Characterization of a rare earth oxide obtained from xenotime mineral

This paper reports on the characterization of a rare earth oxide obtained by hydrometallurgy of the mineral xenotime, an yttrium phosphate containing other rare earths, and comparison with mixtures of rare earth oxides prepared in different ways. The results indicated that hydrometallurgy from xenotime yielded a solid solution of the rare earth oxides. However, when the pure rare earth oxides were simply mixed physically then heat-treated at 1000 °C, a similar solid solution was not obtained. On the other hand, when the mixtures were prepared using a co-precipitation process, subsequent heat treatment did produce oxide solid solutions similar to that produced by hydrometallurgy of xenotime.