Lutetium Traditional Cache

Welcome to the Ocala National Forest! You seek an ammo can along a mostly minivan safe road. This cache is part of the “Elemental Series”. Please drive carefully, and avoid the soft roadway shoulders so you don't get stuck.

Lutetium, Symbol: Lu, Atomic number: 71, Atomic weight: 174.9668

Pure metallic lutetium has been isolated only in recent years and is one of the more difficult to prepare. It can be prepared by the reduction of anhydrous LuCl3 or LuF3 by an alkali or alkaline earth metal. The metal is silvery white and relatively stable in air. It is a rare earth metal and perhaps the most expensive of all rare elements. It is found in small amounts with all rare earth metals, and is very difficult to separate from other rare elements.