Name of the Project
Gakara rare earths project.

Location
The Gakara mining licence is located within the north-eastern Kibaran belt, in the Bujumbura province of western Burundi.

Client
Rainbow Rare Earths has a 90% interest in the project, with a nondilutable 10% owned by the Burundi government.

Project Description
Gakara is one of the highest-grade – 47% to 67% total rare-earth oxide (TREO) – rare earths projects globally.

The project hosts a deposit with a very high run-of-mine grade of 54.3% on average TREO for 141 853 t of contained TREO, with high-quality and well understood mineralogy.

The high grade of the vein material is expected to enable Rainbow to pursue a low-risk processing route. Owing to the minimal level of processing required, complex and expensive processing facilities and the use of hazardous chemicals will not be required.

Rainbow is fast-tracking the project into production and will produce a high-grade concentrate using simple mining.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Value
Not stated.

Duration
First sales of concentrate are expected by the end of 2017.

Latest Developments
Rainbow Rare Earths has exported its first shipment of rare-earth concentrate from its Gakara project, making it Africa’s only rare earths producer.

Gakara is one of the highest-grade rare-earth element mining projects globally, with an estimated in situ grade of 67% TREO.

High-grade rare earths from Burundi have been shipped to Kenya.

“From there, it will be shipped to end customers secured by steel producer Thyssenkrupp raw materials, under the existing distribution and offtake agreement for up to 10 000 t/y of rare-earth concentrate material,” has said CEO Martin Eales has said in an update.

He has noted that the company is targeting production of 5 000 t/y by the end of 2018 and expects to progress to truck convoy shipments on a weekly basis during the first quarter of 2018 as production increases. 
  
Since its initial public offering in January, Rainbow has targeted first production and sales of its mineral concentrate before the end of the calendar year. 

The company has added that the processing plant at Kabezi is now fully constructed, with final commissioning under way. This process is expected to take about two weeks and the plant is expected to be fully operational before the end of December.
  
Key Contracts and Suppliers
Obsideo Consulting (EPCM).

On Budget and on Time?
The project is firmly on track to deliver its first shipment of concentrate from the mine in the fourth quarter of this year.

Contact Details for Project Information
Rainbow Rare Earths, email info@rainbowrareearths.com.