Rhenium

Definition

Rhenium is a chemical component and it has the symbol Re. It is a silvery-white, heavy, third-row transition metal. With an average concentration of 1 part per billion (ppb), rhenium is one of the rarest elements in the Earth's crust. Rhenium resemble manganese chemically and is obtained as a by-product of molybdenum and copper refinement.

Properties

Rhenium is a silvery-white metal with one of the maximum melting points of all elements, exceeded by only tungsten and carbon. It is also one of the densest, exceeded only by platinum, iridium and osmium.

World Resources

Rhenium

Application

Rhenium is one of the rarest elements in Earth's crust with a average concentration of 1 ppb; other sources quote the number of 0.5 ppb making it the 77th most abundant element in Earth's crust. Rhenium is most likely not found free in nature, but occurs in amounts up to 0.2% in the mineral molybdenite, the major marketable source, although single molybdenite samples with up to 1.88% have been found. Chile has the world's major rhenium reserves, part of the copper ore deposits, and was the leading producer as of 2005