Rare Earth Elements: A Review of Production, Processing ...

Rare Earth Elements Review Section 5 – Rare Earth Element Recovery/Alternative Material Use
� In April 2011, DOE announced that through the ARPA-E program it would be providing up to
$30 million in funding for a new research area called Rare Earth Alternatives in Critical
Technologies (REACT). The goal will be to fund early-stage technology alternatives that reduce
or eliminate the dependence on rare earth materials by developing substitutes for REEs used in
electric vehicle motors and wind generators.
� The Responsible Electronics Recycling Act was introduced into the U.S. House of
Representatives in June 2011(H.R. 2284) and would add a section to the 1976 Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The purpose of this Act would be to prohibit U.S.
companies from exporting certain electronic wastes to developing countries. Associated with this
Act will be the establishment of a Rare Earth Materials Recycling Research Initiative that will
fund projects in three main areas: (1) removal, separation, and recycling of rare earth metals from
electronics; (2) new electronics design that promotes ease of separation and recycling; and
(3) collection, logistics and supply chain optimization to support REE recycling.
� The Critical Minerals Policy Act (S. 1113) was introduced to the U.S. Senate in May 2011 and is
intended to modernize U.S. policies related to production, processing, manufacturing, recycling
and environmental protection. The Act is focused on minerals identified as being most critical to
military security and a strong economy (Lasley, 2011).
� The proposed Critical Minerals and Materials Promotion Act of 2011 (S. 383) directs the U.S.
Department of Interior to conduct research related to ensuring the supply of critical minerals
throughout the supply chain.
� The Center for Resource Recovery and Recycling (CR 3 ), funded by the National Science
Foundation and industry partners, was established in 2010 and is located at the Colorado School
of Mines, Worchester Polytechnic Institute, and the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium
(Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 2011). As part of its mission, the Center plans to develop
technologies to identify and separate scrap materials from waste streams and build strategies and
technologies to enable greater scrap utilization within materials processes. Current research
activities include efforts focused on REE recycling.
� With a possible $2.5 M in funding from the EPA, the UN has initiated a new project that will
track discarded mobile phones and other electronic wastes generated in the United States in order
to develop solutions aimed at recovering REMs (and other materials) from the equipment through
proper recycling. In addition to the United States, the project includes international partners
(Dillow, 2011).
� The government of Japan has instituted subsidies and facilitated inter-industry cooperation, both
with the goal of encouraging REE recycling. Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
has published a list of five main focus areas designed to ensure a stable supply of REEs. These
focus areas include: (1) accelerating the development of alternatives to REEs; (2) positioning
Japan as a global hub for REE recycling; (3) working with manufacturers to install equipment
that would result in reduced REE consumption; (4) providing support to companies trying to
acquire rights to REE mines outside of China; and (5) investigating the feasibility of stockpiling
REEs (Hosaka, 2010). In support of these initiatives, the Ministry of Trade has provided a third of
a billion dollars in subsidies, which has been used as seed money for 160 projects. Future funding
will increase as the Japanese government is offering another 110 million dollars in subsidies in
the next fiscal year. The Japanese have set a goal of reducing the amount of rear earths imported
by its domestic industry by one-third (Kidela Capital Group, 2011) In addition, another source
reports that Japan has made recycling of rare earth minerals mandatory (Baudzus, 2011).
� South Korea has plans to spend $15 million by 2016 as part of a long-term policy for securing
rare earths. The policy, titled “Plans for Stable Procurement of Rare Metals,” was scheduled to be
finalized in 2010 and to include strategies related to developing mines, investing in alternative
materials, and recycling technologies (Hosaka, 2010).
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