Economics of Critical Minerals Recycling
Facts checked against sources on . How we check facts.
Recycling a critical mineral pays when the recovered material is worth more than it costs to collect and process, and that depends on price. At 2025 USGS prices a kilogram of lithium carbonate was worth about $9 and a kilogram of nickel $15, against about $1,010 for terbium oxide, $5,380 for germanium and about $186,000 for rhodium. Prices also swing: battery-grade lithium carbonate averaged $63,700 per tonne in 2022 and $9,000 in 2025, which is why battery recyclers carry more price risk than recyclers of platinum group metals.
$9,000 vs $63,700
per tonne, the annual average real price of battery-grade lithium carbonate in 2025 against 2022
$1,010/kg
average 2025 price of terbium oxide; dysprosium oxide averaged $239 per kilogram and neodymium-praseodymium oxide $69
$80 million
Department of War loan to a rare earth recycler in Marion, Indiana in 2025
61,000 t
combined capacity of the Li-Cycle plants Glencore bought in 2025 for a bid of about $40 million, of which only the German site was running
Source: Waste Dive, 8 August 2025
What is recovered material worth?
The table converts USGS 2025 prices to a value per kilogram so that metals priced in different units can be compared, and sets each beside what USGS says about recycling it. Value per kilogram is a ceiling on what a recycler can earn from one kilogram of metal, not a profit, because collection, sorting and refining costs sit in between.
| Material | 2025 price (USGS) | Value per kilogram (calculated) | Recycling reported by USGS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lithium carbonate | $9,000 per tonne (U.S. fixed contracts) | $9 | No recycled quantity given; battery recycling plants still being built |
| Nickel | $15,000 per tonne (LME cash) | $15 | Scrap about 60% of U.S. apparent consumption, mostly stainless steel |
| Copper | 490 cents per pound (U.S. producer cathode) | $10.80 | Scrap about 30% of U.S. supply |
| Cobalt | $21 per pound (U.S. spot cathode) | $46 | Purchased scrap 25% of U.S. consumption |
| Neodymium-praseodymium oxide | $69 per kilogram | $69 | Global recycling rate under 1% (SMM) |
| Tellurium | $150 per kilogram (Europe annual average) | $150 | Not quantified |
| Dysprosium oxide | $239 per kilogram | $239 | Recyclers in Indiana and Texas supported by Department of War awards |
| Indium | $380 per kilogram (annual average) | $380 | Not quantified |
| Gallium | $580 per kilogram (average value of U.S. imports) | $580 | No old scrap recycled; new scrap from GaAs manufacturing reprocessed at one New York plant |
| Terbium oxide | $1,010 per kilogram | $1,010 | Recovery supported by Department of War awards |
| Rhenium | $2,300 per kilogram (catalytic-grade ammonium perrhenate) | $2,300 | Secondary production about 20,000 to 25,000 kg of 81,000 kg world total |
| Germanium | $5,380 per kilogram (Europe, October) | $5,380 | Capability exists; USGS had inadequate information to estimate amounts |
| Palladium | $1,100 per troy ounce | $35,400 | About 50,000 kg recovered from U.S. catalytic converters |
| Platinum | $1,200 per troy ounce | $38,600 | About 8,600 kg recovered from U.S. catalytic converters |
| Rhodium | $5,800 per troy ounce | $186,000 | Not quantified here; 140,000 kg of palladium and platinum were recovered worldwide from new and old scrap |
Source: USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 chapters on lithium, nickel, copper, cobalt, rare earths, heavy rare earths, tellurium, indium, gallium, rhenium, germanium and platinum group metals; rare earth recycling rate from SMM. Values per kilogram are calculated from the prices shown, with 32.15 troy ounces to a kilogram and 2.2046 pounds to a kilogram. The prices are 2025 estimates, and the germanium figure is a point price in October, not an annual average.
Why do price swings matter more than the average price?
A recycler buys scrap at a price linked to the metal price and sells the recovered metal weeks or months later, so a falling market squeezes the margin. Between 2022 and 2025 USGS recorded a fall in the annual average price of 86% for battery-grade lithium carbonate, 44% for neodymium-praseodymium oxide, 42% for nickel and 32% for cobalt. Over the same period Li-Cycle, which processed spent batteries, went through bankruptcy, and its Rochester hub in New York never started after construction was paused on 23 October 2023 because of rising costs.
| Material | 2022 | 2025 | Change (calculated) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Battery-grade lithium carbonate, per tonne | $63,700 | $9,000 | -86% |
| Neodymium-praseodymium oxide, per kilogram | $124 | $69 | -44% |
| Nickel, LME cash, per tonne | $25,815 | $15,000 | -42% |
| Cobalt, U.S. spot cathode, per pound | $30.78 | $21 | -32% |
Source: USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 salient statistics for lithium, rare earths, nickel and cobalt. Percentage changes are calculated; the 2025 values are USGS estimates.
What do governments add to the economics?
Governments close the gap in three ways: targets that create demand for recycled metal, loans and grants that pay for plants, and customer prepayments that they encourage. The EU requires recycled content in new batteries from 2031, as the battery recycling page sets out. In the United States the Department of War lent $80 million to a recycler in Marion, Indiana and awarded $5.1 million to another in Houston in 2025, and Apple prepaid $200 million within its $500 million collaboration with MP Materials for recycled-content magnets, according to SMM. The magnet recycling page covers those deals.
Frequently asked questions
Is recycling critical minerals profitable?
It depends on the metal and the price. At 2025 USGS prices a kilogram of recovered lithium carbonate was worth about $9 and a kilogram of terbium oxide about $1,010, so recycling heavy rare earths and platinum group metals has far more value to cover costs than recycling lithium.
Why did battery recyclers struggle after 2022?
Metal prices fell sharply: USGS recorded the annual average price of battery-grade lithium carbonate dropping from $63,700 per tonne in 2022 to $9,000 in 2025, and nickel falling 42%. Li-Cycle also reported rising costs at its Rochester hub, which was paused in October 2023.
Which recycled metals have the highest value per kilogram?
Among the materials in the table, platinum group metals are highest: about $186,000 per kilogram for rhodium, $38,600 for platinum and $35,400 for palladium at 2025 prices. Germanium is next at about $5,380 per kilogram in Europe in October 2025.
How do governments support critical mineral recycling?
They set recycled-content and recovery targets, as the EU does for batteries, and fund plants. In 2025 the U.S. Department of War lent $80 million to a rare earth recycler in Indiana and awarded $5.1 million to a recycler in Texas.
Sources
Read on October 13, 2026. Figures on this page come from these documents; where a number is an estimate, the source says so.
- USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: lithium, nickel, copper, cobalt, rare earths, heavy rare earths, tellurium, indium, gallium, rhenium, germanium and platinum group metals. Each chapter is linked under the tables
- Waste Dive: Glencore completes takeover of Li-Cycle assets (8 August 2025)
- SMM analysis of global rare earth recycling (August 2026). Trade press analysis; the Apple prepayment and the recycling rate are as reported there
