China’s rare earth prices surge

Motors in electric vehicles are powered by magnets mostly made of neodymium – a rare earth metal, which is almost entirely mined in China. Since 2018, Beijing has raised the price by almost 80%


EV motor: Magnetic rotor spins in changing electrical field 
Rare earth metals production (thousand tonnes)
   

China 	United States 	Rest of world	

1995: China accounts for more than 60% of global rare earth production

World total: 79,000
U.S.: 22,200

2002: U.S. sole producer shuts down due to environmental concerns

2005: China’s global supply surges from 21.4% in 1985 to record high of 97.5%

2015: U.S. only mine reopens – production reaches 5,900 tonnes

2023: Price of neodymium oxide rises from $70,040 in 2018 to $125,300 per tonne. Up 78.9%

						World total: 300,000
300  						     47,000
250						     43,000
200 						     210,000
150
100                         122,000   105,000
50 			    119,000   
0	16,480	  48,000    
	1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2021 2022
         
                                   

Sources: Rochester Magnets, Springer Nature 
Pictures: Carpenter Tech., Peggy Greb 
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