Rainbow Rare Earths (LSE:RBW) has reported successful operation of its large-scale pilot plant in Johannesburg, built to support development of the Phalaborwa project. The facility has produced approximately 2kg of high-grade mixed rare earth hydroxide grading around 55% total rare earth oxides, a level that exceeds typical Chinese mixed rare earth carbonate specifications and is regarded as a saleable commercial product.
The company said the hydroxide produced is well suited as feedstock for its planned solvent extraction circuit, which is designed to generate separated neodymium–praseodymium (NdPr) oxide and a SEG+ product with purities above 99.5%. Management described the pilot plant results as a major de-risking step that validates the downstream processing strategy and supports Rainbow’s ambition to move further along the value chain as a non-Chinese supplier of high-margin rare earth products.
Demonstrating the ability of the core flowsheet to consistently deliver commercial-grade mixed rare earth material strengthens the development case for Phalaborwa. It also underpins the project’s economic assumptions and Rainbow’s plan to produce separated oxides from a single hydrometallurgical operation. The milestone is expected to draw attention from customers and stakeholders seeking diversified supply of critical rare earths used in electric vehicles, wind power and other advanced technologies.
Despite the technical progress, the company’s overall outlook remains constrained by its early-stage financial profile, with no revenue, ongoing losses and continued cash outflow. Market momentum is also soft, with the shares trading below key moving averages and a negative MACD signal. These factors are partly offset by continued project de-risking and improving economics, although valuation remains challenging on an earnings basis while losses persist.
More about Rainbow Rare Earths
Rainbow Rare Earths is a rare earth elements development company focused on building an independent and ethical supply chain for materials critical to the global energy transition. The group recovers rare earths from phosphogypsum, a by-product of phosphoric acid production, enabling potentially faster and lower-cost development than traditional hard-rock mining. Its principal assets are the Phalaborwa project in South Africa and the earlier-stage Uberaba project in Brazil, both designed to produce separated rare earth oxides from a single on-site hydrometallurgical plant targeting high-value elements such as neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium.
Leave a Reply