1

Presented to:By:Date:

The New Landscape for Rare Earth Permanent Magnets

U.S.-Sourced Feedstock Secure Supply Chains Long-Term Price Visibility Less Reliance on “Heavy” Rare

Earths

22

Safe Harbor Statements

This presentation contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements represent Molycorp's beliefs, projections and predictions about future events or Molycorp's future performance. Forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “would,” “could,” “should,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “continue” or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions or phrases. These forward-looking statements are necessarily subjective and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause Molycorp's actual results, performance or achievements or industry results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievement described in or implied by such statements.

Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from expected results described in forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: the potential need to secure additional capital to implement Molycorp's business plans, and Molycorp's ability to successfully secure any such capital; Molycorp's ability to complete its planned capital projects, such as its modernization and expansion efforts, including the achievement of an initial run rate of 19,050 metric tons at its Mountain Pass, California rare earth mine and processing facility (the “Molycorp Mountain Pass facility”), and reach full planned production rates for REO and other planned downstream products, in each case within the projected time frame; the success of Molycorp's cost mitigation efforts in connection with its modernization and expansion efforts at the Molycorp Mountain Pass facility, which, if unsuccessful, might cause its costs to exceed budget; the final costs of Molycorp's planned capital projects, which may differ from estimated costs; Molycorp's ability to achieve fully the strategic and financial objectives related to the acquisition of Neo Material Technologies, Inc. (now Molycorp Canada), including the acquisition's impact on Molycorp's financial condition and results of operations; foreign exchange rate fluctuations; the development and commercialization of new products; risks and uncertainties associated with intangible assets, including any future goodwill impairment charges; unexpected actions of domestic and foreign governments; various events that could disrupt operations, including natural events and other risks; uncertainties associated with Molycorp's reserve estimates and non-reserve deposit information, including estimated mine life and annual production;

uncertainties related to feasibility studies that provide estimates of expected or anticipated costs, expenditures and economic returns, REO prices, production costs and other expenses for operations, which are subject to fluctuation; uncertainties regarding global supply and demand for rare earths materials; uncertainties regarding the results of Molycorp's exploratory drilling programs; Molycorp's ability to enter into additional definitive agreements with its customers and its ability to maintain customer relationships; Molycorp's sintered neodymium-iron-boron rare earth magnet joint venture's ability to successfully manufacture magnets within its expected timeframe; Molycorp's ability to maintain appropriate relations with unions and employees; Molycorp's ability to successfully implement its vertical integration strategy; environmental laws, regulations and permits affecting Molycorp's business, directly and indirectly, including, among others, those relating to mine reclamation and restoration, climate change, emissions to the air and water and human exposure to hazardous substances used, released or disposed of by Molycorp; uncertainties associated with unanticipated geological conditions related to mining; and the outcome of stockholder class action litigation, derivative litigation and a pending SEC investigation, including any actions taken by government agencies in connection therewith.

For more information regarding these and other risks and uncertainties that Molycorp may face, see the section entitled “Risk Factors” of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012. Any forward-looking statement contained in this presentation reflects Molycorp's current views with respect to future events and is subject to these and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to Molycorp's operations, operating results, growth strategy and liquidity. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements because such statements speak only as to the date when made. Molycorp assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future, except as otherwise required by applicable law.

33

Main Points

In the past two years, rare earth price volatility, lack of supply security, and concerns over “heavy” rare earth availability have discouraged manufacturers from using RE permanent magnets and encouraged them to find alternatives, which can increase energy usage and degrade performance.

1234 Additionally, engineering advances and new economic realities are

bringing manufacturers back to rare earth magnets. NdFeB magnets that contain little-to-no Dysprosium (Dy) can meet or exceed the performance of traditional sintered magnets with high Dy content (8-10%) for applications that operate in higher temperature environments.

However, production of magnetic rare earths outside of China is now growing rapidly, which is driving greater long-term supply of RE permanent magnets. New, vertically integrated supply chains outside of China can now offer flexible entry points, security of supply, pricing visibility, and long-term contracts.

Demand is growing for higher efficiency motors as a result of rising energy efficiency standards and consumer demand for smaller, lighter, and more energy efficient products. Rare earth (RE) permanent magnets help reduce motor size, weight, and energy consumption to better meet these regulatory and market demands.

44

The Powerful Benefits of Rare Earth Permanent Magnets

55

Lifecycle Costs

The Power of Rare Earth Magnets in Motors

By replacing Ferrite magnets in motors with:

Rare Earth Permanent Magnets

Consumption of natural resources

You can REDUCE:

Power Consumption

CO2 and other Emissions

By 10%

Dependence on Liquid Fossil Fuels

Weight and Size

RE motor vs. Ferrite based motor

66

Clean Energy

The Power of Rare Earth Magnets in Motors

Rare Earth magnets help make technologies more effective and

more efficient.

Aerospace

Automobiles

High-Efficiency Motors for Energy-

Efficient Homes

Computing & Network Technologies

77

The use of

can help achieve energy efficiency savings of up to

RARE EARTHPERMANENTMOTORS

Percentage of global power consumption by

ELECTRICMOTORS

GLOBAL POWER CONSUMPTION

Global Energy Savings Potential of RE Magnet Motors

* Source: 2011 International Energy Agency analysis** Source: Mitsubishi Corporation.

ElectricMotors45%

All OtherConsumption

55%

20%

45%*

GLOBAL POWER CONSUMPTION

**

88

How The Landscape For RE Magnets Has Changed in the Past Year

99

2010 – 2012

Prior to 2010Manufactures Increasingly Designing

Products with Rare Earth Magnets

Past Challenges of Rare Earth Magnet Use

Low and Relatively Stable Rare Earth Prices

Reliability of Rare Earth Supplies was Less of a Concern

than Today

Supply Constraints & Shortages

Limited Supply Options

Rare Earth Prices Highly Volatile

Manufacturers Dissuaded from Rare

Earth Magnet Use

Rare Earth MagnetsCost-to-PerformanceRatio Was Steadily Improving

PC

A Period of Increased Riskfor Magnet Users

1010

New Supplies Coming Online Outside China

Outside

2013: Rare Earth Supply Situation is Greatly Improving

Global Rare Earth Supply Landscape is Greatly Improving

2013

Long-TermSupply

Agreements

Lynas

Others over the

long-term

Visibility Into Pricing

Less Dependence on Heavy REs

(Dy)

Security of Supply

1111

Today’s State-of-the-Art:NdFeB Permanent Magnets With Little-to-No Dysprosium

1212

75 100 125 150 175

-10.0

-8.0

-6.0

-4.0

-2.0

0.0

Temperature (oC)

Irrev

ersi

ble

Flux

Los

s af

ter 1

hr (

%)

75 100 125 150 175

-10.0

-8.0

-6.0

-4.0

-2.0

0.0

Temperature (oC)

Irrev

ersi

ble

Flux

Los

s af

ter 1

hr (

%)

Low-to-Zero Dysprosium NdFeB Magnets

MQ1 MQ3 MQ2

Zero-Dy Bonded Magnets• Cost-effective replacement for iron-based

(ferrite) magnets

• Allows for smaller/lighter motors

• Helps vehicles meet higher fuel efficiency and performance standards

• Made from abundant Mountain Pass, California rare earth ore

Hot-Pressed, Fully Dense MagnetsWith Zero-Dy Content

• Provides a 4-7% “Dy advantage” over sintered NdFeB magnets

• Excellent magnetic properties at temps of up to 200°C with zero Dy

• Made from abundant Mountain Pass, California rare earth ore

Hot-Pressed, Fully Dense MagnetsWith Low-Dy Content

• 2-4% “Dy advantage” over sintered NdFeB magnets

• Excellent magnetic properties at temps of up to 180°C with little Dy

• Made from abundant Mountain Pass, California rare earth ore

Excellent thermal stability

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 7020

30

40

50

60

70

Motor with Ferrite MagnetMotor with MQ1 Magnet

Torque (mNm)

Effic

ienc

y (%

)

Allows for higher efficiency

PC=2, Uncoated Magnets

Typical MQ3 grade with low Dy (2%) MQ2-14-150 grade with 0% Dy

1313

Low-to-Zero Dysprosium NdFeB Magnets

MQ magnets (MQ1, MQ2, and MQ3) fill the gap between fully dense anisotropic sintered neo magnets and sintered ferrite magnets

MQ magnets, with only very limited exceptions, contain no heavy rare earths such as Dy or Tb.

-2000 -1600 -1200 -800 -400 00.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

1.2

1.4

H (kA/m)

J(T)Sintered

Neo (43SH)

MQ3

MQ1Sintered Ferrite

MQ2

1414

The MQ2 and MQ3 Dysprosium (Dy) Advantage

Smaller grain size improves H c J, so less Dy needed MQ3 grain size is 20X smaller than traditional sintered NdFeB

magnet MQ2 grain size is 100x smaller than traditional sintered NdFeB

magnet MQ3 vs. traditional sintered (2-4% less Dy at a given

temperature) MQ2 vs. traditional sintered (4-7% less Dy at a given

temperature)

1 Micrometers (m) = 1000 Nanometers (nm)

Sintered Neo

10µm 1µm 0.5µm

MQ3 MQ2

1515

• High-Performance, Low-Dy Sintered Magnets: Intermetallics Japan is now producing next-generation, high-performance sintered NdFeB magnets with 50% or less dysprosium content than traditional sintered magnets. IMJ recently has developed high-performanceDy-free sintered NdFeB magnets.

• Abundant Feedstock: Magnetic rare earths are sourced from Molycorp’s world-class rare earth facility in Mountain Pass, California

• Target markets: Automotive and home appliance sectors

High-Performance, Low-Dy Sintered NdFeB Magnets

High Magnetic Performance

• GBD (Grain Boundary Diffusion) and fine powder technology yields higher magnetic properties and magnet performance.

Cost Advantages

• Higher production yield (80～ 90%)

• Less heavy rare earth (Dy & Tb) content for lower cost and price stability.

• Zero-Dy sintered magnets

Superior Quality

• Quality assurance is overseen by one of the world’s leading producers of high-end rare earth permanent magnets: Daido Steel.

Stable Feedstock Sourcing

• Magnetic rare earth feedstock comes from the world-class, high-tonnage rare earth deposit of Molycorp’s Mountain Pass, California facility.

Strong Global Alliance

• Research and development capabilities of Intermetallics Co. Ltd. combined with strategic alliances with Daido Steel, Mitsubishi Corporation and Molycorp.

IMJ’s Next-Generation, Low-Dy Sintered NdFeB Magnets

1616

Approaches to Dy-diffusion by the top Japanese Sintered Magnet Makers

Dy-vapor diffusion technique, where thin sintered magnets are thermally treated in Dy-vapor environment

Hitachi is currently running a sample evaluation program with key customers and expects full commercialization of the series with new Dy-reduction technologies in 2014.

A number of different grain boundary diffusion techniques have been reported by the various Japanese sintered magnet manufacturers.

Blending Dy2O3 powder with the NdFeB powder and combining the sintering and Dy-diffusing stages.

Also discussed treating Dy-coated sintered magnets.

Savings in Dy: 20-50% less Dy

Coating 1-5mm thin magnets with Dy2O3 and DyF3 slurries and heating these coated magnets for 1-10 hours at 800-900oC

Savings in Dy: 60% from original

Can be found in new Nissan Leaf 2012 model

Traditional method

Dy Diffusion

1717

How Manufacturers Today Are Using Low-to-Zero Dy Rare Earth Magnets

1818

Permanent MagnetMotors

Vs. Induction Motors

Motors with MQ1 Magnets

Vs.Motors w/Ferrite Magnets

Motors with Zero-Dy MQ2 Magnets

Vs.Sintered Neo Magnets w/Dy

The Benefits of Using Rare Earth Permanent Magnet Motors

Higher

• Energy Efficiency• Dynamic Performance• Operational Efficiencies• Continuous Torque• Bearing Life

Lower

• Lifecycle Costs• Size & Weight• Noise & Vibration• Operating Temperature• Current• Ramp-up Time

Induction Motor (left) versus comparable permanent magnet

motor Ferrite magnet-based motor (left) versus comparable MQ1 motor

• Lifecycle Costs• Size and Weight• CO2 and other emissions• Energy consumption

Lower

• Performance• Torque Density• Fuel Efficiency• Energy Efficiency (esp. for

appliances)• Greater Functionality

HigherMQ2 magnets can offer 18% lower overall material cost in a similar size and weight envelope

Lower Dy content leverages larger global supply of light REs

18%

Noise, Vibration, Cogging Torque

Thermal Stability, Torque Density, Fuel & Power EfficiencyHigher

Lower

Diameter Length Magnet Weight

Total Weight

Cost

1 1 1 1 10.97 0.951.13

0.97 0.82

Sintered Neo (4.5% Dy) MQ2 (0% Dy)

1919

Design Innovation Allows Low-to-Zero Dy Magnets

High Efficiency Refrigerator Fan Motor

Action: Replaced motors using ferrite magnets in

refrigerator fan motor with MQ1 magnets

RESULTS: Reduce the size of the motor:

height by 70% and diameter by 27%

Motor efficiency improved by 10%, resulting in 1~2% improvement in whole refrigerator system

Better design by eliminating protruded parts due to the height of motors and fans

Compressors for AC Systems

Action: Replaced motor using sintered Neo magnets (7-8% Dy) with MQ3 (2-3%

Dy) magnets

RESULTS: Performance maintained while

reducing component costs with less Dy

Residential HVAC Circulation Pump

Action: Replaced induction motor in

circulation pumps with motors using MQ1 magnets

RESULTS: Helps pumps meet new energy

efficiency standards Reduces energy consumption EU ordinance prohibits the sale

of technically outmoded, inefficient pump models from 2013 onwards

Replacement is cost-effective

2020

Companies Utilizing NdFeB Magnets in Motors & Components

Bicycle Dynamo

Engine Cooling Fan MotorSeat Motor

Window Lift Motor

Headlight Adjustment

Motor

AC Compressor Motor

Power Steering Sensor Motor

Fuel Pump Motor

2121

Companies Utilizing NdFeB Magnets in Motors & Components

AC Motor

Refrigeration

Vacuum Cleaner

Ceiling Fan

2222

Companies Utilizing NdFeB Magnets in Motors & Components

Servers

Office Automation

Optical Disk Drives

Hard Disk Drives

2323

Conclusions

Heavy rare earths are becoming less and less of an impediment to the security of supply of high-performance NdFeB magnets.

123

Global production outside of China of magnetic rare earths is rising, and Molycorp’s integrated supply chains offer flexible entry points, security of supply, pricing visibility, and long-term contracts – inside or outside of China.

Using rare earth permanent magnets in motors, instead of ferrite magnets, delivers many powerful economic and environmental benefits to manufacturers and consumers.

Given that motors consume an estimated 45% of all energy generated globally, increasing motor efficiencies through rare earth permanent magnets promises many powerful environmental and energy savings benefits to the world.4

2424

Questions?For more information, please contact:

2525

Appendix Slides

2626

Global Supply & Demand Trends for Rare Earths

2727

With the imminent production from India, Mt. Weld, Mountain Pass and Kazakhstan the Rest of the World (ROW) should be self-sufficient in light rare earths within the next 2-4 years.

Over the past 10 years, a steady build-up of consumption and production by China has occurred.

IMCOA’s view is that, given adequate and reasonably priced supply, demand for rare earth magnets will grow at 10-15%pa, once we are over the vicissitudes of the Global Financial Crisis.

Recent communications with phosphor producers and consumers indicates that the impact of more efficient phosphors and the use of LEDs are definitely having an impact on the growth in demand; in fact demand could contract.

The forecast demand for rare earths in 2016 has been marginally reduced to 160,000 mt REO.

Now that the price of cerium has returned to more normal levels the demand for polishing powders for ‘tablets’ (and other devices with touch screens) is significant and is impacting on demand positively.

The very high price of dysprosium and the uncertainties surrounding future security of supply have resulted in major efforts to reduce or eliminate its use, which have been successful to a significant extent.

General Comments on Rare Earth Demand & Supply

2828

IMCOA is of the view that the increased activity and legislation aimed at consolidating and facilitating vertical integration in the industry in China will be a major factor in the future development of the rare earths industry globally. How is this being achieved:

Allocating the production and export quotas to fewer companies. In most cases, selecting State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) as the ‘new leaders’ of the rare earths

industry as they are easier to control and have the required access to funds for development. Establishing rare earth stockpiles to ensure stability of supply, while supporting those companies in

difficulty; effectively using it as a price control/stabilising mechanism. Enforcing environmental legislation; thereby forcing the less efficient enterprises out of business. Vertical integration is being encouraged and facilitated by the Authorities (e.g. in Baotou and in

South China). Investing in research to ensure that the Chinese industry is at the forefront of global rare earths

technology.

The net effect: Increasing quantities of rare earths will be consumed by Chinese domestic value-adding

enterprises; thereby reducing the quantity available for export – particularly heavy rare earths. China’s share of demand could increase.

Co-ordination of pricing will be easier with fewer enterprises. It will be difficult for the WTO to mount a case with respect to quotas if most of the scarce resources

are processed in China, with the rare earths available to ROW (and China) in the form of added value products, rather than rare earth oxides, metals and chemicals.

The Major Development in China Likely to Impact on Supply and Demand for Rare Earths: The

Consolidation and Vertical Integration of the Industry

2929

The situation with respect to the sustainable long term supply of heavy rare earths remains uncertain:

In 2008 both the China Rare Earths Society and IMCOA highlighted a potential shortfall in heavy rare earths supply within 10-15 years. China has not published the size, grade and rate of mining at its rare earths mines for many years; making a comprehensive assessment of reserves more guesswork than calculation.

No new sources of heavy rare earths have been brought on-line since that time. Due to the higher prices of the heavy rare earths most of the illegal mining and processing of

rare earths in China has been focused on the ‘heavies’ – hence the depletion of the finite resources may be greater than thought a few years ago. These activities are now the focus of the major effort by the Chinese authorities to stamp it out – including the death penalty.

With the exception of the Dubbo Project (Alkane Resources) IMCOA is of the view that there is no certainty that there will be any other ROW heavy rare earths project on-line within the next 4 years. No other project has a proven reserve and a proven process (on a demonstration scale) and advanced environmental assessment/approval and off-take agreements/MOUs in place.

It remains possible that China will ration the production/supply of heavy rare earths, with a preference for supply to local enterprises.

However, there is no doubt that China possess significant potential for discovering additional heavy rare earths resources/reserves.

Heavy Rare Earths Supply

3030

Rare Earths Supply & Demand

Source: IMCOA and discussions with Rare Earths Industry Stakeholders

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

140,000

160,000

180,000

200,000

Dem

and

tpa

-REO

China Supply ROW Supply China Demand Total Demand

3131

Global Rare Earths Supply and Demand(2005-2020)

3232

Global Rare Earths Supply and Demand by Application: 2016 & 2020(Note * In the view of IMCOA phosphor demand in 2016 may well be 8,000 to 8,500t REO)

3333

Forecast Global Demand and Supply for Individual Rare Earths in 2016 (±20%)

(Note * In the view of IMCOA phosphor demand in 2016 may well be 8,000 to 8,500t REO)

3434

About Molycorp

3535

Molycorp At A Glance

Summary One of the world's leading manufacturers of custom engineered rare earth and rare metal products, Molycorp is vertically integrated from our world-class rare earth resource in Mountain Pass, California to our advanced downstream processing facilities located across three continents.

Original Resource Discovery (Mountain Pass,

Calif.)

1948

IPO Date July 29, 2010

Listed NYSE: MCP

Global Footprint 27 locations in 11 countries

Employees 2700+

Market Cap $877 million (as of April 16, 2013)

Shares Outstanding 188,586,140 (as of March 31, 2013)

3636

Business Overview by Segment

Resources Segment• Products: Rare earth oxides (REO), rare

earth feedstock for downstream facilities, SorbX™

• Facility: Mountain Pass, California

Chemicals & Oxides Segment• Products: Custom engineered, RE

advanced materials• Facilities: Silmet - Sillamae, Estonia,

Zibo, China (ZAMR), and Jiangyin, China (JAMR)

Magnetic Materials & Alloys Segment• Products: RE alloys, magnetic powders

and magnets• Facilities: Magnequench - China,

Thailand; MMA (Arizona)

Rare Metals Segment• Products: Rare metals (e.g. tantalum,

niobium)• Facility: Silmet - Sillamae, Estonia

Estimated Capacity 2013 (mt)

700(mt)

19,050(REO basis)

12,000(REO basis)

9,250(Magnetic

alloy basis)

3737

Our Global Footprint

Our Global Footprint

Peterborough, Canada

Napanee,Canada

Mountain Pass,California

Corporate Headquarters, Greenwood Village

Colorado

Tolleson,Arizona

Blanding,Utah Quapaw, Okla.

Toronto,Canada

SingaporeKorat, Thailand Zibo, Shandong Province,

China

Jiangyin,Jiangsu Province,

China

Tianjin, China

Hyeongok,South Korea

Nakatsugawa,Japan

(Joint venture withDaido Steel &

Mitsubishi Corp.)

Stade,Germany

Sillamäe, Estonia

Abingdon, U.K.

Sagard, Germany (Joint Venture with Buss & Buss Spezialmetalle

GmbH)

Barbados

• Abingdon, U.K.• Beijing, China• Indianapolis, Indiana• Osaka, Japan

SALES & LIAISON OFFICES

• Singapore• Tokyo, Japan• Toronto, Canada• Turbingen, Germany

• Peterborough, Canada• Sagard, Germany (JV with Buss &

Buss Spezialmetalle GmbH)• Seoul, South Korea

Rare Earth Resource

Production Facilities

Research & Development

Administrative Offices

Corporate Headquarters

LEGEND

3838

Mining & Production of Concentrate

Mountain Pass, California

Value-Added Supply Chain

OUTSIDEChina

Supply Chain INSIDEChina

LREE REO Separation

Metal / Alloy Production

Mountain Pass (Calif.)Silmet (Estonia)

Tolleson (Arizona)Silmet (Estonia)Tolling Companies

Value-Added Supply Chain INSIDEChina

HREE REO Separation

Magnetic Materials

Korat (Thailand)Intermetallic Japan

HREE Facility Expected

2013/14 Location outside China

TBA

Magnetic Materials

Tianjin, China

LREE REO Separation

Zibo, China

HREE REO Separation

Jiangyin, China

CUSTO

MERS W

ORLD

WID

E

Products sold directly from Mountain Pass

38

Diverse, Vertically Integrated Supply Chains

3939

Downstream Markets: Value-Added Gallium

ApplicationMainly smartphone/tablets Also Amber, Red LEDs

General Lighting

PLASMA TV LED Lighting applications also under development

New technology High Definition, low power consumption Q4’12: Sharp has launched displays.

Product

6-7N Ga

GaCl3

Ga2O3

Ga2O3

Wireless (GaAs)

White LED

PHOSPHOR

IGZO DISPLAYS

NEW

NEW

4040

Dy Diffusion Technologies

4141

Dy-diffusion slides

The coercivity and heat resistance of a magnet can be improved by either modifying the microstructure or increasing the magnetocryalline anisotropy of the material.

The former can be achieved by creating finer grain structures (like in MQ2), as well as generating a more uniform envelop of non-magnetic material around each grain (hindering domain movement).

The use of Dy has been essential for heat resistant NdFeB magnets. However, the Dy resource and supply is limited. Therefore, sintered magnet companies have been developing more effective ways to use the Dy since the mid 2000s.

“In spite of new technologies and new product designs aimed at reducing Dysprosium requirements, Dy will certainly continue to be in short supply. As a result, Hitachi and Shin-Etsu will likely enjoy continued growth for their Dy-diffusion magnets.” Ref. Walt Benecki Magnetics 2013

4242

Traditionally, the Dy Diffusion process consists of:

• Preparing an alloy in appropriate amount

• Sintering at >1000oC• A Dy source for diffusion is applied to

the surface of a sintered NdFeB substrate

– Usually vapor or liquid• Heat is applied (relatively lower than

traditional method)• Dy uniformly gathers at the periphery

of the crystalline particles (does not diffuse into the interior of the crystalline particles)

Reducing Dy in Magnets Through Diffusion

Dy distribution mapping in NdFeB magnet by Electron

Probe Micro Analyzer(Photo courtesy of Hitachi)

4343

TDK's HAL (High-Anisotropy field Layer) process diffuses Dy to grain boundary regions and improves performance.

TDK Dy Diffusion Activity

Dy2O3 powders was blended with 30Nd-1.1B-0.2Al-0.1Cu-bal.Fe and sintered.

T. HIDAKA, C. ISHIZAKA, M. HOSAKO Ferrite and Magnet Products Business Group, TDK Corp., Japan REPM’10 - Proceedings of the 21st Workshop on Rare-Earth Permanent Magnets and their Applications p100http://www.tdk.co.jp/techjournal_e/vol08_hal/contents05.htm

Remanent magnetic flux density has been improved by 3-5% and uses 20-50% less Dy, depending on magnet dimensions.

4444

Hitachi continues to promote the Ulvac type Dy-diffusion technology. This involves heat treating thin sintered magnets in a vapor of Dy for 1-3 hours. (However they have also looked into diffusing DyF3 into the surfaces of magnets more recently.)

Magnets can maintain the same remanence while increasing intrinsic coercivity by 320kA/m (4kOe).

In fact the Br can be increased by 400G and above while preserving Hci equal to that of existing products, depending on process conditions, size and shape of a magnet. http://www.hitachi-metals.co.jp/e/eh2009/p04.html

Hitachi’s Dy Diffusion technology

Yutaka Matsuura, April 2011

4545

Patents associated with Dy Diffusion

USPTO No. Company Date Title

8,414,709 IMJ April 9, 2013

Forming a Dy and/or Tb layer on NdFeB sintered magnet and a grain boundary diffusing process for diffusing treatment

8,377,233Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd

February 19, 2013 Disposing a Dy /Tb oxide, fluoride and/or oxyfluoride

powder on a sintered magnet and heat treating

8,350,430 Hitachi, Ltd

January 8, 2013 Powder blending NdFeB with DyF-based solution

8,377,233 Htachi, Ltd Nov. 6, 2012

Coating magnet powder with oxy-fluoride and carbon (MQU-F3)

8,177,921 Hitachi, Ltd

May 15, 2012

Introducing Dy and/or Tb through the surface of the sintered magnet by diffusion