Chart from REE - Rare Earth Elements and their Uses. China Wrestles with the Toxic Aftermath of Rare Earth Mining. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, February 2019, pp 132-133. Rare Earth Elements-Critical Resources for High Technology. Directorate-General for Internal Policies document IP/A/ITRE/2014-09 PE 518.777 European Parliament, 2014 (2015)518777_EN.pdf (accessed )Ģ. Recovery of Rare Earths from Electronic Wastes: An Opportunity for High-Tech SMEs. to pursue alternative sources with Canada.ġ. In 2019, China brought up REEs as a point of negotiation during trade talks with the U.S., prompting the U.S. For example, in 2011, China restricted REEs exportation (cutting off Japan entirely), causing a massive price spike. REEs are “critical resources” due to their important applications in industry and defense and because of the geopolitical risk of the supply chain being concentrated in primarily one country. As demand for electric cars, wind turbines, solar panels and other high-tech devices grows, the supply pressure on REEs will also grow. Since REEs make up only a small percentage of the material in electronic waste, the economic viability of recycling them is challenging with current technology.Īs important components of powerful batteries, magnets, photovoltaics, etc., REEs are enabling the clean energy economy. Most electronic waste is shredded during the recycling process leading to the loss of REEs in dust and ferrous fractions. REEs are lost during electronic waste recyclingĬurrent recycling costs are high and infrastructure to recover REEs from electronic motors is underdeveloped, although several companies and researchers are actively developing recycling technologies.Recovery is expensive and underdeveloped. Finally, it is used as a catalyst in polymerization reactions. Other uses of neodymium include making a specialized glass used in protective goggles for welding and glass blowing, and in applications such as surgical lasers and laser pointers. Neodymium magnets are also used in wind turbines, aeronautics and space. For example, each Toyota Prius is reported to contain as much as 1 kg of neodymium in its motor. Today the largest demand for high-performance neodymium-iron-boron magnets is in the motors of electric and hybrid vehicles. This enabled the miniaturization of electronics such as loudspeakers, computer hard drives, mobile phones, and electronic automobile components. In 1983, researchers discovered that neodymium combined with iron and boron made a very strong permanent magnet.
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