Rainbow Rare Earths Ltd (LSE:RBW, OTC:RBWRF) told investors it has selected solvent extraction as the final separation method for its Phalaborwa project in South Africa.
The company said in a pre-feasibility report that it had confirmed SX as the optimal route to produce separated NdPr oxide and a SEG+ product at purities above 99.5%.
The decision follows progress in reducing volumetric flow to the separation circuit through impurity rejection and the cerium depletion step.
“We are pleased to announce this important de-risking step for Rainbow via the determination that SX offers the optimal route to final separation for our proposed +99.5% purity products,” chief executive George Bennett said.
Technical director Dave Dodd added that SX remains the industry standard and aligns with the company’s experience.
Rainbow also corrected previously issued SEG+ production figures, adjusting several medium and heavy rare earth estimates. The company calculated that the corrected SEG+ output represents approximately $160 million in annual revenue at current European mid-market prices, assuming 70% payability.