Equipment
Drivetrain and motor type change the answer far more than size does. If you don't know which you have, the estimate isn't reliable.
Contained rare earth mass
Breakdown by element
| Element | Contained mass | Value at set price |
|---|
Prices
The same element has three defensible prices at once, and they differ by several times over. Pick the one your buyer actually uses, then edit any field.
What these benchmarks mean
Domestic China (SMM) is the Shanghai Metals Market assessment — what Chinese magnet makers pay, VAT excluded. China controls roughly 61% of mined supply and 91% of refining, so this is the reference the whole market prices off. It is the lowest of the three and the right default for a conservative recovery estimate.
FOB China export means "free on board" — a shipping term for material sitting at a Chinese port, seller having covered everything up to loading, buyer paying freight and insurance from there. It is roughly what a non-Chinese buyer pays, and it runs above domestic because of Chinese export duties and trading margins. Praseodymium in July 2026 was $165/kg FOB against $149.19/kg domestic; dysprosium in March was $317/kg FOB against $189.58/kg domestic, a 67% premium reflecting how little separated heavy rare earth material was available outside China.
Western retail is the private-investor quote for small quantities. It is several times the industrial benchmark and is not a bulk reference. Included so you can see the spread, not because you should price recovery off it.
One inconsistency worth knowing: some of these are metal prices and some are oxide. Magnets contain metal, but recyclers frequently quote oxide equivalents. Confirm which basis your buyer means before comparing numbers.
Method and sources
How the split is calculated
Rare earth content is taken as a share of total permanent magnet mass, not of equipment mass. Published figures put rare earth content at 25–30% of NdFeB magnet weight (Siemens, via Control Engineering) or approximately one third (Buchert 2011, cited in Lacal-Arántegui). This tool uses 22% Nd, 6% Pr, 0.5–6% Dy and 0–1% Tb by magnet mass, giving a total of roughly 28.5–35%. Dysprosium is the widest variable: standard grades carry little, high-coercivity grades for hot-running motors carry substantially more.
Find out what it's actually worth
This tool gives you a range from published coefficients. A recovery assessment gives you your numbers, from your equipment, plus the buyers who will take the material. Tell us what you're retiring.