Sure, a lot of noise on here on other threads of late, fair...

Sure, a lot of noise on here on other threads of late, fair enough, i suppose, but going forward, here's the latest REIA letter. It's more than just my small cut n paste section below.

Do read the Read more link below...

Welcome to REIA-your gateway to the global rare earth industry

The transition to a net-zero world will not be an easy ride, especially if it is ‘business as usual’ for the profit-oriented corporate world. Industry and policymaking need to be aligned for a smooth transition, not only in Europe but also globally. This is the time for OEMs to take responsibility for what they produce, to communicate the environmental impact of their products, to be able to trace every material and components that they use, to re-consider the sourcing of materials produced in conflict areas or countries ruled by military juntas, and to have a strategy for end-of-life products, recycling and the circular economy. In the complex geopolitical world of the 21st century, the honeymoon period is over for simply pursuing the cheapest material and labour costs, with no accountability.

The final programme for the REIA-REEsilience Conference on innovations in rare earths and magnet applications has been announced, taking place on 28th March 2024 in Brussels. The conference will start with an inaugural keynote from a representative of the European Commission, explaining the EU Raw Materials Act and how industry should prepare for this historic law in Europe, and its implications across the value chain. Our other speakers will delve into various topics around a sustainable and resilient European supply chain for permanent magnets, including innovative subjects suc as hydrometallurgical processing of rare earths, metallurgical recycling and molten-salt electrolysis for sustainable metal making. We will hear about the automated extraction of end-of-life magnets, XRF applications for magnet-material testing and analysis, and more.

Last week saw a key milestone in REIA’s efforts in enabling a sustainable and transparent rare-earth value chain. The Association announced the publication of Product Category Rules (PCR) for rare earths, published by EPD International and covering on rare-earth concentrates, oxides, metals, and magnets. REIA developed the document in collaboration with Minviro, who moderated a committee of rare-earth-industry stakeholders, including REIA members, to formulate the PCR. It provides instructions for how life-cycle assessments (LCAs) should be conducted for rare-earth products, from mine to oxide production, oxide to metal conversion, and metal to magnet manufacturing.
This will be a key tool for any company whose products contains rare earths, be it an electric vehicle, wind turbine or any electronics goods, and which plans to provide environmental product declarations, digital product passports or to publish an annual sustainability report for their products.
In this week’s lead article Rickard Arvidsson and co-authors present the first life-cycle analysis for an electric aircraft, compared to those using jet engines. The study shows that the climate impact of electric aircraft is already lower than that of jet-engine aircraft, after just a quarter of the expected service life.

Other stories include REE market updates, wind energy, e-mobility and geopolitical news.

The rare-earth industry has seen various innovations in recent years. Continued research in material science and manufacturing techniques is likely to lead to further innovations in permanent magnet technology, enabling new and improved applications across various industries. These innovations collectively aim to address environmental concerns, reduce supply chain vulnerabilities, and ensure a more sustainable and efficient rare earth industry for future technological advancements (Register Here)

Rare Earths Product Category Rules (PCR)

The goal of developing PCRs is to ensure consistency and comparability of LCA results for products within the same category, which allows for meaningful comparison between products based on their environmental performance. This document constitutes Product Category Rules (PCR) developed in the framework of the International EPD System: a programme for type III environmental declarations according to ISO 14025:2006, ISO 14040:2006, ISO 14044:2006, and product-specific standards such as EN 15804 and ISO 21930 for construction products. Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) are voluntary documents for a company or organisation to present transparent, consistent, and verifiable information about the environmental performance of their products (goods or services) (Read more)