London-listed Rainbow Rare Earths has become a member of the European Raw Material Alliance (Erma) – an industry body that is working to ensure reliable, secure and sustainable access to critical and strategic raw materials, with a specific focus on the rare earth magnet chain. 

Aiming to make Europe economically more resilient, Erma seeks to diversify supply chains, promote innovation, create jobs and attract investment.

By 2030, Erma's activities will increase the production of raw and advanced materials.

"We are pleased to have been accepted as a member of Erma – an essential alliance which is working to accelerate the green and digital transition through securing and reinforcing rare earths supply chains.

"With our near-term development opportunity at Phalaborwa, alongside our unique and innovative technologies and processes, Rainbow is well positioned to contribute to a responsible supply chain, unlocking sources of critical permanent magnet rare earths, which are required to drive global decarbonisation," Rainbow CEO George Bennett says.

Rainbow owns the Phalaborwa and Gakara rare earths projects in South Africa and Burundi, respectively, and aims to become a globally significant producer of rare earth metals.

The Phalaborwa project has an inferred mineral resource estimate of 38.3-million tonnes at 0.43% total rare earth oxides (TREOs) contained within gypsum tailings stacked in unconsolidated stacks derived from historic phosphate hard rock mining.

High-value neodymium/praseodymium (NdPr) oxide represents 29.1% of the total contained rare earth oxides, while economic dysprosium and terbium oxide credits enhance the overall value of the rare earth basket in the stacks, the company notes.

Meanwhile, trial mining operations at its Gakara project have produced 54% TREOs, with NdPr accounting for about 19.5% of the contained TREOs.