Neodymium?

Question

how is Neodymium obtained and purified for common usage?

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Answer 1

It is extracted from its ore, monazite sand, found in South Africa, along with the 13 other lanthanide rare earths. Salts of the ra4re earths are then separated from one another by ion exchange resins. Solutions pass through long columns (tubes) packed with the resins, which separate cations according to differing affinities to the resin, like race horses on a race track.