Get the Latest Investment Ideas Delivered Straight to Your Inbox. Subscribe

Global In-Use Stocks of REEs

Share on Stocktwits

Source:

"If recycled, REEs within products would equal over 10 years of production."

PhysOrg

The old axiom of sustainability, "recycle and reuse" could help ease concerns about a reliable supply of substances, indispensible for a modern technological society, that are produced almost exclusively in the Peoples' Republic of China. That's the conclusion of a study on rare earth elements (REEs) in the American Chemical Society journal, Environmental Science & Technology.

rare earth oxide global production


Xiaoyue Du and Thomas Graedel, of the Center for Industrial Ecology at Yale University, note that the +12 REEs have unique physical and chemical properties making them essential for defense applications, computers, cell phones, electric vehicles, batteries, appliances, fertilizers, liquid crystal displays and other products. But there is growing concern about the supply, as only one country, China, is the major source.

"Since 1990, China has played a dominant role in REE mining production; other countries are almost completely dependent on imports from China with respect to rare earth resources," the researchers state.

To determine how much recycling potential of the REEs from in-use products could add to the supply, they did the first analysis of the amount of these critical elements available in products in the United States, Japan and China. Those countries are the major users of REEs.

The analysis concluded that nearly 99,000 tons REEs were included in products in 2007. This invisible stock, equivalent to more than 10 years of production, "suggests that REE recycling may have the potential to offset a significant part of REE virgin extraction in the future. . .and minimize the environmental challenges present in REE mining and processing," according to the report.

Want to read more about Critical Metals investment ideas?
Get Our Streetwise Reports Newsletter Free and be the first to know!

A valid email address is required to subscribe