Rainbow Rare Earths Limited CEO George Bennett joins Proactive’s Tylah Tully to discuss its progress on the Phalaborwa project in South Africa, where the company has confirmed successful piloting of its innovative process for recovering rare earth elements (REE) from phosphogypsum.
The company has developed a simplified primary leach flowsheet with a smaller footprint, resulting in capital and operational cost efficiencies. Testwork has delivered neodymium and praseodymium (Nd/Pr) oxides at 96% purity, with ongoing efforts to achieve +99% purity.
The successful production of saleable magnet rare earth elements marks a significant step toward the first commercial recovery of REE from phosphogypsum. However, ongoing separation work may delay the Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) to late 2025. Despite this, Rainbow remains focused on optimising the process for long-term project success.
Offtake discussions have begun with organisations seeking ethical and strategic sources of REE, which are critical for the green energy transition. Rainbow is also exploring partnership opportunities in Saudi Arabia, Canada, India, Brazil, and Morocco to expand its technology’s application.
An Interim Report due in Q4 2024 will provide updated project economics based on the optimised flowsheet.