful amounts of yttrium. Of the above yttrium minerals, most played a part in providing research quantities of lanthanides during the discovery days. Xenotime is occasionally recovered as a byproduct of heavy-sand processing, but is not as abundant as the similarly recovered monazite (which typically contains
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#17327870450045512-500: The anhydrous rare-earth phosphates, it is the tetragonal mineral xenotime that incorporates yttrium and the HREE, whereas the monoclinic monazite phase incorporates cerium and the LREE preferentially. The smaller size of the HREE allows greater solid solubility in the rock-forming minerals that make up Earth's mantle, and thus yttrium and the HREE show less enrichment in Earth's crust relative to chondritic abundance than does cerium and
5618-410: The best interest of Kuantan residents" In 2020, LAMP received a 3-year operating licence. The permit required Lynas to move their cracking and leaching facilities outside of Malaysia before July 2023, to stop importing radioactive material, and come up with a permanent disposal plan for wastes. On 30 December 2021, Lynas announced it had secured environmental approvals from Malaysian authorities to build
5724-529: The controversial Lynas rare earth plant in Kuantan. Despite facing stiff competition from UMNO, on 5 May 2013, PKR vice-president Fuziah Salleh not only retained the Kuantan seat for the second term but with an increased majority of 4,515 votes, after defeating Datuk Mohamed Suffian Awang . Datuk Mohamed Suffian Awang was Kuantan UMNO Youth Chief and the Political Secretary to the BN chairman and
5830-871: The core of igneous complexes; they consist of fine-grained calcite and hematite, sometimes with significant concentrations of ankerite and minor concentrations of siderite. Large carbonatite deposits enriched in rare-earth elements include Mount Weld in Australia, Thor Lake in Canada, Zandkopsdrift in South Africa, and Mountain Pass in the USA. Peralkaline granites (A-Type granitoids) have very high concentrations of alkaline elements and very low concentrations of phosphorus; they are deposited at moderate depths in extensional zones, often as igneous ring complexes, or as pipes, massive bodies, and lenses. These fluids have very low viscosities and high element mobility, which allows for
5936-408: The crude yttria and found the same substances that Mosander obtained, but Berlin named (1860) the substance giving pink salts erbium , and Delafontaine named the substance with the yellow peroxide terbium . This confusion led to several false claims of new elements, such as the mosandrium of J. Lawrence Smith , or the philippium and decipium of Delafontaine. Due to the difficulty in separating
6042-740: The crystallization of large grains, despite a relatively short crystallization time upon emplacement; their large grain size is why these deposits are commonly referred to as pegmatites. Economically viable pegmatites are divided into Lithium-Cesium-Tantalum (LCT) and Niobium-Yttrium-Fluorine (NYF) types; NYF types are enriched in rare-earth minerals. Examples of rare-earth pegmatite deposits include Strange Lake in Canada and Khaladean-Buregtey in Mongolia. Nepheline syenite (M-Type granitoids) deposits are 90% feldspar and feldspathoid minerals. They are deposited in small, circular massifs and contain high concentrations of rare-earth-bearing accessory minerals . For
6148-495: The deal between Lynas and Forge proceeds. Certain commentators and journalists have called into question the regulatory oversight of the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) as to the legality of such a proposal, but were proven to have been uninformed or alarmist because the proposal was always subject to the approval of independent shareholders at an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM). The EGM
6254-413: The difference in solubility of rare-earth double sulfates with sodium and potassium. The sodium double sulfates of the cerium group are poorly soluble, those of the terbium group slightly, and those of the yttrium group are very soluble. Sometimes, the yttrium group was further split into the erbium group (dysprosium, holmium, erbium, and thulium) and the ytterbium group (ytterbium and lutetium), but today
6360-409: The electron structure is also an important parameter to consider as the lanthanide contraction affects the ionic potential . A direct consequence is that, during the formation of coordination bonds, the REE behaviour gradually changes along the series. Furthermore, the lanthanide contraction causes the ionic radius of Ho (0.901 Å) to be almost identical to that of Y (0.9 Å), justifying the inclusion of
6466-651: The element showing the anomaly and the predictable one based on the average of the normalized concentrations of the two elements in the previous and next position in the series, according to the equation: where [ REE i ] n {\displaystyle [{\text{REE}}_{i}]_{n}} is the normalized concentration of the element whose anomaly has to be calculated, [ REE i − 1 ] n {\displaystyle [{\text{REE}}_{i-1}]_{n}} and [ REE i + 1 ] n {\displaystyle [{\text{REE}}_{i+1}]_{n}}
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#17327870450046572-417: The existence of an unknown element. The fractional crystallization of the oxides then yielded europium in 1901. In 1839 the third source for rare earths became available. This is a mineral similar to gadolinite called uranotantalum (now called " samarskite ") an oxide of a mixture of elements such as yttrium, ytterbium, iron, uranium, thorium, calcium, niobium, and tantalum. This mineral from Miass in
6678-511: The following observations apply: anomalies in europium are dominated by the crystallization of feldspars . Hornblende , controls the enrichment of MREE compared to LREE and HREE. Depletion of LREE relative to HREE may be due to the crystallization of olivine , orthopyroxene , and clinopyroxene . On the other hand, the depletion of HREE relative to LREE may be due to the presence of garnet , as garnet preferentially incorporates HREE into its crystal structure. The presence of zircon may also cause
6784-433: The form of Ce and Eu depending on the redox conditions of the system. Consequentially, REE are characterized by a substantial identity in their chemical reactivity, which results in a serial behaviour during geochemical processes rather than being characteristic of a single element of the series. Sc, Y, and Lu can be electronically distinguished from the other rare earths because they do not have f valence electrons, whereas
6890-566: The fractionation of trace elements (including rare-earth elements) into the liquid phase (the melt/magma) into the solid phase (the mineral). If an element preferentially remains in the solid phase it is termed 'compatible', and if it preferentially partitions into the melt phase it is described as 'incompatible'. Each element has a different partition coefficient, and therefore fractionates into solid and liquid phases distinctly. These concepts are also applicable to metamorphic and sedimentary petrology. In igneous rocks, particularly in felsic melts,
6996-405: The geographical locations where discovered. A mnemonic for the names of the sixth-row elements in order is "Lately college parties never produce sexy European girls that drink heavily even though you look". Rare earths were mainly discovered as components of minerals. Ytterbium was found in the "ytterbite" (renamed to gadolinite in 1800) discovered by Lieutenant Carl Axel Arrhenius in 1787 at
7102-512: The hazardous LAMP organised between 2008 and 2010 was taxing with limited organisations and individuals willing to render assistance. Also, only the local Chinese media picked up the alleged LAMP issues, while both the English and Malay media didn't. In 2009, Fuziah's team managed to get media coverage of the LAMP problems in Kuantan via the Malaysian television channels , both the NTV7's and
7208-448: The heavy rare-earth elements (HREE), and those that fall in between are typically referred to as the middle rare-earth elements (MREE). Commonly, rare-earth elements with atomic numbers 57 to 61 (lanthanum to promethium) are classified as light and those with atomic numbers 62 and greater are classified as heavy rare-earth elements. Increasing atomic numbers between light and heavy rare-earth elements and decreasing atomic radii throughout
7314-470: The latter among the REE. The application of rare-earth elements to geology is important to understanding the petrological processes of igneous , sedimentary and metamorphic rock formation. In geochemistry , rare-earth elements can be used to infer the petrological mechanisms that have affected a rock due to the subtle atomic size differences between the elements, which causes preferential fractionation of some rare earths relative to others depending on
7420-607: The local television channel NTV7 Siasat Mandarin, which aired the updated LAMP issues on 9 June 2011 with Malay subtitle . In July 2011, Fuziah also stepped up the campaign in Europe attempting to stop the Lynas rare earth refinery plant from operating in Malaysia , after completed her dialogue on ASEAN Women Leaders with European partners. The government of Malaysia has bowed to public pressure in April 2011 and brought in
7526-418: The logarithm to the base 10 of the value. Commonly, the rare-earth elements are normalized to chondritic meteorites , as these are believed to be the closest representation of unfractionated Solar System material. However, other normalizing standards can be applied depending on the purpose of the study. Normalization to a standard reference value, especially of a material believed to be unfractionated, allows
7632-472: The main grouping is between the cerium and the yttrium groups. Today, the rare-earth elements are classified as light or heavy rare-earth elements, rather than in cerium and yttrium groups. The classification of rare-earth elements is inconsistent between authors. The most common distinction between rare-earth elements is made by atomic numbers ; those with low atomic numbers are referred to as light rare-earth elements (LREE), those with high atomic numbers are
7738-522: The metals (and determining the separation is complete), the total number of false discoveries was dozens, with some putting the total number of discoveries at over a hundred. There were no further discoveries for 30 years, and the element didymium was listed in the periodic table of elements with a molecular mass of 138. In 1879, Delafontaine used the new physical process of optical flame spectroscopy and found several new spectral lines in didymia. Also in 1879, Paul Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran isolated
7844-697: The most part, these deposits are small but important examples include Illimaussaq-Kvanefeld in Greenland, and Lovozera in Russia. Rare-earth elements can also be enriched in deposits by secondary alteration either by interactions with hydrothermal fluids or meteoric water or by erosion and transport of resistate REE-bearing minerals. Argillization of primary minerals enriches insoluble elements by leaching out silica and other soluble elements, recrystallizing feldspar into clay minerals such kaolinite, halloysite, and montmorillonite. In tropical regions where precipitation
7950-415: The name "rare" earths. Because of their geochemical properties, rare-earth elements are typically dispersed and not often found concentrated in rare-earth minerals . Consequently, economically exploitable ore deposits are sparse. The first rare-earth mineral discovered (1787) was gadolinite , a black mineral composed of cerium, yttrium, iron, silicon, and other elements. This mineral was extracted from
8056-560: The new element samarium from the mineral samarskite . The samaria earth was further separated by Lecoq de Boisbaudran in 1886, and a similar result was obtained by Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac by direct isolation from samarskite. They named the element gadolinium after Johan Gadolin , and its oxide was named " gadolinia ". Further spectroscopic analysis between 1886 and 1901 of samaria, yttria, and samarskite by William Crookes , Lecoq de Boisbaudran and Eugène-Anatole Demarçay yielded several new spectral lines that indicated
8162-424: The normalized concentration, [ REE i ] sam {\displaystyle {[{\text{REE}}_{i}]_{\text{sam}}}} the analytical concentration of the element measured in the sample, and [ REE i ] ref {\displaystyle {[{\text{REE}}_{i}]_{\text{ref}}}} the concentration of the same element in the reference material. It
8268-427: The normalized concentrations of the respectively previous and next elements along the series. The rare-earth elements patterns observed in igneous rocks are primarily a function of the chemistry of the source where the rock came from, as well as the fractionation history the rock has undergone. Fractionation is in turn a function of the partition coefficients of each element. Partition coefficients are responsible for
8374-432: The observed abundances to be compared to the initial abundances of the element. Normalization also removes the pronounced 'zig-zag' pattern caused by the differences in abundance between even and odd atomic numbers . Normalization is carried out by dividing the analytical concentrations of each element of the series by the concentration of the same element in a given standard, according to the equation: where n indicates
8480-474: The one common Director and CEO of Lynas, Nicholas Curtis, (Lynas current CEO is Amanda Lacaze) although former Lynas executive director Harry Wang was also involved with Forge and the transaction. In a 2007 Company presentation, Lynas claimed that the Crown deposit was worth $ 50 billion but have valued it at $ 20.7 million for sale to Forge. Curtis as a director of Forge would receive a 24,000,000 performance shares if
8586-524: The ore. After this discovery in 1794, a mineral from Bastnäs near Riddarhyttan , Sweden, which was believed to be an iron – tungsten mineral, was re-examined by Jöns Jacob Berzelius and Wilhelm Hisinger . In 1803 they obtained a white oxide and called it ceria . Martin Heinrich Klaproth independently discovered the same oxide and called it ochroia . It took another 30 years for researchers to determine that other elements were contained in
8692-414: The others do, but the chemical behaviour is almost the same. A distinguishing factor in the geochemical behaviour of the REE is linked to the so-called " lanthanide contraction " which represents a higher-than-expected decrease in the atomic/ionic radius of the elements along the series. This is determined by the variation of the shielding effect towards the nuclear charge due to the progressive filling of
8798-446: The principal ores of cerium and the light lanthanides. Enriched deposits of rare-earth elements at the surface of the Earth, carbonatites and pegmatites , are related to alkaline plutonism , an uncommon kind of magmatism that occurs in tectonic settings where there is rifting or that are near subduction zones. In a rift setting, the alkaline magma is produced by very small degrees of partial melting (<1%) of garnet peridotite in
8904-440: The processes at work. The geochemical study of the REE is not carried out on absolute concentrations – as it is usually done with other chemical elements – but on normalized concentrations in order to observe their serial behaviour. In geochemistry, rare-earth elements are typically presented in normalized "spider" diagrams, in which concentration of rare-earth elements are normalized to a reference standard and are then expressed as
9010-421: The rare-earth elements relatively expensive. Their industrial use was very limited until efficient separation techniques were developed, such as ion exchange , fractional crystallization, and liquid–liquid extraction during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Some ilmenite concentrates contain small amounts of scandium and other rare-earth elements, which could be analysed by X-ray fluorescence (XRF). Before
9116-584: The rock retains the rare-earth element concentration from its source. Fuziah Salleh Hajah Fuziah binti Salleh ( Jawi : فوزية بنت صالح; born on 13 July 1959) is a Malaysian politician who has served as the Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade and Costs of Living in the Unity Government administration under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Ministers Salahuddin Ayub and Armizan Mohd Ali as well as Senator since December 2022. She served as
9222-485: The same ore deposits as the lanthanides and exhibit similar chemical properties, but have different electrical and magnetic properties . The term 'rare-earth' is a misnomer because they are not actually scarce, although historically it took a long time to isolate these elements. These metals tarnish slowly in air at room temperature and react slowly with cold water to form hydroxides, liberating hydrogen. They react with steam to form oxides and ignite spontaneously at
9328-509: The same year Les Emery was replaced as CEO and Managing Director by Sydney based Nicholas Curtis. In May 2009, Lynas was offered funding of $ 252 million by the Chinese state-owned China Non-Ferrous Metal Mining (Group) Co. , which would have taken a 51.6% stake in the company. However the deal was scrapped by Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board on concern it would threaten supply to non-Chinese buyers. Lynas later raised $ 450 million in
9434-636: The seafloor, bit by bit, over tens of millions of years. One square patch of metal-rich mud 2.3 kilometers wide might contain enough rare earths to meet most of the global demand for a year, Japanese geologists report in Nature Geoscience ." "I believe that rare[-]earth resources undersea are much more promising than on-land resources," said Kato. "[C]oncentrations of rare earths were comparable to those found in clays mined in China. Some deposits contained twice as much heavy rare earths such as dysprosium,
9540-493: The sedimentary parent lithology contains REE-bearing, heavy resistate minerals. In 2011, Yasuhiro Kato, a geologist at the University of Tokyo who led a study of Pacific Ocean seabed mud, published results indicating the mud could hold rich concentrations of rare-earth minerals. The deposits, studied at 78 sites, came from "[h]ot plumes from hydrothermal vents pull[ing] these materials out of seawater and deposit[ing] them on
9646-419: The sequential accretion of the Earth, the dense rare-earth elements were incorporated into the deeper portions of the planet. Early differentiation of molten material largely incorporated the rare earths into mantle rocks. The high field strength and large ionic radii of rare earths make them incompatible with the crystal lattices of most rock-forming minerals, so REE will undergo strong partitioning into
9752-497: The series causes chemical variations. Europium is exempt of this classification as it has two valence states: Eu and Eu . Yttrium is grouped as heavy rare-earth element due to chemical similarities. The break between the two groups is sometimes put elsewhere, such as between elements 63 (europium) and 64 (gadolinium). The actual metallic densities of these two groups overlap, with the "light" group having densities from 6.145 (lanthanum) to 7.26 (promethium) or 7.52 (samarium) g/cc, and
9858-401: The southern Ural Mountains was documented by Gustav Rose . The Russian chemist R. Harmann proposed that a new element he called " ilmenium " should be present in this mineral, but later, Christian Wilhelm Blomstrand , Galissard de Marignac, and Heinrich Rose found only tantalum and niobium ( columbium ) in it. The exact number of rare-earth elements that existed was highly unclear, and
9964-766: The subducting plate within the asthenosphere (80 to 200 km depth) produces a volatile-rich magma (high concentrations of CO 2 and water), with high concentrations of alkaline elements, and high element mobility that the rare earths are strongly partitioned into. This melt may also rise along pre-existing fractures, and be emplaced in the crust above the subducting slab or erupted at the surface. REE-enriched deposits forming from these melts are typically S-Type granitoids. Alkaline magmas enriched with rare-earth elements include carbonatites, peralkaline granites (pegmatites), and nepheline syenite . Carbonatites crystallize from CO 2 -rich fluids, which can be produced by partial melting of hydrous-carbonated lherzolite to produce
10070-399: The system under examination and the occurring geochemical processes can be obtained. The anomalies represent enrichment (positive anomalies) or depletion (negative anomalies) of specific elements along the series and are graphically recognizable as positive or negative "peaks" along the REE patterns. The anomalies can be numerically quantified as the ratio between the normalized concentration of
10176-479: The time that ion exchange methods and elution were available, the separation of the rare earths was primarily achieved by repeated precipitation or crystallization . In those days, the first separation was into two main groups, the cerium earths (lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, and samarium) and the yttrium earths (scandium, yttrium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, and lutetium). Europium, gadolinium, and terbium were either considered as
10282-484: The two ores ceria and yttria (the similarity of the rare-earth metals' chemical properties made their separation difficult). In 1839 Carl Gustav Mosander , an assistant of Berzelius, separated ceria by heating the nitrate and dissolving the product in nitric acid . He called the oxide of the soluble salt lanthana . It took him three more years to separate the lanthana further into didymia and pure lanthana. Didymia, although not further separable by Mosander's techniques,
10388-463: Was a corporate trainer and training consultant for multinationals, corporate institutions and NGOs in the area of human resource development and women's empowerment. She is experienced in counselling various interest groups in both the UK and Malaysia , ranging from youth, students, married couples, and women involved in domestic violence . In the mid-90s, she was attached to a state government institution as
10494-571: Was also the incumbent Deputy Internal Security Minister. In the 13th general election , MCA loaned the Kuantan parliamentary seat to the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), to capitalise on the increase in Malay voters who now made up 63 per cent of Kuantan's over 55,000 voters. The Kuatan seat loan was also perceived as a tactical move by Barisan Nasional (BN) to counter the Chinese community still against
10600-484: Was awarded a temporary 2-year operating licence by Malaysia's Atomic Energy Licensing Board despite concerns about lack of a long term disposal plan for its waste. By February 2023, the plant had produced over one million metric tons of radioactive waste. Kuantan MP Fuziah Salleh raised concerns about risks from the plant in the Parliament of Malaysia since 2008. A civil society group "Concerned Citizens of Kuantan"
10706-817: Was born in Johor , but grew up in Pahang . She had her early education at the Methodist Girls School in Kuantan . Fuziah went on to obtain a bachelor's degree in Counseling Psychology from the University of Reading , and followed by a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales in the United Kingdom (UK). Fuziah is married to Russly Bin Abdul Rahman with six children. Before entering politics, Fuziah
10812-424: Was cancelled by Lynas after shareholder opposition to the proposal became apparent, and the Crown polymetallic deposit remains owned by Lynas. The Lynas Advance Materials Plant (LAMP) near Kuantan , in the Malaysian state of Pahang is the world's largest rare earth extraction plant outside of China. The $ 800 million plant began operations in 2012. The plant produces radioactive waste . On 5 September 2012, Lynas
10918-535: Was established on 4 April 1999. National Justice Party was later merged with the older Malaysian People's Party ( Malay : Parti Rakyat Malaysia ) to establish the People's Justice Party ( Malay : Parti Keadilan Rakyat ) on 3 August 2003. Fuziah Salleh ran unsuccessfully for Malaysian Parliament twice, before winning a parliament seat of Kuantan in the 12th General Election of Malaysia . On 8 March 2008, Fuziah successfully defeated incumbent Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) heavyweight Datuk Fu Ah Kiow, who
11024-526: Was formed in December 2008 to voice concerns about the plant. In early March 2011, an article published in the New York Times raised the public awareness concerning the LAMP. Community opposition evolved into a bigger group called Save Malaysia Stop Lynas (SMSL) under the leadership of Bentong MP Wong Tack . An Australian Greens MP, Robin Chapple , denied Lynas Corp's attempt to ship radioactive waste from Malaysia back to Western Australia saying that
11130-492: Was in fact still a mixture of oxides. In 1842 Mosander also separated the yttria into three oxides: pure yttria, terbia, and erbia (all the names are derived from the town name "Ytterby"). The earth giving pink salts he called terbium ; the one that yielded yellow peroxide he called erbium . In 1842 the number of known rare-earth elements had reached six: yttrium, cerium, lanthanum, didymium, erbium, and terbium. Nils Johan Berlin and Marc Delafontaine tried also to separate
11236-494: Was once thought to be in space group I 2 1 3 (no. 199), but is now known to be in space group Ia 3 (no. 206). The structure is similar to that of fluorite or cerium dioxide (in which the cations form a face-centred cubic lattice and the anions sit inside the tetrahedra of cations), except that one-quarter of the anions (oxygen) are missing. The unit cell of these sesquioxides corresponds to eight unit cells of fluorite or cerium dioxide, with 32 cations instead of 4. This
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