Yttrium

Yttrium (sym. Y, atom. wt. 89), one of the rare metals, is contained in a few minerals in which there are usually also present compounds of one or more other rare metals such as cerium, didymium, erbium, and lanthanum. The minerals are Gadolinite, Yttrialite, Fergusonite, Cappelinite, Xenotine, Yttrotantalite, and one or two others. Gadolinite, which is largely silicate of yttria, contains from 36 to 46 per cent. of the oxide of yttrium, and occurs sparingly in Sweden, Norway, &c., but has of late been found in larger quantities in Texas. The metal yttrium has been obtained as a blackish-gray powder, but it has no very distinctive properties. The oxide yttria, $Y\_2O\_3$, is a yellowish-white powder. The hydrated oxide is thrown down by alkalies from solutions of the salts as a white gelatinous precipitate resembling alumina.