What is xenotime used for?
Xenotime is used chiefly as a source of yttrium and heavy lanthanide metals (dysprosium, ytterbium, erbium and gadolinium). Occasionally, gemstones are also cut from the finest xenotime crystals.
What mineral group does xenotime belong to?
phosphates
Xenotime describes a group of several closely related phosphates, arsenates, and vanadates composed of rare earth elements. The term is generally used to describe the most common member of the group, Xenotime-(Y), which is the yttrium phosphate end member of this series.
Who discovered xenotime?
The name xenotime was finally coined by the French mineralogist François Sulpice Beudant (1832) in his 2. edition of Traité élémentaire de Minéralogie.
What are phosphate minerals used for?
It is the major resource mined to produce phosphate fertilizers for the agriculture sector. Phosphate is also used in animal feed supplements, food preservatives, anti-corrosion agents, cosmetics, fungicides, ceramics, water treatment and metallurgy.
Is phosphate Good or bad?
High-normal levels of phosphate in the blood are linked to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, calcium deposits and hardening of the arteries in the heart, even in healthy young men. In the Framingham Offspring Study, high-normal phosphate blood levels were found to be a predictor of heart attacks.
Are phosphate minerals rare?
Although this mineral class is large (with almost 700 known species), most of its members are quite rare…. Secondary phosphates are extremely varied, forming at low temperatures, in the presence of water, and under variable oxidation states.
Is yttrium toxic to humans?
Water soluble compounds of yttrium are considered mildly toxic, while its insoluble compounds are non-toxic. In experiments on animals, yttrium and its compounds caused lung and liver damage.
Where can I find yttrium?
Yttrium can be found in most of the rare earth minerals, but has never been discovered in the Earth’s crust as a freestanding element. Lunar rocks gathered during the Apollo moon missions contain yttrium. The human body also contains yttrium in tiny amounts, usually concentrated in the liver, kidneys, and bones.