London-based Rainbow Rare Earths Upbeat About South African Rare Earth Mining Project, Secured $50m from U.S. International Development Corp.

Hightlights

• Rainbow Rare Earths is advancing a rare earth mining project in South Africa.
• The U.S. International Development Corporation invested $50 million in support.
• The project aims at diversifying the global rare earth supply chain.

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The market for rare earth permanent magnets nearly doubled between 2020 to 2024, and demand is forecast to continue to grow strongly by approximately 7% per annum over the next 10 years, driven by the global megatrend of the green energy transition and new markets such as robotics and advanced air mobility.

China’s grip on the rare earth elements (REE) supply chain has led Western governments to diversify supply chains, with Rainbow Rare Earths seeking opportunities in the market.

Rainbow Rare Earth’s pilot operations at the Phalaborwa project have produced mixed rare earth carbonate and separated neodymium and praseodymium oxide of approximately 96% purity, marking progress towards commercial recovery of rare earths from phosphogypsum.

Once optimization of the Nd/Pr oxide separation is complete, focus will shift to the separation of heavy rare earths, dysprosium, and terbium.

The Phalaborwa Rare Earths Project in South Africa features a JORC compliant Mineral Resource Estimate of 35.0 Mt at 0.44% TREO from phosphogypsum in two stacks from historic phosphate mining. Neodymium and praseodymium oxides represent 29% of the total contained rare earth oxides, with additional value from dysprosium and terbium oxide credits.

The U.S. International Development Corporation’s investment, through TechMet Limited, is due to Phalaborwa’s status as a near-term, low-cost source of critical rare earths used in permanent magnets.

The United States International Development Finance Corporation is an agency of the U.S. federal government that invests in development projects in lower and middle-income countries. TechMet Limited, backed by the IDFC, focuses on investments in technology metal value chains, including extraction, processing, and battery technology.

Rainbow Rare Earths has made strides towards establishing an independent supply chain for rare earth elements vital for the energy transition, particularly with the commissioning of the Phalaborwa pilot plant to optimize recovery from phosphogypsum.