Scandium

Scandium is a soft, silvery-white transition metal that develops a yellowish or pinkish tint as it reacts with air. It is scattered through many minerals in Earth's crust, usually in tiny amounts rather than rich deposits. The rare mineral thortveitite contains much higher concentrations. Commercial scandium is recovered mainly as a by-product of processing ores for other elements, then separated as scandium oxide. Further chemical processing turns this compound into metal. Small additions of scandium strengthen aluminum alloys without adding much weight; these alloys have been used in aircraft components and bicycle frames. A different form, the compound scandium iodide, helps certain metal-halide lamps produce white light that shows colors naturally, much like sunlight.