Rainbow Rare Earths (LSE:RBW) has commissioned and begun operating a pilot plant in Johannesburg, marking the final phase of process test work for its Phalaborwa rare earths project in South Africa. The project is targeting a first-of-its-kind commercial operation to recover rare earth elements from phosphogypsum waste, rather than traditional hard rock mining.
The large-scale pilot programme is scheduled to run through the first half of 2026 and will test an optimised processing flowsheet. This includes an enhanced leach circuit alongside continuous ion exchange and impurity removal, producing material for downstream solvent extraction trials. The work is designed to finalise product specifications for high-purity separated NdPr oxide and SEG+ products, while also generating the detailed technical and cost data required to complete the Definitive Feasibility Study and support third-party project financing.
Recent flowsheet improvements, such as shorter leach times, fewer processing stages and reduced equipment intensity, are expected to translate into lower capital and operating costs. These changes are intended to reinforce Phalaborwa’s positioning at the lower end of the global cost curve, at a time when rare earth prices are recovering and Western governments are increasingly focused on diversifying supply chains in response to Chinese export controls.
George Bennett, CEO, commented:
“This new piloting operation is the final phase of process test work for Phalaborwa, as it will demonstrate the project flowsheet that has been considerably updated over the past 18 months via a number of key optimisations. These efficiencies further reinforce the project’s position at the bottom of the industry cost curve to deliver high-purity (>99.5%) separated NdPr oxide and SEG+ products. The pilot operations are important to the finalisation of the DFS this year and ensure the long-term success of the Phalaborwa project.
We are very proud of our technical team, which has commissioned this pilot plant quickly and efficiently. We are looking forward to showing the operation to investors and other market participants at the two site visits in early February prior to the Mining Indaba conference.
The outlook for the REE market remains strong going into 2026, with pricing for the light REE NdPr having effectively doubled since the lows of 2025 to over US$100/kg, following the major price rises we have seen already for the medium and heavy REE that are subject to Chinese export controls. Phalaborwa is a unique project in that it will produce the full range of economically and strategically important REE, which is why it has been backed by the US International Development Finance Corporation as a key contributor to supply chain resilience.”
More about Rainbow Rare Earths
Rainbow Rare Earths is a rare earth elements developer focused on establishing an independent and ethical supply chain for materials critical to the global energy transition. The company is advancing the commercial recovery of rare earths from phosphogypsum, a by-product of phosphoric acid production, offering the potential for faster and lower-cost development than conventional mining. Its principal projects are Phalaborwa in South Africa and Uberaba in Brazil, targeting high-value rare earth oxides including neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium used in permanent magnets for electric vehicles, wind turbines, defence and emerging technologies.
Leave a Reply