Tool
What would it take?
Pick a technology and a quantity. The calculator multiplies out the material bill and puts each total next to the entire world’s annual production of that material — which is usually the number that changes how the answer feels.
1,000 × NdFeB Permanent Magnet — The strongest permanent magnet ever made — neodymium, iron and boron, sintered and coated.
Quantities are per kg of finished magnet indicative range tonnes of contained material
Scroll the table sideways for the remaining columns.
| Material | Per unit | Total, low | Total, high | World annual production | Share of a year’s supply |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iron Ore | 0.6–0.7 kg | 0.6 t | 0.7 t | 2.60 billion tMine production: Usable ore, rounded, 2025 | 0.0% |
| Neodymium Often supplied as mixed NdPr. | 0.2–0.3 kg | 0.2 t | 0.3 t | not published | — |
| Praseodymium | 0.04–0.08 kg | 0.04 t | 0.08 t | not published | — |
| Dysprosium Grain-boundary diffusion cuts this sharply. | —–0.06 kg | — | 0.06 t | not published | — |
| Terbium | —–0.02 kg | — | 0.02 t | not published | — |
| Boron | 0.008–0.012 kg | 0.008 t | 0.012 t | not published | — |
Intensity ranges are indicative, compiled from published technology studies and chemistry — not a manufacturer specification. World production is USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, 2025 (estimated), converted to tonnes of the same basis where the source reports thousands of tonnes or kilograms · source ↗. This is an educational order-of-magnitude tool. It is not a procurement estimate and must not be used as one.