The Price of Praseodymium-Neodymium Alloy is Rising

In recent years, the price of praseodymium-neodymium alloy has increased significantly.

As the raw material of magnets for GPS trackers, the price of praseodymium-neodymium alloy has continued to rise in recent years in China. The cost of related industries has also increased accordingly.

1. The overall situation of praseodymium-neodymium alloy

Prices of rare earths needed for electric vehicles (EVs) are set to keep sizzling this year on the back of buoyant sales of EVs, uncertainty about supply from Myanmar and razor-thin stockpiles.

The Chinese price of praseodymium-neodymium alloy used to make super-strong magnets used in EV motors doubled last year and has already shot up more than 10% so far in 2022 to 1.17 million yuan ($184,072) per ton.

2. Reasons for the decrease in praseodymium-neodymium alloy production

China is the world’s dominant producer of rare earths, a group of 17 minerals used in EVs, wind turbines, and military equipment, but relies on Myanmar for around half of its heavy rare earth feedstock.

Its rare earth imports from Myanmar dried up for several months last year after the closure of a key border crossing to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The border reopened in late November, but political instability in Myanmar after a military coup last year adds to uncertainty about supply, analysts said.

3. Future trends

Gary Gao at data provider Shanghai Metals Market said they expected rare earth prices to remain strong until at least 2025.