# Thorium: Relationships

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/thorium/links/

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](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/rare-earths-and-thorium/): 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](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/nuclear-fission-reactors-and-thorium/): 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)*

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/thorium/index.md)
- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/thorium/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/thorium/correlation/index.md)
- [Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/thorium/extraction/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/thorium/production/index.md)
- [Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/thorium/stocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/thorium/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/thorium/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/thorium/movement/index.md)
- [Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/thorium/criticality/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/thorium/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/thorium/emissions/index.md)