Monazite ore

Monazite is actually three different minerals technically, but because of a lack of great differences between them they are referred to as one mineral, monazite. The three monazites have differences in the percentages of their chemical makeup and these differences are reflected in their respective names.

Cerium Lanthanum Thorium Neodymium Yttrium Phosphate (Ce, La, Th, Nd, Y)PO4
Monazite is named after the Greek word monazit, which means 'to be alone', because when it was first discovered it was thought to be quite rare.
Monazite contains the following elements:
Cerium (Ce)
Lanthanum (la)
Neodymium (Nd)
It is known as the "rare earth" elements and it is a rich source of the radioactive element thorium. Rare earth elements are used in high performance magnets, as pigment in ceramics, in robot motors, x-ray screens, fibre optics, energy efficient lanthanum lamps and colour television tubes. Thorium is radioactive and is used in incandescent gas mantles and in fuel for nuclear reactors.
Monazite is actually three different minerals technically, but because of a lack of great differences between them they are referred to as one mineral, monazite. The three monazites have differences in the percentages of their chemical makeup and these differences are reflected in their respective names.
Monazite is a primary ore of several rare earth metals most notably thorium, cerium and lanthanum. All these metals have various industrial uses and are considered quite valuable. Thorium is a highly radioactive metal and could be used as a replacement for uranium in nuclear power generation. Monazite therefore is an extremely important ore mineral.