Critical minerals processing
Extracting and refining the rare earths, lithium and cobalt that modern electronics depend on.
China leads critical minerals processing research, with 43.0% of the 10% most cited papers published 2021–2025; the United States is second with 13.8%.
Standings
Share of the 10% most cited papers, 2021–2025; 455 papers. Source: OpenAlex, pulled 18 October 2026. Method
Year by year
About 91 papers a year. Single-year moves are noise.China
Everyone else, on a larger scale
Share of the 10% most cited papers published in each year. Source: OpenAlex, pulled 18 October 2026. Method
Inside the field
Always the top 10%PilotEach paper sorted into one sub-area by an AI model reading its title and abstract, then credited as usual. On 200 hand-labelled papers it chose the same sub-area, or a defensible second, 92% of the time.
| Sub-area | Papers | First | Second | Third |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lithium extraction from brines and ores (incl. direct extraction) | 135 | CNChina61.3% | USUnited States15.1% | AUAustralia3.9% |
| Lithium-ion battery recycling | 109 | CNChina46.5% | USUnited States6.4% | CACanada5.5% |
| Rare earth separation and recovery (incl. magnet recycling) | 81 | CNChina32.7% | USUnited States18.7% | FRFrance5.4% |
| Metal recovery from e-waste, tailings and industrial waste | 61 | CNChina32.0% | INIndia7.7% | USUnited States6.3% |
| Supply chains, geopolitics, demand and environmental impacts | 49 | USUnited States24.4% | CNChina17.9% | DEGermany6.4% |
Share of each sub-area's papers in the top 10%. Source: OpenAlex, pulled 18 October 2026. Method
Earlier and recent
The same top 10%, split into 2021–2023 and 2024–2025.
Greyed rows rest on fewer than five papers of credit in one period.
Share of the 10% most cited papers: 194 papers in 2021–2023, 261 in 2024–2025. Source: OpenAlex, pulled 18 October 2026. Method
2026 so far: a different count
Not the most cited papers: every 2026 paper matched so far (1,506), and a paper counts in full for each country on it. This year's papers are too new to rank by citations, so these shares cannot be compared with the ones above.
- CNChina44.2%of 2026 papers have an author here
- USUnited States12.1%of 2026 papers have an author here
- AUAustralia4.6%of 2026 papers have an author here
- CACanada4.3%of 2026 papers have an author here
- INIndia3.5%of 2026 papers have an author here
Who cites the top papers
How much more often a country's top papers are cited from home than its size predicts. Expected is the country's share of all papers in the field; the bar is the excess, in percentage points. Home citers include authors citing their own earlier work.
Based on up to 100 of each country's most cited single-country papers in the top 10%. Source: OpenAlex, pulled 18 October 2026. Method
Behind the share
Institutions with the most credit
- 1CNCentral South University3.8%
- 2CNChinese Academy of SciencesGovernment lab1.9%
- 3CNNortheastern University1.7%
- 4CNKunming University of Science and Technology1.6%
- 5CNChina University of Mining and Technology1.4%
- 6CNUniversity of Science and Technology Beijing1.3%
- 7CNNanchang Hangkong University1.1%
- 8CNHarbin Institute of Technology1.0%
- 9CNUniversity of Science and Technology of China0.9%
- 10USRice University0.9%
Share of the top 10%. Institutions across all 45 technologies
Who does the work
| Sector | All | CN | US | AU |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Universities | 83.5% | 85.3% | 86.8% | 94.8% |
| Research facilities | 9.5% | 8.8% | 12.4% | 0.2% |
| Government labs | 5.1% | 4.9% | 0.5% | 5.0% |
| Companies | 0.9% | 0.7% | 0% | 0% |
Share of credit by type of institution, overall and for the three leading countries.
Across borders
27.7% of the top 10% have authors in more than one country.
- AUCNAustralia with China14
- CNUSChina with United States11
- CNGBChina with United Kingdom9
- AUIRAustralia with Iran5
- KRUSSouth Korea with United States5
Most frequent pairings, by number of shared papers.
The papers behind the numbers
The five most cited papers this definition catches. If one looks out of place, the definition needs work.
- Green Recycling Methods to Treat Lithium‐Ion Batteries E‐Waste: A Circular Approach to SustainabilityAdvanced Materials, 2021FRSG574citations
- Progresses in Sustainable Recycling Technology of Spent Lithium‐Ion BatteriesEnergy & environment materials, 2021CNSG458citations
- Lithium extraction from low-quality brinesNature, 2024CN412citations
- Characteristic, hazard and iron recovery technology of red mud - A critical reviewJournal of Hazardous Materials, 2021CN397citations
- A comprehensive review on the recycling of spent lithium-ion batteries: Urgent status and technology advancesJournal of Cleaner Production, 2022CN361citations
More in materials and manufacturing
- Additive manufacturingChina leads
- MetamaterialsChina leads
- Magnets and superconductorsChina leads
- Advanced compositesChina leads
The most technologically advanced countries, and is China ahead of the US?
How this technology is defined
A paper counts if its title or abstract matches the search below. Articles in core journals and proceedings only; retracted papers are excluded.
"rare earth elements" OR "rare earth extraction" OR "lithium extraction" OR "critical minerals" OR "critical raw materials" OR hydrometallurgy OR "cobalt recovery"and its main topic in OpenAlex is one of: Extraction and Separation Processes; Metal Extraction and Bioleaching; Membrane-based Ion Separation Techniques; Minerals Flotation and Separation Techniques; Recycling and Waste Management Techniques; Metallurgical Processes and Thermodynamics; Radioactive element chemistry and processing; Mining and Resource Management; Coal and Its By-products; Bauxite Residue and Utilization. The topic check removes papers that only mention the technology.
- Papers matched, 2021–2025
- 4,519
- In the top 10%
- 455
- In the top 1%
- 48
- Countries with credit
- 58
- Credit with no known country
- 3.2%
Every one of the 591 most cited papers was checked for relevance; 16 were left out as not about critical minerals processing
The most cited of those left out:
- The Security–Sustainability Nexus: Lithium Onshoring in the Global North184 citations
- Efficient and selective capture of thorium ions by a covalent organic framework154 citations
- Lithium in the Green Energy Transition: The Quest for Both Sustainability and Security133 citations
- Social warfare for lithium extraction? Open-pit lithium mining, counterinsurgency tactics and enforcing green extractivism in northern Portugal131 citations
- A Review of the Scope of Artisanal and Small‐Scale Mining Worldwide, Poverty, and the Associated Health Impacts124 citations
- Recovery of Zinc and Iron from Steel Mill Dust—An Overview of Available Technologies85 citations
- Techno-economic analysis of lithium-ion battery price reduction considering carbon footprint based on life cycle assessment85 citations
- On trending technologies of aluminium dross recycling: A review84 citations
- E-waste management, treatment options and the impact of heavy metal extraction from e-waste on human health: Scenario in Vietnam and other countries75 citations
- Electrodialysis as a key operating unit in chemical processes: From lab to pilot scale of latest breakthroughs59 citations
- The Role of Rare Earths on Steel and Rare Earth Steel Corrosion Mechanism of Research Progress42 citations
- Synthesis and characterization of new acid-activated red mud-metakaolin geopolymers and comparison with their alkaline counterparts42 citations
Definition version 0.5, pilot. It is a plain text file: copy it, change it, rerun it.