Occurrence
| Occurrence and Production of Europium |
| Occurrence
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| Europium is never found in nature as a free element; however, there are many minerals containing europium, with the most important sources being bastnasite and monazite. Europium has also been identified in the spectra of the sun and certain stars. Depletion or enrichment of europium in minerals relative to other rare earth elements is known as the europium anomaly. |
| Divalent europium in small amounts happens to be the activator of the bright blue fluorescence of some samples of the mineral fluorite (calcium difluoride). The most outstanding examples of this originated around Weardale, and adjacent parts of northern England, and indeed it was this fluorite that gave its name to the phenomenon of fluorescence, although it was not until much later that europium was discovered or determined to be the cause. |