Rare metals usually refer to these metals whose contents in nature are little and distribution is scattered.

It is hard to extract rare metals from raw materials. Preparation and application of rare metals in industry began somewhat later. Rare metals are widely used in the modern industry, such as rare metals can be used  to make special steel, super hard alloy and high temperature resistance alloy and widely applied in the electrical industry, chemical industry, ceramic industry, atomic energy industry, rocket technology and others.

The content of some rare metals in the crust is more than that of copper, mercury, cadmium and other metals. As for the name of “rare metals”, it has certain relativity. With extensive research on rare metals, discovery of new rare metals production sources and new rare metal refining methods   and expansion of rare metal application scopes, the boundaries between  rare metals and other metals will gradually disappear.

In the technology, rare metals are generally divided into the following five categories according to the physical and chemical properties, storage state, production process and some other characteristics:
Light rare metals, including lithium, rubidium, cesium, beryllium. Light rare metals have smaller specific gravity and strong chemical activity.

Rare and refractory metals, including titanium, zirconium, hafnium, tantalum, niobium, vanadium, molybdenum, tungsten. Rare and refractory metals are featured by high melting point.

Rare scattered metals, including gallium, indium, thallium, selenium, tellurium, rhenium, germanium. Most of rare scattered metals exist in other minerals.

Rare earth metals, including scandium, yttrium and lanthanides. They have similar chemical properties and associate with each other in minerals.

Rare radioactive metals, including the natural existence of francium, radium, polonium and actinium metals of actinium, thorium, protactinium, uranium, technetium, promethium and artificial actinide elements and others.

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