Abstract
Strategic mineral resources are the indispensable material basis for the national economy. However, with the improvement of industrialization, the demand for strategic mineral resources increases dramatically. The limited resources have caused countries to attach a new level of importance to the recycling of strategic mineral resources. Meanwhile, there has been an unprecedented increase in research on the recycling of key mineral resources in recent years. In this study, bibliometric and visualization analyses of publication data in strategic mineral resources recycling from 1995 to 2022 were conducted to reveal the development and evolution of this field and the current research hot issues. The results of the study show that the number of published literature on strategic mineral resource recycling has fluctuated year by year since 2013 and significantly increased after 2021. In terms of national publications, China, Japan, the United States (U.S.), and the European Union (EU) have conducted more research on crucial resource recycling. Especially since the 2020 United Nations General Assembly, when China's goal of "carbon peaking and carbon neutrality" was put forward, China's publications concerning critical metal recycling in the three years thereafter were twice as many as those in the previous 25 years. Regarding authorship and citations, Xu Zhenming’s team from China has a greater impact in this particular field. In addition, keyword analysis reveals that “recycling potential,” “adsorption,” and “Li” are the research frontiers and hotspots of strategic mineral resource recycling. “Recovery,” “precious metal,” and “separation” frequently appear, which are the most popular research topics. This study provides a theoretical basis for scholars to know full well about the dynamics of strategic mineral resource recycling, explore its future research direction, and realize the sustainable development of Strategic mineral resources.