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Occurrence and Production of Lanthanum
Occurrence
Although lanthanum belongs to chemical elements group called rare earth metals, it is not rare at all. Lanthanum is available in relatively large quantities (32 ppm in Earth's crust). "Rare earths" got their name since they were indeed rare as compared to the "common" earths such as lime or magnesia, and historically only a few deposits were known.
Monazite (Ce, La, Th, Nd, Y)PO4, and bastnasite (Ce, La, Y)COare the principal ores in which lanthanum occurs, in percentages of up to 25 to 38 percent of the total lanthanoid content. Lanthanum is more generally enriched in bastnasite as opposed to monazite, in commercial orebodies. Until 1949, bastnasite was a rare and obscure mineral, not even remotely contemplated as a potential commercial source for lanthanoids. In that year, the vast deposit at Mountain Pass California was discovered. This discovery alerted geologists as to the existence of a whole new class of rare earths deposit, the rare-earth bearing carbonatite, other examples of which soon surfaced, particularly in Africa and China.