Rainbow Rare Earths (LON: RBW) has reported another step forward at its Phalaborwa rare earths project in South Africa, following successful test work to strip out cerium ahead of the final separation stage.
The process cuts cerium content in the company’s high-grade mixed rare earth product (MREP) by around 65%, improving overall quality. It also reduces the volume of material flowing into the separation circuit, which is expected to lower both capital and operating costs.
The company says the advance highlights its growing expertise in extracting rare earths from phosphogypsum — a waste material from fertiliser production — giving Phalaborwa an advantage over traditional mining projects in terms of cost and environmental impact.
We caught up with CEO George Bennett at the 2024 Mining Indaba conference in Cape Town. He provided an update on Rainbow’s operations, but also told us about the many uses of rare earths and why they are so important in the global energy transition.