Name of the Project
Phalaborwa rare earths project.

Location
South Africa.

Project Owner/s
Rainbow Rare Earths announced the signing of a binding agreement with Bosveld Phosphates for the codevelopment of the Phalaborwa rare earths project in November 2020.

On completion of a prefeasibility study (PFS), 70% of the project will be held by Rainbow and 30% by Bosveld, with a mechanism included to allow for Rainbow’s joint venture ownership to vary from 60% to 85%, depending on the results of the PFS.

Project Description
Rainbow Rare Earths and Bosveld Phosphates intend to jointly develop and process rare-earth elements from the gypsum contained in two stacks at the project site.

The project comprises an estimated 35-million tonnes of gypsum, resulting from historical phosphate hard-rock mining, containing rare-earth elements, with an estimated average in situ grade of 0.6% total rare-earth oxides (TREOs) for about 210 000 t of TREOs, with neodymium and praseodymium expected to constitute about 30% of the TREOs basket.

The reprocessing of these gypsum stacks carries significant environmental benefits, as it will redeposit clean, benign gypsum, which then has the potential for further use in the building and fertiliser industries.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Capital Expenditure
Not stated.

Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
None stated.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Rainbow Rare Earths George Bennett, cell +27 82 652 8526.