Canadian Neo and Cyclic Materials Partner on Rare Earth Recycling to Boost EU Processing Capacity

[SMM Rare Earth News Flash] Neo Performance Materials announced that the solvent extraction line at its Silmet plant in Estonia had been successfully commissioned, producing its first batches of terbium oxide and dysprosium oxide. The production line operated at nameplate capacity, achieving heavy rare earth separation using mixed rare earth carbonate raw materials. This move further strengthened the supply chain for Neo's first large-scale sintered magnet factory in Europe, located in Narva, with an annual capacity of 2,000 mt. Neo's CEO stated that the company now possessed both light and heavy rare earth processing capabilities, enabling it to supply secure, traceable, high-quality heavy rare earth materials to European permanent magnet factories.

[SMM Rare Earth News Flash] According to data released by CAAM, China's automobile production in March 2026 reached 2.917 million units, of which NEV production was 1.231 million units and internal combustion engine vehicles 1.686 million units. According to the SMM end-use demand model, NdFeB consumption from NEVs in March 2026 was 5,260.8 mt, and NdFeB consumption from internal combustion engine vehicles was 534.2 mt. Both NdFeB consumption from NEVs and internal combustion engine vehicles increased YoY and MoM.

[SMM Rare Earth News Flash] Zhong Ke San Huan, a leading enterprise in rare earth permanent magnets, successfully developed ultra-high performance sintered NdFeB permanent magnets. According to authoritative detection by the National Institute of Metrology of China, the magnet achieved a remanence (Br) of 15.32 kGs at room temperature, an intrinsic coercivity (HcJ) of 17.89 kOe, and a BH max of 56.8 MGOe, making it the rare earth permanent magnet with the highest coercivity among all publicly reported ultra-high remanence magnet systems worldwide. The R&D team achieved a major breakthrough in the comprehensive performance of the magnet without excessive reliance on heavy rare earth elements such as dysprosium and terbium.