Rare earth intermetallic compounds produced by a reduction-diffusion process

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR PREPARING A MAGNETIC MATERIAL COMPRISED OF A PARTICULATE RATE EARTH INTERMETALLIC COMPOUND COMPRISING PROVIDING A HALIDE OF A RATE EARTH METAL EXCEPT SAMARIUM, EUROPIUM AND YTTERBIUM, ADMIXING IN AT LEAST SUBSTANTIALLY STOICHIOMETRIC AMOUNTS PARTICLES OF SAID RARE EARTH METAL HALIDE, CALCIUM HYDRIDE AND A SOLID METAL SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF COBALT, COBALT-MANGANESE ALLOYS, COBALTIRON-MANGANESE ALLOYS OR COBALT-IRON ALLOYS, HEATING THE RESULTING PARTICULATE MIXTURE IN AN ATMOSPHERE WHICH IS INERT TO IT AT A TEMPERATURE RANGING FROM ABOUT 850*C TO ABOUT 1,000*C DECOMPOSING SAID CALCIUM HYDRIDE AND EFFECTING REDUCTION OF SAID RARE EARTH METAL HALIDE TO PRODUCE THE RARE EARTH METAL, CONTINUING HEATING THE RESULTING MIXTURE IN AN ATMOSPHERE WHICH IS INERT TO IT AT A TEMPERATURE WHICH DIFFUSES THE RESULTING RARE EARTH METAL INTO SAID SOLID METAL GROUP MEMBER TO FORM THE RARE EARTH INTERMETALLIC COMPOUND, AND RECOVERING FROM THE RARE EARTH INTERMETALLIC COMPOUND-CONTAINING MIXTURE SAID RARE EARTH INTERMETALLIC COMPOUND.