Rare Earth Elements Just Got Rarer

The rare earth metals or lanthanides are a group of seventeen elements that are considered to be rare because, although relatively abundant on the earth’s crust, there are few sites with significant deposits. Rare earth elements all share some unique characteristics including high electrical conductivity and powerful magnetic properties. Neodymium rare earth magnets are made from neodymium, atomic symbol Nd, a rare earth metal that combines lightweight with particularly high magnetic energy.

Neodymium alloyed with iron and boron is used to produce light magnets that can lift a thousand times their own weight. Neodymium magnets have substantially more magnetic strength than magnets made from alnico or ferrite, and their energy is permanent, not prone to degradation with time. Because of their high efficiency, energy, and stability neodymium magnets are chosen by designers for use in applications where reduced size and increased strength are important; they are commonly used in electronic apparatus, medical equipment and heavy engineering machinery.

Because of their relative cheapness and high power, neodymium rare earth magnets are used to power light consumer products such as computer hard disk drives, headphones and videos. They are a vital component of nuclear magnetic resonance imaging equipment used in medical diagnostics. Efficient permanent magnet motors are often used in preference to internal combustion engines by engineers designing electric and hybrid vehicles. In the energy industries, permanent magnet motors are used in large-scale power generation plants that produce energy without relying on fossil fuels or nuclear technology.  There is high demand for neodymium in the world market, as a result of continuing growth in the production of consumer products, a constant requirement for miniaturized components, and escalating use of permanent magnets for new applications including advanced communications and military systems.

Neodymium and the other rare earth elements are usually found together and about one third of the world’s reserves are in China. There are also some significant deposits in the US and the former Soviet republics, and small deposits have been found in Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Malaysia and other countries. When the price of rare earths is low, recovery of minerals from many of these sites is not a viable economic proposition and today global production of rare earth elements is centered almost exclusively on China. Mines and factories in Southern China, Tibet and the Inner Mongolia region are responsible for about 97% of the rare earth products, including 95% of the neodymium, supplied to world markets.


In mid-2010, China began to limit exports of neodymium. This was followed by a significant increase in export tariffs, as well as further cuts in export quotas. These measures led to panic buying on a worldwide scale as manufacturers in the US, Europe and Japan sought secure ongoing supplies. The price of the commodity has increased sharply, and there is now a global race to locate useful, exploitable deposits of materials to produce the neodymium rare earth magnets that have become essential to many industries.