Erbium

Erbium is a silvery-white lanthanide metal that is soft, malleable, and usually forms compounds in which its ions carry a three-plus charge. It occurs mixed with other rare-earth elements in minerals such as xenotime, euxenite, and monazite; it is never found as a pure metal in nature. To obtain it, processors separate the rare-earth elements from mineral concentrates, often using ion-exchange methods, then reduce an erbium compound to the metal. Erbium ions have a distinctive pink color and useful light-emitting properties. Erbium added to glass fibers helps amplify signals traveling through optical-fiber communication networks, while erbium-based lasers are also used in some dental and skin procedures.