**4. Conclusion**

In this chapter the cemented carbide (WC10wt.%Co) powder doped with different rare-earth elements (La2O3 and CeO2) sintered under HPHT conditions was investigated. The method used can be an alternative for WC10wt.%Co dense pellets processing. High final densities near theoretical density have been obtained. It was also found that the incorporation of rare-earth elements positively influenced the physical and mechanical properties of the cemented carbide. These properties include increased densification, increase in coercive field, axial compressive strength, axial elasticity, microhardness and wear resistance. This behavior is due to the addition of rare-earth elements leads to decreased porosity of the cemented carbide. Moreover, it was observed that the lanthanum oxide (La2O3) was more effective in improving the properties of the cemented carbide investigated.
