Rare Earth Magnet Recycling and Materialization for a Circular Economy—A Korean Perspective

Abstract

The Republic of Korea is one of the largest consumers and a leading exporter of electronics, medical appliances, and heavy and light vehicles. Rare-earth (RE)-based magnets are indispensable for these technologies, and Korea is totally dependent on imports of compounds or composites of REEs, as the country lacks natural resources. Effect on rare earth supply chain significantly affects Korea’s transition towards a green economy. This study investigates the Republic of Korea’s approach to developing a secure rare earth supply chain for REE magnets via a recycling and materialization process known as ReMaT. It investigates the progress Korea has made so far regarding ReMaT from both technical and non-technical perspectives. Rare earth elements are successfully recycled as part of this process while experiments at the industrial scale is carried out. In this paper, the research results in terms of the extraction efficiency of rare earth elements are discussed and a comparison with previous relevant studies is provided. This study also highlights the opportunities and challenges regarding the implementation of the ReMaT process in order to create a downstream rare earth value chain based on circular economy principles.