Russia is a potent producer of polishing powders made of rareearth material. The country possesses an extensive and well developed rawmaterial base. Considering the natural reserves, the mining development stateand the polishing agent (cerium dioxide) available, the chief mineral sourcesare loparite, apatite and monazite.The initial material for the rare earth polishing powders based on loparite isthe fusion cake of rare earth chlorides obtained at that mineral chlorination inthe salt melt. The technology of the polishing powder production from theREE fusion cake includes the following stages:? dissolution of the REE chloride fusion cake;? cleaning of REE chlorides from radioactive and non-rare-earth impurities;? precipitation of REE carbonates from the solution, obtaining middlings withplanned material and granulometric composition;? thermal treatment of precipitated carbonates, including the operations ofdrying and roasting;? classification of the roasted oxides, obtaining end products - polishingpowders.Presently, the matter of special significance is the development of moreefficient as well as radiation-safe kind of polishing powders with novelproperties (sedimentary and aggregative stability, attrition resistance, etc.).
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