澳大利亚主要稀土矿床：地质背景、勘探与资源The major rare-earth-element deposits of Australia: geological setting, explora

稀土元素（REE）是由17个组成镧系元素系列的特殊金属元素：镧（La）、铈（Ce）、镨（Pr）、钕（Nd）、镨（Pm）、钐（Sm）、铕（Eu）、钆（Gd）、铽（Tb），镝（Dy）、钬（Ho）、铒（Er）、铥（Tm）、镱（Yb）、镥（Lu），以及钪和钇显示相似镧系元素的物理化学性质。稀土元素具有独特的催化、冶金、核，电、磁和发光特性。它们的使用表明了它们的战略重要性在一些新兴和多样化的技术中这在今天变得越来越重要社会。应用范围从常规（例如，打火机燧石、玻璃抛光介质、汽车发电机）高科技（激光、磁铁、电池、光纤通信电缆），对于那些具有未来感的用途（高温超导性，安全储存和运输氢以促进后碳氢化合物经济、环境和全球变暖以及能源效率问题）。在过去的二十年里，全球稀土需求显著增加同情地把他们戏剧性地扩展到高科技、环保、经济环境。

The rare-earth elements (REE) are a group of seventeen  speciality metals that comprise the lanthanide series of  elements: lanthanum (La), cerium (Ce), praseodymium  (Pr), neodymium (Nd), promethium (Pm), samarium  (Sm), europium (Eu), gadolinium (Gd), terbium (Tb),  dysprosium (Dy), holmium (Ho), erbium (Er), thulium  (Tm), ytterbium (Yb), lutetium (Lu), in addition to  scandium (Sc) and yttrium (Y), which show similar  physical and chemical properties to the lanthanides.  The REE have unique catalytic, metallurgical, nuclear,  electrical, magnetic, and luminescent properties.  Their strategic importance is indicated by their use  in a number of emerging and diverse technologies  that are becoming increasingly significant in today’s  society. Applications range from routine (e.g., lighter  flints, glass polishing mediums, car alternators), to  high-technology (lasers, magnets, batteries, fibre-optic  telecommunication cables), to those that have futuristic  purposes (high-temperature superconductivity,  safe storage and transport of hydrogen for a posthydrocarbon economy, environmental global warming  and energy efficiency issues). Over the last two decades,  the global demands of REE have significantly increased  sympathetically with their dramatic expansion into  high-technological, environmental, and economical  environments.