Highlights

• China's Jinmeng Rare Earth is commissioning a 4,000-ton automated NdFeB magnet recycling facility in Inner Mongolia.
• The facility is capable of processing 16,000 tons of scrap annually with full-element recovery technology.
• This is part of Northern Rare Earth Group's strategy to build a 10,000-ton rare earth recycling system.
• The initiative strengthens China's circular supply chain for critical magnet materials used in EVs, wind turbines, and defense.
• This development highlights China's industrial-scale approach to magnet recycling while Western efforts remain at pilot-level.
• China is tightening control over downstream supply chains as global demand accelerates.

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As reported by a Chinese state-owned corporation, a major new rare earth recycling facility is about to come online in Inner Mongolia, underscoring China’s accelerating push to lock down secondary rare earth supply from end-of-life magnets.

A Global First?

A newly built 4,000-ton-per-year automated neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnet scrap recycling line at Jinmeng Rare Earth (opens in a new tab) is entering final commissioning and is expected to begin trial production imminently. The project (opens in a new tab) is a key component of state-backed Northern Rare Earth Group’s strategy to build a north–south, 10,000-ton-scale rare earth resource recycling system.

According to Jinmeng’s chief engineer Wang Xinzheng, the new line is industry-leading in equipment, process design, and automation, with a notable breakthrough: full-element recovery. Unlike conventional recycling that captures only selected rare earths, the system is designed to recover all valuable metal elements from NdFeB waste, maximizing material value and overcoming long-standing recovery bottlenecks.

Once fully operational, the facility will be capable of processing 16,000 tons of NdFeB scrap annually, producing approximately 4,000 tons of rare earth oxides. This effectively fills a gap in Inner Mongolia’s rare earth scrap-processing industry and strengthens China’s domestic circular supply chain for magnet materials critical to EVs, wind turbines, robotics, and defense systems.

Separately, Jinmeng has already completed an automated upgrade of a 3,000-ton-per-year rare earth concentrate separation line, which entered operation in June 2025 and reached full design capacity in just two months. After six months of stable operation, the upgraded line is delivering 20% higher overall efficiency, driven by process optimization, full automation, rare-earth permanent-magnet motors, compact piping layouts, and intelligent energy-monitoring systems—an example of China’s push toward “green, intelligent manufacturing.”

Why This Matters for the U.S. and West

This development highlights a structural challenge for Western rare earth strategies: China is industrializing magnet recycling at scale, turning waste into a strategic feedstock while most Western efforts remain pilot-level at best. Importantly, to date, only about 1 to2 % of rare earth magnets are derived from the recycling process, but China appears ready to accelerate the embrace.  

Why is recycling important for the Chinese? Control over recycled NdPr and heavy rare earth streams reduces China’s dependence on new mining—and tightens its grip on downstream magnet supply chains precisely as demand accelerates.

Disclaimer: This news item is based on reporting from Chinese state-owned media. Information reflects official statements and should be independently verified before forming business, policy, or investment conclusions.

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