Materials flow analysis of neodymium, status of rare earth metal in the Republic of Korea

Materials flow analysis of neodymium, status of rare earth elements (REEs) in the Republic of Korea has been investigated. Information from various resources like the Korean Ministry of Environment, Korea international trade association, United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database and from individual industry were collected and analyzed for materials flow analysis of neodymium. Demand of neodymium in the Republic of Korea for the year 2010 was 409.5tons out of which the majority of neodymium, i.e., 68.41% was consumed by domestic electronics industry followed by medical appliances manufacturing (13.36%). The Republic Korea is one of the biggest consumer and leading exporter of these industrial products, absolutely depends on import of neodymium, as the country is lacking natural resources. The Republic of Korea has imported 325.9tons of neodymium permanent magnet and 79.5tons of neodymium containing equipment parts mainly for electronics, medical appliances, and heavy/light vehicles manufacturing industry. Out of which 95.4tons of neodymium permanent magnet get exported as an intermediate product and 140.6tons of neodymium in the form of consumable products get exported. Worldwide the neodymium is at the high end of supply chain critical metal because of increasing demand, scarcity and irreplaceable for technological application. To bring back the neodymium to supply stream the recycling of end of life neodymium-bearing waste can be a feasible option. Out of total domestic consumption, only 21.9tons of neodymium have been collected and subsequently recycled. From material flow analysis, the requirement for an efficient recycling system and element-wise material flow management for these REEs in the Republic of Korea were realized and recommended.