Rare earth (RE) resources become increasingly critical for emerging and low-carbon technologies. With the rapid development of the global pattern of the rare earth production, consumption and trade, the basic significance of the studies of the flow of the rare earth materials is increasingly recognized at home and abroad in promoting the security of the RE resource supply and the sustainable development of the RE industry, with a great number of papers on the material flow analysis (MFA) focusing on the rare earth elements. This paper firstly reviews the related literature on the origin and the evolution of the REMFA, followed by an in-depth analysis of the limitations of the essential data, the quantitative model and the demand orientation. The following suggestions are made:(1) integrating the data on the RE resource and environment and developing a data platform for the rare earth industry; (2) developing a rare earth quantitative model including a supply-side module consisting of the domestic and foreign virgin and recycled minerals as well as a demand-side module coupling with the industrial revolution and resource; (3) enriching the researches embodying the environmental flow, the value stream and the trade flow of the rare earth elements, to support the high-quality development of the rare earth industry in China.

rare earth  /  material flow analysis  /  resource management