Scandium is a soft, light metal that might have applications in the aerospace industry. With a cost of $270 per gram ($122,500 per pound), scandium is too expensive for widespread use. From the Latin word Scandia, Scandinavia.
Is scandium a precious metal?
Commodities
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Natural Gas
Why is scandium so important?
Scandium is mainly used for research purposes. It has, however, great potential because it has almost as low a density as aluminium and a much higher melting point. An aluminium-scandium alloy has been used in Russian MIG fighter planes, high-end bicycle frames and baseball bats.
Is scandium rare?
In principle, as scandium is classified as a rare earth element by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemists (many geologists do not consider it to be a rare earth element [REE]), the exploration rush after 2008 and the discovery of many new REE deposits should have resulted in new resources of scandium.1 Jun 2018
What is the current price of scandium?
PRICE CHANGE
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4018.28$US / Kg 97.16(2.48%)
Why is scandium expensive?
Owing to its scarcity and limited production, scandium is one of the most expensive of all the natural elements. During the rare earth shortage of 2010, the price for scandium metal soared from a few thousand US dollars to over US$ 15,000 per kilogram.
Why is scandium critical?
Scandium is a critical raw material that is essential for the EU economy because of its potential application in enabling technologies such as fuel cells and lightweight materials. As there is currently no secure supply of Sc, several projects worldwide evaluate potential Sc sources.5 Mar 2021
Where is scandium mined today?
According to Minerals Education Coalition, scandium is mainly mined in China, Kazakhstan, Madagascar, Norway and Russia with a good deal coming from Cold War-era stockpiles in the former Soviet Union (according to New World Encyclopedia).20 Sept 2016
Is scandium a rare metal?
Scandium and yttrium are considered rare-earth elements because they tend to occur in the same ore deposits as the lanthanides and exhibit similar chemical properties, but have different electronic and magnetic properties.
What is scandium worth?
Scandium is a soft, light metal that might have applications in the aerospace industry. With a cost of $270 per gram ($122,500 per pound), scandium is too expensive for widespread use.
Where can I find scandium?
However, scandium is distributed sparsely and occurs in trace amounts in many minerals. Rare minerals from Scandinavia and Madagascar such as thortveitite, euxenite, and gadolinite are the only known concentrated sources of this element. Thortveitite can contain up to 45% of scandium in the form of scandium oxide.
How is scandium obtained?
Scandium can be obtained from the minerals thortveitite ((Sc, Y)2Si2O7), bazzite (Be3(Sc, Al)2Si6O18) and wiikite, but is usually obtained as a byproduct of refining uranium. Metallic scandium was first produced in 1937 and the first pound (0.45 kilograms) of pure scandium was produced in 1960.