Primary Applications
Phosphors, ceramics, lasers, superalloys, yttria-stabilized zirconia
Mining Significance
Yttrium is generally recovered with rare earth elements from minerals such as xenotime, monazite, and certain ion-adsorption or alkaline deposits. Although chemically similar to the heavy rare earth elements, yttrium is not a lanthanide. Its recovery requires mineral concentration followed by complex hydrometallurgical separation, typically involving leaching and solvent extraction or ion exchange.
