Thorium: Relationships

Every element and industry that Thorium is linked to, and how. Each pair has its own card explaining the relationships between the two.

• Rare earths: Monazite, the mineral of India's beach sands, holds both rare earths and thorium, so every tonne of rare earths won from it brings radioactive thorium that must be separated and stored; thorium supply is set by rare-earth demand, and thorium handling in turn limits how fast monazite can be processed. (researched)
• Nuclear fission reactors: Thorium cannot run a reactor on its own: it must first be bred into fissile uranium-233 inside a reactor started on uranium or plutonium. That is why it matters most to India, which has large thorium resources and has built its three-stage nuclear programme around reaching it. (researched)