Name of the Project
Ampasindava rare earth ionic clay project.

Location
Eastern Ampasindava Peninsula, Antsiranana province, on Madagascar’s north-west coast.

Project Owner/s
Rare earths exploration and development company Harena Rare Earths.

Project Description
The large-scale, long-life rare earth element (REE) project has a reported mineral resource of 699-million tonnes at 868 parts per million total rare-earth oxides (TREO) containing 606 000 t of TREO.

REE will be extracted from a 20-km-long near-surface ionic adsorption clay orebody spanning the peninsular of Ampasindava. 

The January 2026 prefeasibility study (PFS) shows that, starting at 2.5-million tonnes of treated ore a year, the project will process five-million tonnes of ionic adsorption clay ore by Year 5. This will be conducted through two process plant modules producing an estimated 4 000 t of total rare-earth oxides, dispatched as 6 700 t of mixed rare-earth carbonate concentrate – at 60% – a year, with a value of about $250-million a year. 

An estimated 88-million dry tonnes of ionic clay ore are expected to be processed, extracted and returned to the mine cavities over the more than 20-year life-of-mine. 

Potential Job Creation
The PFS indicates a workforce of about 378 people during operations, with only a small expatriate component in the early years of development and a stated intention to localise employment over time. Harena has indicated that about 370 roles are expected to be filled by Malagasy employees, supported by local skills development and training programmes.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Using the base-case analyst pricing assumptions, the PFS reports a pretax net present value, at a 10% discount rate, of about $343.7-million and an internal rate of return of 34%, with payback of about four years. 

Capital Expenditure
Preproduction capital is estimated at about $142-million.

Planned Start/End Date
Harena is targeting production in 2028. 

Latest Developments
On October 12, 2026, Harena announced that its exploitation permit had been formalised, following the mining terms and conditions announced on August 11. It is advancing the environmental-impact assessment, public consultations, environmental permit, and environmental and social management plans.

The pilot phase is expected to be supported by a $4.84-million project development funding agreement with the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC). It will comprise a demonstration plant and initial commercial operation to validate technical, operational, economic, environmental and social parameters. Results will support a definitive feasibility study for full-scale development.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
SGS (technical inputs to the PFS and mineral-resource work); and DFC (project development funding agreement).

Contact Details for Project Information
Harena Rare Earths, email info@harenaresources.com.