Rare earth alloy and master-alloy production
BOTTLENECKChina's monopoly on upstream separation lets its alloy producers dictate feedstock access and global pricing to foreign magnet makers.
NdFeB and SmCo alloys are produced by mixing refined rare earth oxides with iron, boron, or cobalt into strip or ingot form. China's monopoly on upstream separation gives its alloy producers direct control over foreign magnet makers and the power to set global permanent magnet prices.
Production of NdFeB alloy strip or ingot and SmCo alloys by combining REOs with iron, boron, and cobalt; feedstock for sintered and bonded magnet manufacturing.
What the evidence shows
MP Materials' planned 2025 NdFeB magnet output of 1,000 t is less than 1% of China's 2018 production of 138,000 t.
csis.orgWho controls it
No independently verified market-size figure is published for this node yet.
Where it sits in the stack
Takes in: Nd2O3, Pr6O11, Dy2O3, Tb4O7, iron, boron, cobalt
Sends on: NdFeB strip-cast alloy or melt-spun ribbon; SmCo alloy ingot
Related nodes
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