Bastnäs

The New mine of Bastnäs
Swedish: Nya Bastnässtollen

Bastnäs (Swedish: Bastnäs or Bastnäsfältet) is an ore field near Riddarhyttan, Västmanland, Sweden. The mines in Bastnäs were earliest mentioned in 1692.[1][2] Iron, copper and rare-earth elements were extracted from the mines and 4,500 tons of cerium was produced between 1875 and 1888.[2]

The chemical element cerium was first discovered in Bastnäs in 1803 by Jöns Jakob Berzelius and Wilhelm Hisinger in the form of its oxide, ceria, and independently in Germany by Martin Heinrich Klaproth. Lanthanum was also first discovered in minerals from Bastnäs in 1839 by Carl Gustav Mosander.[2][3] The mineral bastnäsite is named after Bastnäs.[4]

Gallery

  • Transmission house at Bastnäs mines
    Transmission house at Bastnäs mines
  • Mechanism for hauling ore at Bastnäs mines
    Mechanism for hauling ore at Bastnäs mines

References

  1. ^ "Our sites and facilities: Bastnäs gruvfält". Ekomuseum Bergslagen. Archived from the original on 2010-05-28. Retrieved 2009-07-02.
  2. ^ a b c "Bastnäs mines". Mindat.org. Retrieved 2009-07-02.
  3. ^ "cerium". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-02.
  4. ^ "Bastnäsite-(Ce)". Mindat.org. Retrieved 2009-07-02.

External links

  • Images by Jakob Ehrensvärd

59°50′48″N 15°35′20″E / 59.84667°N 15.58889°E / 59.84667; 15.58889