Rare Earths 2014: Recycling will not guarantee rare earths security
By Laura Syrett
Published: Wednesday, 12 November 2014
Recycling has been suggested as one way of cutting the rare earths industry’s reliance on China, while at the same time meeting sustainability objectives, particularly in Europe. However, overstatement of market volatility and ongoing substitution makes this option look like an unrealistic alternative.
Recycling’s potential to fill
a perceived gap in rare earths supply security has been
overplayed, participants at the 10th International
Rare Earths Conference in Singapore said today.
The possibility to reclaim rare earths from end-of-life
(EoL) consumer products and industrial waste streams has been
widely touted as a cleaner, more secure...