SEOUL – A new iNEMI initiative will define ways to increase the effective supply of rare earth metals through coordinated research into alternative materials, recycling, restoring technical know-how and development of end-to-end supply chains.

Rare earth metals (REMs) are used in electronics and alloys for products for the automotive, military and consumer industries, among others.

REMs are comprised of 15 lanthanide metals plus yttrium and scandium. China is the source of 97% of the world’s supply, although India, Vietnam, Canada, Brazil, Australia and the US have supply as well. There are concerns that China’s mass consumption will limit their availability to other geographies.

A petition to gain international consensus regarding the critical issues of ensuring adequate supply and open access to REMs was sent to leaders of the G20 meeting in Seoul, says iNEMI. The letter is supported by industry trade associations from Canada, Germany, Korea and the US. Meanwhile, in the US, a number of pieces of legislation are working their way through Congress in an effort to increase the sources of US supply.

If interested in the initiative, contact Jim Arnold at jim.arnold@inemi.org.