Scandium

Scandium is a silvery-white metal spread thinly through many minerals, so it is rarely concentrated enough to mine on its own. Most is recovered as a byproduct of processing other ores, such as those of uranium, titanium and rare earths. Dmitri Mendeleev predicted its existence before Lars Fredrik Nilson found it in 1879, naming it after Scandinavia.

A small amount of scandium makes aluminum alloys much stronger and easier to weld. These alloys have been used in fighter jets, bicycle frames and baseball bats. Scandium is also used in some solid oxide fuel cells and in bright metal halide lamps for stadiums and film sets.