First, start

Before liberation, China did not have a rare earth industry, and rare earth products depended on imports. 1953 Liuchang oil Jinzhou decomposition by sulfuric acid produced monazite thorium nitrate, a catalyst is provided for the oil industry. In 1957, due to the increase in the amount of steam gauze cover, a large amount of barium nitrate was required. Shanghai Yonglian Chemical Plant began to treat monazite by alkali method, but when producing lanthanum nitrate, rare earth is only stored as a by-product. In the mid-1950s, Zhong Huanbang, the Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, began to study the separation of single rare earths. Beijing Nonferrous Metal Research Institute in 1958, a single rare earth separation from monazite and brown yttrium columbium ore in July of that year was prepared 16 single rare earth oxides. In 1960, a pilot plant was established at the Beijing Research Institute of Nonferrous Metals. The single rare earth oxide was produced by ion exchange and semi-countercurrent extraction. It created a good preparation for the preparation of 16 single rare earth metals in 1962 by the Beijing Research Institute of Nonferrous Metals. The conditions also provide a design basis for the construction of rare earth smelters. In the early 1960s, Changsha 602 Plant, Shanghai Yuelong Chemical Plant, and Baotou Steel 8861 Plant were completed and put into production. Since then, China's rare earth industry has moved from laboratory to industrialization.

Second, rare earth ore smelting and comprehensive utilization

(1) Comprehensive utilization of rare earth resources in Baotou Bayan Obo

Bayan Obo mine is located 150 kilometers north of Baotou Bayan Obo area, is a famous iron, rare earths, niobium and other mainly of large polymetallic deposits in symbiosis. There are more than 20 kinds of industrial valuable elements, and the industrial reserves of rare earth elements are 35 million tons. However, since the mine is a mixed type of mineral consisting of two kinds of rare earth minerals, bastnasite and monazite, it is very difficult to be used for ore dressing and smelting. Therefore, the content of rare earth in the rare earth concentrate produced at the beginning is only 20% to 30%.

In 1966, Beijing Nonferrous Metals Research Institute, Beijing Nonferrous Metals Design Institute, Baotou Metallurgical Research Institute, Shanghai Yuelong Chemical Plant, Changchun Applied Chemistry Research Institute and Baotou Steel Rare Earth Third Plant and other units carried out sodium carbonate roasting-sulfuric acid leaching-P204 extraction and Stripping process temperature cerium chloride battle art semi-industrial test, after the test process using the rare-Earth factory production plant tests of the rare Earths.

In 1972, the Beijing Research Institute of Nonferrous Metals used a rotary kiln concentrated sulfuric acid roasting method to smelt low-grade Baotou rare earth concentrate (REO 20%~30%) to produce rare earth chloride (first generation acid method), which was carried out in Beijing Tongxian Smelter. Industrial trials have been successful, and the wet smelting process of low-grade rare earth concentrates has been well solved. In 1974, Baotou Steel Rare Earth Third Plant introduced the new process of rare earth concentrate in rotary kiln of sulfuric acid roasting smelting Baotou kiln in Beijing Rotary Kiln Research Institute instead of sodium carbonate roasting method to increase the rare earth recovery rate from 40% to 70%.

Between 1973 and 1979, Harbin Flint Factory, Baotou Steel Rare Earth Third Plant and Gansu 903 Factory successively used the first generation acid process of Beijing Nonferrous Metals Research Institute to produce rare earth chloride, which greatly increased the annual production capacity to over 10,000 tons. The development of the rare earth industry.

In 1975, Huang Guoping, a researcher at the Guangzhou Institute of Nonferrous Metals, successfully produced concentrates using hydroxamic acid as a flotation reagent. For the first time, he produced REO ~60% rare earth concentrate from Baiyun Obo resources. This is Baotou ore dressing. A major breakthrough in the process. In 1976, a flotation industrial test for the production of high-grade (REO>60%) rare earth concentrates was carried out at the Baotou Steel Rare Earth Third Plant, which was completely successful. In 1981, Baotou Steel used this process to build two ore dressing workshops with an annual output of 5,000 tons of high-grade rare earth concentrates, which enabled the production capacity of high-grade rare earth concentrates in China to reach more than 10,000 tons, marking the entry of China's rare earth smelting industry. A new stage of development.

In 1979, the Beijing Research Institute of Nonferrous Metals successfully researched a new process for the production of rare earth chloride by sulfuric acid intensification roasting-extraction method (second generation acid method); Shanghai Yuelong Chemical Plant and Baotou Metallurgical Research Institute and other units collaborated to study the successful caustic soda method. In addition, the high-temperature carbon-added chlorination method, the sulfuric acid method and the sodium carbonate roasting method are collectively referred to as “five golden flowers”, which form a gratifying situation in which the smelting of the rare earth concentrate smelting process of the smelting Baotou is in full bloom.

In the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee, China's rare earth industry entered a period of vigorous development, and the market of rare earth products developed from domestic to foreign countries. From 1978 to 1986, Comrade Fang Yi went to Baotou seven times and personally presided over the comprehensive utilization meeting of Baiyun Ebo resources. The National Economic Commission established the National Leading Group for the Promotion and Application of Rare Earths, and in 1978 established the National Office for the Promotion and Application of Rare Earth. In 1980, the China Rare Earth Society was established. This series of powerful measures has promoted the development of China's rare earth industry.

In 1980, Gansu Rare Earth Company purchased a new technology (second-generation acid method) for producing rare earth chloride by sulfuric acid-enhanced roasting-extraction method of Beijing Nonferrous Metals Research Institute with 300,000 yuan to update the old technology and improve economic benefits. The Beijing Nonferrous Metals Research Institute, Zhang Guocheng and other comrades, together with the company's relevant comrades, formed a design team responsible for process design; and Beijing Nonferrous Metals Design and Research Institute was responsible for the main equipment design, and built a new 6,000 tons of rare earth chloride production line. In 1982, the production rate of rare earth chlorides reached more than 85%. This means that the smelting industry technology of Baotou rare earth concentrate in China has entered the world first.

In 1985, the Beijing Research Institute of Nonferrous Metals also successfully studied the third-generation acid process for the treatment of Baotou rare earth concentrates, namely the new process of extracting rare earth elements from sulfuric acid system by sulfuric acid roasting-P204. The process is simple and the recovery rate of rare earth is high. The product cost is low. From 1985 to 1993, it was transferred to Harbin Rare Earth Material Factory, Baotou Steel Rare Earth Third Plant (Rare Earth Hi-Tech), Baotou 202 Plant, Gansu Rare Earth Company and other factories, becoming the mainstream process for processing Baotou rare earth mine. At present, more than 90% of Baotou rare earth minerals are treated by acid process, and subsequent separation and extraction processes have some changes and improvements depending on the product structure.

(II) Development of ion-adsorbed rare earth ore

In 1968, the Jiangxi 908 Geological Team and the Metallurgical Exploration Company 13 team discovered the rare rare earth ion-adsorbed rare earth ore in the world in the Longnan area of ​​Jiangxi for the first time. This is a rare earth mineral that has never been reported in the past. The rare earth in the ore is added to the clay mineral such as kaolin in the form of ions. The weathered ore body of the sand is covered very shallow, and some are exposed to the surface, and the mineral is not obtained by ordinary mineral processing. In October 1970, the Jiangxi Institute of Nonferrous Metallurgy conducted a study on the mineral composition and trial selection of Longnan rare earths, and found that 90% of the rare earths could be ion-exchanged into the solution with an electrolyte solution, and was named "ion" for the first time. Adsorption type rare earth ore."

From 1970 to 1973, the joint experimental group of Jiangxi Nonferrous Metallurgy Research Institute, Jiangxi 908 Geological Team, Nanchang 603 Factory and Jiujiang 806 Factory successfully studied the mixing of ionic rare earth ore sodium chloride leaching-oxalic acid precipitation. The rare earth extraction process (ie, the first generation pool leaching process) solves the problem of extracting rare earth from ion-adsorbing minerals. In the Longnan County Industrial Bureau, the technology provided by the Jiangxi Metallurgical Research Institute was used to establish the mineral production point in the foot cave area, and the extraction and utilization of the ionic minerals began.

From March to December of 1975, Jiangxi Nonferrous Metallurgy Research Institute and Jiangxi 909 Geological Team cooperated to complete the semi-industrial test of 50 tons of rare earth oxides per year in Xunwuling. This was the first time in China that (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 leaching was successful, and the leachate was directly extracted with P204 and grouped, so that the rare earth-based rare earth rare earth opened up at home and abroad.

In 1981, the Jiangxi Nonferrous Metallurgy Research Institute successfully carried out the (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 leaching industrial test in the Datun rare earth mine in Jixian County. In 1985, the Luzhou Nonferrous Metallurgy Research Institute and Jiangxi University jointly completed the “new process for rare earth extraction of ion-adsorbed rare earth ore” (ie, ammonium sulfate leaching-carbon ammonium precipitation process), which greatly reduced the cost of rare earth extraction and was widely used. Industrial extraction of ion-adsorbed rare earth ore.

In order to protect the ecological vegetation, the Zhangzhou Nonferrous Metallurgy Research Institute proposed in 1983 "in situ leaching" to extract ionic rare earth ore. In December 1988, the "Study on the in-situ leaching process of ion-type rare earth ore" was completed. In December 1995, the National “Eighth Five-Year Plan” was completed in the “Study on New Process of Ion-Type Rare Earth In-situ Leaching”. The results are fully promoted in the Longnan type rare earth mine. The new process application surface reached 15%.

At present, Jiangxi Southwest Rare Earth High-Tech Co., Ltd. has undertaken the national key project of “Ion-type rare earth in-situ leaching and direct extraction and separation technology”. It is being implemented in Wusui and will be built into a domestic first-class in-situ leaching and leaching solution in 2003. Demonstration project for direct extraction and enrichment and separation of rare earths.

(3) Smelting of fluorocarbon antimony ore in Sichuan

The 109 Geological Team of the Sichuan Provincial Geological Prospecting Bureau discovered the Sichuan Suining rare earth ore in the mid-1980s. It belongs to the single ore body of the fluorocarbon strontium ore, and has less impurities such as phosphorus and titanium . It is the second largest rare earth resource in China. Mining began in 1989, and the construction of rare earth smelting plants began in 1993. After nearly ten years of development, a set of smelting and separation technologies for the characteristics of Sichuan mines has been formed.

1. Oxidative roasting - dilute sulfuric acid leaching - secondary double salt precipitation method

In the 1960s, the Beijing Research Institute of Nonferrous Metals studied the oxidizing roasting-diluted sulfuric acid leaching process to treat the Baotou rare earth concentrate. It was found that almost all of the cerium entered the leaching solution in the tetravalent state, and the pure strontium was extracted by the double salt precipitation. However, due to the inclusion of monazite in Baotou Mine, the rare earth cannot be completely decomposed and leached, resulting in low rare earth yield, so the process is not suitable for the treatment of Baotou mixed type ore. Compared with the Baotou rare earth mine, the Sichuan rare earth mine is relatively easy to smelt because it does not contain monazite and has a single mineral composition. In 1990, Baotou Rare Earth Research Institute carried out research on oxidized roasting, dilute sulfuric acid leaching and double salt precipitation of strontium sulphide ore in Sichuan, and the purity of cerium oxide was more than 99%, and the yield was 78%. The process was transferred to the Sichuan Rare Earth Materials Plant in 1992. After many years of production practice, many improvements have been made to the process. The purity of cerium oxide and the yield of rare earth have been greatly improved. Currently, about 70% of rare earth smelters in Sichuan use this process. The process is characterized by simple equipment, low investment in construction, and low requirements for chemical raw materials. However, the process is long, the chemical raw materials are consumed, the “three wastes” have large emissions, the rare earth recovery rate is low, and the product purity is poor. .

2. Oxidation roasting-hydrochloric acid leaching process

The process was developed by the American Molybdenum Company in the 1960s. When leaching, the tetravalent residue is retained in the slag to obtain a cerium-rich concentrate (the cerium content is more than 90%), which can be used as a raw material for polishing powder or as a pure high-purity hydrazine. Raw materials, other trivalent rare earths enter the hydrochloric acid solution, and then separated by extraction. The process subtracts two separate salt separation processes, which greatly shortens the process flow, reduces the consumption of chemical raw materials, the discharge of "three wastes" and the production cost, and the yield can be increased by more than 5%. The shortcoming is that it is difficult to produce 2N tantalum products stably, and it contains certain radioactive elements.

Although the above two processes are widely used in the smelting of Sichuan mines, there are still many shortcomings, which are not very satisfactory processes. Therefore, many researchers in China have been working hard to develop new processes, hoping to replace them with simple continuous extraction processes. In the chemical process, since the separation coefficient of tetravalent cerium and trivalent rare earth is very large, it is easy to obtain high purity cerium by direct extraction and separation, and the raffinate is further separated by extraction to extract other trivalent rare earths, but the solution contains a large amount of fluorine and strontium. Such impurities, emulsification easily in the extraction process, affecting the smooth progress of the extraction process. At present, the direct extraction and separation process has been developed in China, but it has not been used in industrial production.

Third, the separation and purification of rare earth

Since the 1950s, China's rare earth science and technology workers have carried out a lot of research and development on solvent extraction of rare earth elements, and have obtained many scientific research results and are widely used in rare earth industrial production. For example, in 1970, N263 was successfully used in the industry to extract 99.99% pure cerium oxide, which replaced the ion exchange method for separating cerium oxide. The cost was less than one tenth of the ion exchange method; in 1970, P204 was used instead. Preparation of classical recrystallization light rare earth oxide; dimethyl heptyl substituted with methyl fat (P350) and extracted classical fractional crystallization Preparation of lanthanum oxide; first separating rare 1970s and extracted with naphthenic acid amide P507 The process of extracting antimony is used in China's rare earth hydrometallurgical industry; the rapid development of extraction technology in China's rare earth industry is inseparable from the hard work of Yuan Chengye, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Extractants (such as P204, P350, P507, etc.) are widely used in industry; the theory of cascade extraction proposed and promoted by Professor Xu Guangxian of Peking University in the 1970s has played a guiding role in the extraction and separation technology in China. At the same time, a separation process optimized by cascade extraction theory is proposed and widely used in the rare earth extraction and separation industry.

For more than 40 years, China has made many achievements in the field of rare earth separation and purification.

1960, Beijing Nonferrous Metal Research Institute study success zinc powder production of high purity europium oxide reduction process alkalinity law, for the first time in China to produce a product of greater than 99.99%, the Act has remained rare earth factories across the country followed Shanghai Yuelong Chemical Plant cooperated with Fudan University and Beijing Nonferrous Metal Research Institute to extract 99.95% pure cerium oxide by P204 enrichment N263 extraction and 1960 P204 enrichment N263 secondary extraction. Purification yields cerium oxide with a purity greater than 99.99%.

From 1967 to 1968, the Jiangxi 801 Factory Experimental Plant and the Beijing Nonferrous Metals Research Institute successfully studied the process of extracting cerium oxide by P204 extraction group-N263, and built a 3 ton/year cerium oxide production workshop in December 1968. The cerium oxide purity is 99%.

In 1972, the Beijing Nonferrous Metal Research Institute, Jiangxi 806 Factory, Jiangxi Nonferrous Metallurgy Research Institute, and Changsha Nonferrous Metallurgy Design Institute formed a research team. After two years of joint research, the Beijing Institute of Nonferrous Metals Research successfully used the ring. The alkanoic acid is used as an extracting agent, and the process of extracting cerium oxide by using a mixed alcohol as a diluent is used.

In 1974, the Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry discovered for the first time that when the rare earth was extracted by naphthenic acid, the position of the lanthanum was in front of the lanthanum and the most difficult element to be extracted from the rare earth. Therefore, it was proposed to extract and separate from the nitric acid system by naphthenic acid. The technology of cerium oxide. At the same time, the Beijing Research Institute of Nonferrous Metals carried out research on the separation of cerium oxide from hydrochloric acid system by naphthenic acid. In 1975, it was expanded in Nanchang 603 and Jiujiang 806 respectively. The raw material was Longnan mixed rare earth oxide. . In 1974, Shanghai Yuelong Chemical Plant, Fudan University and Beijing Nonferrous Metals Research Institute jointly collaborated, and studied the heavy rare earths from the mixed rare earths of monazite and brown earth mines using P204 extraction, using naphthenic acid. Extraction and separation of cerium oxide. The three fronts launched a friendly competition. Everyone exchanged information and learned from each other's strengths. Finally, the research succeeded in the extraction and separation of 99.99% cerium oxide by naphthenic acid with Chinese characteristics.

From 1974 to 1975, Nanchang 603 Factory cooperated with Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Beijing Nonferrous Metals Research Institute, Jiangxi Nonferrous Metallurgy Research Institute and other units to successfully research the third generation of cerium oxide extraction process - one-step extraction of naphthenic acid for high purity oxidation. The craft was started and put into production in 1976.

At the first National Rare Earth Extraction Conference held in Baotou in 1976, Mr. Xu Guangxian proposed the theory of cascade extraction. In 1977, the “National Rare Earth Extraction Cascade Theory and Practice Seminar” was held at the Shanghai Yuelong Chemical Plant, which gave a systematic and comprehensive introduction to the theory. Subsequently, cascade extraction theory is widely used in the research and production of rare earth extraction separation and purification.

After the 1976 Beijing Institute for Nonferrous Metals cerium misch extracted with header mineral-rich Nd N263 were isolated by LPC extraction, separation effluent was extracted three primary products, lanthanum oxide, praseodymium oxide, neodymium purity 90 %about.

From 1979 to 1983, the Baotou Rare Earth Research Institute, Beijing Nonferrous Metal Research Institute and other developed Baotou rare earth ore as raw material, the use of rare earth extraction process P507- whole system of hydrochloric acid to obtain lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, samarium, gadolinium Six kinds of single rare earth products (purity 99%～99.95%) and 铕, 铽 rich products, short process, continuous process, high product purity.

In the early 1980s, the Beijing Research Institute of Nonferrous Metals cooperated with Jiujiang Nonferrous Metals Smelter, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry and Jiangxi 603 Factory to carry out the national "Sixth Five-Year" research. The research succeeded in using P507-hydrochloric acid system from Longnan mixed rare earth. A process technology for completely separating a single rare earth element.

In 1983, Jiujiang Nonferrous Metals Smelting Plant used the process of "Nuphatanic Acid System to Produce Fluorescent Grade Cerium Oxide from Longnan Mixed Rare Earth" to produce fluorescent grade cerium oxide, which reduced the cost of cerium oxide and satisfied The demand for bismuth oxide used in color television in China.

In 1984, the Beijing Research Institute of Nonferrous Metals first studied the high-purity cerium oxide process with P507 leaching resin as the raw material.

In 1985, the Beijing Research Institute of Nonferrous Metals transferred the process of extraction and separation of fluorescent grade ruthenium oxide from naphthenic acid to the former German Democratic Republic for 1.71 million Swiss francs. This is China's first export rare earth separation process technology.

From 1984 to 1986, Peking University completed the industrial test of two-extraction separation of La/CePr/Nd and La/Ce/Pr in P507-HCl system at the No.3 Rare Earth Plant of Baotou Steel, and obtained more than 98% yttrium oxide and 99.5%. Cerium oxide, greater than 85% cerium oxide and 99% cerium oxide. In 1986, Shanghai Yuelong Chemical Plant applied the theoretical results of cascade extraction of Peking University--the optimal design theory of three-extraction extraction process. In the new P507-HCl system light rare earth separation process, three export industrial experiments were carried out, and the cascade extraction was realized. The theoretical design is directly scaled up to an industrial test scale of 100 tons, greatly shortening the cycle in which new processes are applied.

From 1986 to 1989, Baotou Rare Earth Research Institute, Jiangxi 603 Factory and Beijing Nonferrous Metal Research Institute developed a multi-export extraction process for P507-HCl system, which means that one fraction of the rare earth products can be obtained at the same time. The process flow is short and the cost is low. Low, flexible process.

From 1990 to 1995, Beijing Nonferrous Metal Research Institute and Baotou Rare Earth Research Institute cooperated to undertake the "high-purity single rare earth extraction technology research" of the national "eighth five" scientific and technological research project. Sixteen single rare earth oxide products with purity greater than 99.999% to 99.9999% were prepared by extraction, extraction chromatography, redox method and cation exchange fiber chromatography. The process has reached the international advanced level and won the National Outstanding Achievement Award for the "Eighth Five-Year Plan".

From 1990 to 1995, Beijing Nonferrous Metal Research Institute and Baotou Rare Earth Research Institute and Jiangxi Luzhou Rare Earth Institute jointly undertook the national “Eighth Five-Year” scientific and technological research project “Research on Automatic Control System of Rare Earth Extraction Process”, using X-ray energy spectrum analysis method Flow injection spectrophotometry and fiber spectrophotometry were used to analyze the rare earth concentration in the extraction tank in Shandong Zibo Jiahua Rare Earth Materials Co., Ltd., and some automatic control research was carried out. The project won the National "Eighth Five-Year Plan" key achievement award.

In 2000, the Beijing Research Institute of Nonferrous Metals developed a high-purity cerium oxide process by electrolytic reduction-alkalinity method. Since the zinc powder is avoided, the process can extract cerium oxide with a purity of 5N~6N at one time. In the year, the Gansu Rare Earth Company built a production line with an annual output of 18 tons of high-purity cerium oxide, which was put into operation that year.

In summary, China's rare earth separation and purification process technology can be said to be the world's leading, such as naphthenic acid extraction separation greater than 5N cerium oxide, P507 extraction method to prepare more than 5N cerium oxide, electrolytic reduction-extraction method or alkalinity preparation More than 5N yttrium oxide and the like. However, the level of industrial automation control in separation and purification is relatively low, and the quality stability and consistency of high-purity rare earth products in some enterprises are still poor. Therefore, it is necessary to further improve the equipment level of the enterprise.

Fourth, the development status of China's rare earth industry

After more than 40 years of hard work in China's rare earth industry, especially since 1978, the production level and product quality have produced a qualitative leap, and a complete industrial system has been formed. At present, China's rare earth concentrate smelting and separation capacity reaches more than 130,000 tons / year (REO), the annual output of rare earths is more than 70,000 tons, accounting for more than 80% of the world's total output, and its production and export volume are the highest in the world.

There are more than 170 rare earth smelting and separating enterprises in the country, but there are only 5 companies with an annual processing capacity of more than 5,000 tons (REO), and most of them have processing capacity of 1,000 to 2,000 tons.

At present, the country mainly focuses on three major rare earth resources, forming three major production bases:

(1) The Baotou mixed rare earth ore is used as the raw material to form the northern rare earth production base with Baotou Rare Earth Hi-Tech and Gansu Rare Earth Company as the backbone. There are more than 80 enterprises, with an annual output of more than 60,000 tons of rare earth compounds such as rare earth chloride and rare earth carbonate. , a single rare earth compound of 15,000 tons. At present, most of the rare earth enterprises dealing with Baotou Mine are smelted by the acid process developed by Beijing Nonferrous Metals Research Institute, and then extracted by P204 or P507. High purity germanium is generally extracted by oxidative extraction, and fluorescent grade cerium oxide is reduced by extraction. Extraction, the main products are 单一, 铈, 镨, 钕, 钐, 铕 and other single or mixed rare earth compounds.

(2) The medium-heavy-earth rare earth production base with the southern ion-type ore as raw material, with an annual processing capacity of nearly 20,000 tons of southern ion-type rare earth ore. The backbone enterprises include Guangzhou Zhujiang Smelter, Jiangyin Jiahua Rare Earth Plant, Yixing Xinwei Rare Earth Company, and Fuyang. Rhodia Founder Rare Earth Company, Guangdong Yangjiang Rare Earth Plant, etc. South ionic rare earth ore commonly used ammonium situ leaching - carbonate precipitate - burning - naphthenate dissolved -P507 extraction separation and purification of yttrium, dysprosium, terbium, europium, lanthanum, neodymium, samarium single heavy rare earths such as hydrochloric acid Oxides and partial enrichments.

(3) Using the Suining fluorocarbon antimony ore in Sichuan Province as a raw material, a fluorocarbon antimony ore production base has been formed in Sichuan. There are 27 wet smelting plants, with an annual total output of 1.5 to 20,000 tons. The sulphide ore smelting process is mainly a variety of chemical treatment processes derived from the oxidative roasting-sulfuric acid leaching process. The products are single or mixed rare earth compounds mainly composed of lanthanum, cerium and lanthanum. Most companies are small in scale, low in equipment and technology, and there are many primary products in rare earth smelting products. The high purity and single rare earth compound products are estimated to be no more than 5%.

V. Development trend of China's rare earth industry

(1) Development from large-scale rare earth primary products to rare earth refined products

In the past 20 years, China's rare earth smelting and separation industry has developed rapidly. Its number, output, export volume and consumption are the highest in the world, and it plays a pivotal role in the world. Many rare earth separation and purification processes are also world class. However, it still lags behind the world's advanced level in the quality and consistency of rare earth fine chemical products. In recent years, the production capacity of major rare earth plants is far greater than the demand of domestic and international markets. The bulk rare earth compound products are in a situation of oversupply, while the rare earth fine chemical products have high technology density, large return on investment, strong technical monopoly, and sales profit. High characteristics, so the comprehensive economic benefits are considerable. Therefore, domestic rare earth enterprises must make breakthroughs in this field in the next few years, and it is possible to maintain higher profit margins and development speed.

(II). Rare earth products are developing towards high purification, compounding and ultra-fine

The role of rare earths in high-tech fields can only be fully realized after high purification. For example, luminescent materials, laser materials, optoelectronic materials, etc. require rare earth purity of 5N or more; non-rare earth impurity content requirements are getting lower and lower, such as Fe, Cu, Ni, Pb and other heavy metal content requirements of less than 1 × 10 - 6 . Therefore, high purification will still be a development direction for future rare earth products.

The development of rare earth new materials mainly relies on rare earths and other compounds to form composite rare earth materials through a series of processes, and the compounding is the development trend of rare earth compound products.

The particle size of the rare earth compound will affect the quality of the applied material, because as the particle size decreases, the specific surface area also increases, the surface activity continues to improve, and the function of the rare earth will be more fully utilized. Ultra-fine refinement accelerates the physicochemical reactions and increases the bonding force between the particles. The ultra-fine refinement of rare earth compounds is not only a complex, high-tech deep research, but also an important means to improve the economic value of rare earth compounds.

In addition, special requirements have been placed on the specific surface area, crystal, morphology, and specific gravity of the rare earth compound.

(3) Preparation techniques and technologies with independent intellectual property rights will emerge

For many years, due to the particularity of the industry, rare earth enterprises have higher profit margins and lower thresholds. Domestic rare earth compound companies generally have insufficient originality. They have not adequately protected intellectual property rights in rare earth preparation technology. Infringement and infringement are very serious. As a result, various production companies lack core competitiveness. As China enters the WTO, this situation will change in the next few years. All rare earth enterprises and research units will increase investment in research in the field of rare earth compound preparation. The preparation process and technology of rare earth compounds for intellectual property rights will emerge.

(4) Cooperation between enterprises and research institutes and universities will be further strengthened

Domestic rare earth production enterprises generally have problems of insufficient originality. Although research institutes have certain scientific research originality, there are still problems in engineering technology. Therefore, the combination of the two and the common development of the industry is the development trend in the next few years.

(5) The speed of foreign capital entering China will accelerate, which will lead to new competition in the industry.

Since the 1990s, foreign companies represented by Rhodia of France and AMR of Canada have entered China's rare earth compound enterprises, and their operations have been quite successful. Advanced management experience, smooth sales channels, and emphasis on scientific research originality. Both local resources and manpower advantages have brought great returns to the joint venture, and this trend will accelerate as a result of a series of successful examples. Therefore, it will lead to new competition in the industry.

(6) Enterprises with small single scale and lack of characteristics will be eliminated.

Since the 1990s, the rare earth industry has experienced fluctuations many times. The price of rare earths in China has fallen and fell again. There has been a trend of moving from excess profits to average profits, and even in order to seize the market and sell at a lower price than the profit line. Under the conditions of market economy, small enterprises with no characteristics will be eliminated, leaving behind large-scale enterprises with high added value of products. This economic law is no exception in this industry.

(7) The structure of rare earth products will change

Generally speaking, the use of rare earths in the traditional field is slower, and the field that can increase the demand for rare earths is a new material field. Therefore, the structure of rare earth compounds should be suitable for the needs of new materials. At present, neodymium iron boron Magnets growth rate of 30% to 40%, the amount of neodymium will grow rapidly, each rare earth compounds enterprises should neodymium compound fuss around, it is necessary to ensure the supply of neodymium, but also to ensure other rare earth compounds Balance the application.

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