Recycling rare earth magnets

摘要

Urban Mining Company (UMC), USA, has made a new process for reclaiming magnets containing rare earth metals to produce new, higher performance neodymium iron boron (Nd2Fe14B)-type sintered magnets. The methodology offers a practical way to reuse the minerals that are readily available in domestic e-waste. Virgin material suppliers are being affected by geopolitical issues, such as rare earth metal-rich China's trade war with the USA, which relies on imports for its technology manufacturing. According to US Geological Survey, the USA imports 80% of its rare earths from China, which in 2018 had a mine production of 120,000 tonnes (t) and 44 million tonnes (Mt) of reserves.