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  [54]Business

The treasure trove hidden in discarded computers

  By Nell Mackenzie Business reporter
    * 9 June 2020

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  Hard discs in recycling process Image copyright Hypromag Image caption
  Valuable rare metals can be harvested from discarded disk drives

  What do you do with an old hard disk drive, the kind that still spins
  up inside most PCs, once it reaches the end of its life?

  If Allan Walton has his way, parts of it could soon be propelling your
  next car along the road, assuming you go electric.

  The University of Birmingham professor is a director in the firm
  Hypromag, which extracts and recycles neodymium magnets from used hard
  disks.

  Neodymium is a rare earth metal - chemical elements considered
  essential ingredients in many of today’s must-have technologies, from
  smartphones to TV screens. Neodymium is used, among other things, to
  make magnets that turn the motors that drive electric vehicles.

  Prof Walton believes that in the next 10 years, his company could be
  recycling enough neodymium to meet a quarter of the UK’s demand -
  almost all of which is currently imported from China.

  Once electric vehicles are assembled and running, they are broadly seen
  as being more environmentally friendly than cars with an internal
  combustion engine. But making magnets from rare earths is far from
  green.
  Image copyright Hypromag Image caption The disk drive part is bathed in
  hydrogen, revealing the valuable neodymium

  Though processes needed to refine rare earths use many of the same
  chemicals found in oven cleaners and cosmetics, their waste can be
  destructive if not properly controlled.

  At one mining site, Bayan Obo in Inner Mongolia, they have contributed
  to a [74]vast toxic lake.

  Next to the mine itself is a tailing dam, a reservoir created by what
  is left over from separating rare earths.

  Steel and aluminium already have large established recycling programmes
  which help to reduce chemical processing.

  However, rare earth minerals used in phones, hard drives and old wind
  turbines are generally lost.

  Four years ago at the University of Birmingham, Prof Walton and his
  mentor, Prof Rex Harris, [75]discovered that running hydrogen gas
  through old hard-disk drives turns the magnets into powder which can be
  harvested, re-packed and coated, to become new magnets.

  Not only will the project offer a greener solution to the rare earths
  market, the global demand for these minerals means there is a business
  case to be built.
  Image copyright Less Common Metals Image caption The reclaimed
  neodymium can be melted down to make new magnets

  “We are missing a trick. There is no trouble finding rare earths, it’s
  the processing them into a useful material, like a magnet,” says Prof
  Walton.

  This year, Hypromag expects to announce a deal with the UK car company
  Bentley.

  It has received a £2.6m grant from Innovate UK and a half a million
  pounds of investment and further partnership from an African junior
  mine, Mkango.

  However, the Hypromag solution will only meet a fraction of the growing
  demand for rare earths, which analysts estimate will double by 2025.

  Prof Walton believes that if Britain acts now and creates a scaled-up
  rare earths recycling industry, it could become a world leader.

  The opportunity is huge, with many emerging technologies such as 5G
  demanding rare earths, on top of the growing need for established
  technologies such as phone handsets, microprocessors and wind turbines.
  Image copyright Getty Images Image caption More electric cars will mean
  more demand for rare earth metals

  However, the main reason rare earths have been compared to oil, is
  government policies that will fuel the demand for electric vehicles.

  After 2025, the Netherlands will not sell petrol or diesel cars. The UK
  and France have pledged to meet this goal by 2040. This year, China
  aims for 12% of cars sold in the country to produce zero emissions.

  When it comes to the production of rare earths and magnets made from
  them, China is the world leader.

  The country corners the market because its companies can mine rare
  earths and process them locally into finished products. More than 70%
  of rare earth products are exported by China.

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  The country corners the market because it is the only place in the
  world with companies that can make rare earth minerals into finished
  products. More than 70% of rare earth products are exported by China.

  And, its established supply chain offers them unmatchable discounts.

  Rare earths are part of the Made in China 2025 plan to become the
  world’s leading manufacturer.

  But while China exports processed products, the country’s natural
  resources are not rich in heavier types of rare earth that are most in
  demand, like the neodymium used for car magnets.

  China gets most of its neodymium from Burma and the United States, says
  Christopher Ecclestone, a mining strategist at Hallgarten.
  Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The Mountain Pass mine in
  California is part-owned by China's Shenghe Resources

  The Mountain Pass mine in California sells 100% of its rare earths in a
  concentrated form to China - and is part-owned by Chinese firm Shenghe
  Resources, which has a 9.9% stake.

  “The US is one of China’s largest sources of rare earths and the
  Chinese are taking it for a song. It drives the Pentagon crazy,” he
  says.

  What put China in control of the market was that rare earths were a
  by-product of already established mines, says Ian Higgins, the director
  of Less Common Metals in Ellesmere Port near Liverpool.

Other rare earth metals and their uses

    * Neodymium - permanent magnets used in cars and wind turbines
    * Erbium - fibre cables for high-speed broadband and lasers
    * Dysprosium - commercial lighting and also nuclear reactors
    * Cerium - glass polish, catalytic converters and oven cleaner
    * Yttrium and Terbium - weaponry including laser targeting and cruise
      missiles

  Mr Higgins's firm is one of the only manufacturers outside of China to
  make and combine rare earth metals into alloys.

  He points out that Chinese mines are supported by government subsidies
  and opaque accounting practices.

  While environmental policy in China has improved, the largest mines
  were built before their implementation.

  “There is a lot of processing of rare earths which is horrific and
  there is also a lot of black and grey market smuggling of heavier rare
  earths.” says Mr Higgins.

  However, he adds that the country is beginning to wake up to the
  environmental impact of its rare earths industry.
  Image copyright Less Common Metals Image caption Ian Higgins is one of
  the few manufacturers of rare earth alloys outside China

  The Covid-19 pandemic has caused global assembly lines to grind to a
  halt. But it has also spurred manufacturers who use rare earths to
  question the global supply chain and their reliance on a single source
  country.

  The crisis has pushed governments and businesses to "localise
  resources,", according to Andrew Bloodworth a director at the British
  Geological Survey.

  “People like me tell our government that any production that is
  concentrated in small places will be vulnerable to disruption,” says Mr
  Bloodworth.

  America, the UK and Europe are trying to build supply chains for rare
  earths outside of China.

  On 13 May, legislation was put before US legislators, aimed at giving
  tax breaks to the industry - $50m in funding was also earmarked for
  start-up mines in the US.

  In the EU, the Horizon 2020 fund has launched an initiative to build a
  supply chain across several European and Nordic countries, including
  Britain.

  In the UK, rare earths are integral to the government’s industrial
  strategy, according to Jeff Townsend, who this year set up a lobbying
  firm to represent the industry’s interests.

  “Government needs to understand and do more than set out a grand vision
  of an industrial strategy. It needs to get its hands dirty and provide
  the supply chain,” he says.

  “Covid has knocked everyone sideways and lots of people are looking
  again at the way we do things,” says Mr Townsend.

  He adds: “If we make the decision that we want to be better, then we
  have to try to be better because that’s the only way we change
  society.”

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    * [87]Recycling

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146. https://www.bbc.com/news/in_pictures
147. https://www.bbc.com/realitycheck
148. https://www.bbc.com/news/world_radio_and_tv
149. https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat
150. https://www.bbc.com/news/special_reports
151. https://www.bbc.com/news/explainers
152. https://www.bbc.com/news/the_reporters
153. https://www.bbc.com/news/have_your_say
154. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10628994
155. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/help-50068132
156. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10628323
157. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/20039682
158. https://www.bbc.co.uk/
159. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news
160. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport
161. https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather
162. https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
163. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds
164. https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc
165. https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies
166. https://www.bbc.co.uk/food
167. https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize
168. https://www.bbc.co.uk/arts
169. https://www.bbc.co.uk/taster
170. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/localnews
171. https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree
172. https://www.bbc.co.uk/usingthebbc/terms/
173. https://www.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc
174. https://www.bbc.co.uk/usingthebbc/privacy/
175. https://www.bbc.co.uk/usingthebbc/cookies/
176. https://www.bbc.co.uk/accessibility/
177. https://www.bbc.co.uk/guidance
178. https://www.bbc.co.uk/contact
179. https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcnewsletter
180. https://www.bbc.co.uk/help/web/links/

  Hidden links:
182. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-52701851#core-navigation
183. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-52920048
184. https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-australia-52991582/my-aboriginal-uncle-died-in-custody-i-want-justice
185. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52942519
186. https://www.bbc.com/news/52959756
187. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-52822943
188. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-52996705
189. https://www.bbc.com/news/av/business-53000815/online-yoga-and-baking-with-your-co-workers
190. https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-52991190
191. https://www.bbc.com/news/in-pictures-52965312