Editing Group 3 element (section)

==Production==
The most available element in group 3 is yttrium, with annual production of 8,900&nbsp;[[tonne]]s in 2010. Yttrium is mostly produced as [[oxide]], by a single country, China (99%).<ref>{{cite web|url = http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/rare_earths/mcs-2011-yttri.pdf|publisher = United States Geological Survey| access-date =2011-07-07|title = Mineral Commodity Summaries 2010: Yttrium}}</ref> Lutetium and scandium are also mostly obtained as oxides, and their annual production by 2001 was about 10 and 2&nbsp;tonnes, respectively.<ref>[[#Emsley2001|Emsley 2001]], p. 241</ref>

Group 3 elements are mined only as a byproduct from the extraction of other elements.<ref name="Deschamps"/> They are not often produced as the pure metals; the production of metallic yttrium is about a few tonnes, and that of scandium is in the order of 10&nbsp;kg per year;<ref name="Deschamps">{{cite web|first=Y. |last=Deschamps |access-date=2008-10-21 |url=http://www.mineralinfo.org/Substance/Scandium/Sc.pdf |publisher=mineralinfo.com |title=Scandium |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090225154344/http://www.mineralinfo.org/Substance/Scandium/Sc.pdf |archive-date=February 25, 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url = http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/scandium/mcs-2011-scand.pdf|publisher = United States Geological Survey| access-date =2011-07-07|title = Mineral Commodity Summaries 2010: Scandium}}</ref> production of lutetium is not calculated, but it is certainly small. The elements, after purification from other rare-earth metals, are isolated as oxides; the oxides are converted to fluorides during reactions with hydrofluoric acid.<ref name="Holleman"/> The resulting fluorides are [[redox|reduced]] with [[alkaline earth metal]]s or alloys of the metals; metallic [[calcium]] is used most frequently.<ref name="Holleman">{{cite book|publisher = Walter de Gruyter|year = 1985|edition = 91–100|pages = 1056–1057|isbn = 3-11-007511-3|title = Lehrbuch der Anorganischen Chemie|first1 = Arnold F.
|last1 = Holleman|last2=Wiberg|first2=Egon|last3=Wiberg|first3=Nils|language=de}}</ref> For example:

:Sc<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> + 3&nbsp;HF → 2&nbsp;ScF<sub>3</sub> + 3&nbsp;H<sub>2</sub>O
:2&nbsp;ScF<sub>3</sub> + 3&nbsp;Ca → 3&nbsp;CaF<sub>2</sub> + 2&nbsp;Sc