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, averaging 54.3% 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
The Gakara project has produced and exported its first 25 t batch of high-grade rare-earth concentrate.

The commissioning of the gravity processing plant at the mine, which started production in December 2017, has also been completed. 

Gakara produced 279 t of concentrate in the quarter ended March 31, following the 75 t produced in December.

Production levels are expected to increase steadily over the rest of this year, as mining and processing methodologies are tested and optimised.

The average grade of concentrate produced was 62% TREO. The grades were consistent at between 61% and 64% in the quarter under review.

All run-of-mine (RoM) ore processed during the quarter was sourced from the Gasagwe pit. 

Rainbow is developing “highly attractive” additional sources of RoM ore within the Gakara mining licence area to reach its target run rate of 5 000 t/y by the end of this year. 

These areas are now expected to be in operation ahead of Gashirwe, the originally planned second mining area, owing to their vein prospectivity and speed of development. 

The company has experienced relatively high production costs of $2 068/t of concentrate, but expects costs to reduce significantly as production rates increase and the element of fixed costs is spread over larger tonnages.

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.