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Element Profile
Neodymium
Symbol
Nd
Atomic number
60
Group
Light rare earth
Properties
Density
7.01 g/cm³
Melting point
1016 °C
Boiling point
3074 °C
Crustal abundance
41.5 ppm
Supply Risk
Supply risk
High
Geological scarcity
Low
Primary economic driver
Permanent magnets (EVs/Wind)
Overview
About Neodymium
Neodymium (Nd, atomic number 60) is a light rare earth metal and the main ingredient in neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnets, the strongest magnets known. They power electric vehicle motors, many wind turbine generators and a long list of electronics. Most neodymium is separated and made into magnets in China, which puts it at the center of Western efforts to build a rare earth supply chain.
What neodymium is
Neodymium is a soft, silvery-white metal in the lanthanide series and one of the light rare earth elements. It tarnishes quickly in air and is more reactive than most other rare earths, according to Los Alamos National Laboratory. NdFeB magnets corrode if left bare, so makers coat them, most often with layers of nickel and copper (U.S. Department of Energy). Like the other rare earths, it occurs mixed with its chemical neighbors and has to be separated by solvent extraction or ion exchange before industry can use it.
The physical properties listed on this page are from the Royal Society of Chemistry periodic table.
Discovery and name
Austrian chemist Carl Auer von Welsbach discovered neodymium in Vienna in 1885. He split a substance called didymium, long thought to be one element, into two: neodymium and praseodymium. The name comes from the Greek neos didymos, meaning "new twin" (RSC; LANL).
Why magnets depend on neodymium
Sumitomo Special Metals in Japan and General Motors in the United States developed NdFeB magnets at about the same time in the early 1980s, according to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
Magnets are the largest use of neodymium, and Los Alamos puts them at up to 70% of it. Plain NdFeB loses its resistance to demagnetization as it heats up. For magnets that must work above about 120 degrees Celsius, makers add small amounts of dysprosium or terbium, according to a 2022 Department of Energy supply chain assessment.
NdPr: why neodymium travels with praseodymium
Neodymium and praseodymium have such similar chemistry that splitting them can take about 30 mixer-settler stages, according to the DOE. For many magnets the extra purity buys little, so the two are used together as didymium, or NdPr. The mix is typically about three parts neodymium to one part praseodymium. Makers add separated neodymium or praseodymium oxide when they need a different ratio.
NdPr oxide is therefore a product in its own right. The USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 report NdPr oxide as a separate price series alongside neodymium oxide and praseodymium oxide. Producers such as MP Materials report their output as tons of NdPr. In practice, supply and demand for neodymium are read through the NdPr market.
Other uses
- Lasers. Neodymium combined with yttrium and aluminum forms a garnet crystal used in lasers for engraving, etching and medical procedures (LANL).
- Glass and goggles. Neodymium compounds go into the glass used in welding goggles. Neodymium oxide also makes decorative glass that looks purple in daylight and blue under fluorescent light (LANL).
- Speakers, microphones and phones. NdFeB magnets let audio parts stay small and light (RSC).
- Medical imaging. Some low-field and portable MRI scanners use arrays of NdFeB magnets in place of superconducting coils, as in a portable brain scanner design described in 2020.
- Catalysts, batteries and steel. Small amounts go into catalytic converters, nickel-metal hydride batteries and steelmaking (USGS).
Where neodymium comes from
Neodymium is found mainly in the minerals monazite and bastnaesite (RSC). Carbonatite deposits have been the world's main source of light rare earths since the 1960s. They include Bayan Obo in China and Mountain Pass in California, and Mount Weld in Western Australia is another major mine (USGS PP 1802-O). Processing the ore uses large amounts of acid, caustic and water, and small amounts of uranium and thorium have to be removed (DOE).
USGS estimated China's 2025 rare earth mine output at 270,000 metric tons of rare earth oxide, out of a world total of about 390,000 tons. The United States (51,000 tons), Australia (29,000) and Burma (22,000) followed. Separation and magnet making are more concentrated than mining. According to an October 2025 IEA analysis, China held about 91% of separation and refining of the magnet rare earths and 94% of sintered permanent magnet production.
Neodymium and China's export controls (as of October 2026)
Neodymium is not on either of China's 2025 element control lists. The seven rare earths placed under export licensing on April 4, 2025, in MOFCOM Announcement No. 18 were samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, lutetium, scandium and yttrium. The five added in October 2025 were europium, holmium, erbium, thulium and ytterbium (USGS).
Announcement No. 18 does reach some neodymium products. It covers NdFeB magnet materials that contain terbium or dysprosium, which are the grades made for high temperatures. Those April controls were not suspended and remained in force in October 2026, according to Tech Times.
The technology to make the magnets is also restricted. China's December 2023 revision of its catalog of technologies barred from export added the preparation of NdFeB, samarium-cobalt and cerium magnets, according to China Briefing. China's October 2025 package widened this to magnet manufacturing and recycling technology, related equipment and foreign-made products. In November 2025, before the package took effect, China suspended it until November 10, 2026, under Announcement No. 70. The 2023 catalog was not part of that suspension.
On September 28, 2026, China said its trade arrangements with the United States had been extended to January 10, 2027, RawMaterials.net reported. The statement did not mention rare earths. As of mid-October 2026, Beijing had not announced an extension of the rare earth suspension, according to FXStreet.
Supply outside China (as of October 2026)
- Lynas Rare Earths, Australia and Malaysia. Lynas mines at Mount Weld and separates NdPr at its plant in Malaysia. The company describes itself as the world's only significant producer of separated rare earths outside China.
- MP Materials, United States. MP produces NdPr oxide at Mountain Pass, California, and began making NdFeB magnets in Fort Worth, Texas, in December 2025, according to its second-quarter 2026 results. Magnets from that plant were still in customer qualification in August 2026. In July 2025 the U.S. Department of Defense (now the Department of War) agreed a 10-year price floor for MP's NdPr products (MP Materials).
- Neo Performance Materials, Estonia. Neo's Silmet plant in Sillamäe separates rare earths, including NdPr oxide, the company said in 2022 (Neo). Fastmarkets described it in September 2025 as a light rare earth separation plant with capacity of 2,000 tons a year. Neo opened a sintered NdFeB magnet plant in Narva in September 2025 (Fastmarkets).
Recycling
The Royal Society of Chemistry puts neodymium's recycling rate below 10%. USGS reported that only limited quantities of U.S. rare earths were recovered from magnets, batteries and lamps in 2025. In January 2025 the Pentagon awarded $5.1 million to a Houston recycler to recover rare earths from electronic waste (The Defense Post). In November 2025 the Pentagon offered a conditional $80 million loan to ReElement Technologies for a planned plant in Marion, Indiana. ReElement stopped pursuing the offer in July 2026 (NS Energy).
Why the price is hard to see
Rare earths do not trade on major commodity exchanges, and buyers have few ways to hedge, according to Metals-Hub. Published neodymium and NdPr prices are assessments from price reporting agencies. USGS draws its series from Argus Media. MP Materials' NdPr is covered by a 10-year government price floor agreed in July 2025, so the price one producer earns can differ from the published assessment.
What drives neodymium demand and supply
Demand follows magnet demand, led by electric vehicle motors, wind generators and electronics. The IEA says recent demand growth for key energy minerals, rare earths among them, came mainly from energy uses such as electric vehicles and renewables. Supply outside China depends on new plants reaching steady, qualified output and on how China administers its controls. Because neodymium is sold mostly as NdPr, praseodymium supply moves with it.
Frequently asked questions
What is neodymium used for?
Mostly in neodymium-iron-boron magnets, the strongest magnets known, used in electric vehicle motors, wind generators, hard drives, phones and speakers. Smaller uses include lasers, protective and decorative glass, catalysts and batteries.
What is NdPr?
NdPr, also called didymium, is a mix of neodymium and praseodymium, typically about three parts neodymium to one part praseodymium. The two are hard to separate, so magnet makers often use them together, and the industry trades NdPr oxide as its own product.
Where does neodymium come from?
It comes mainly from bastnaesite and monazite in light rare earth deposits such as Bayan Obo in China, Mountain Pass in California and Mount Weld in Australia. According to an October 2025 IEA analysis, China handled about 91% of separation and refining of the magnet rare earths and 94% of sintered magnet production.
Does China restrict neodymium exports?
As of October 2026, neodymium is not one of the elements China placed under export licensing in 2025. Since April 2025, NdFeB magnet materials that contain dysprosium or terbium have needed an export license. A December 2023 rule bars the export of NdFeB magnet-making technology.
Who discovered neodymium?
Austrian chemist Carl Auer von Welsbach discovered it in 1885 when he split didymium into neodymium and praseodymium. Its name means "new twin."
Primary Uses
- NdFeB permanent magnets (EV traction motors, wind turbine generators)
- Hard disk drives, phones, speakers and microphones
- Nd:YAG and neodymium-glass lasers
- Protective and decorative glass (welding goggles)
- Catalysts, NiMH batteries and steel alloys
Producing Projects
Companies
REEx Intelligence
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