Rainbow Rare Earths LTD (LON:RBW) sold 350 tonnes of rare earth concentrate in the three months to end June 2018, up significantly from the 125 tonnes sold in the previous quarter, as the ramp-up to full production continues at the company's mine in Burundi.
"A 180% increase in tonnes of concentrate sold from the previous quarter is a clear indication that there is strong demand for our Gakara concentrate which is currently the only rare-earths production from Africa,” said Rainbow’s chief executive Martin Eales.
"Having implemented an upgraded mine plan at Gasagwe towards the end of the quarter we saw mining rates improve significantly in June, and we anticipate seeing an increase in concentrate production by 50-100% on a monthly basis over the next quarter. As a result, production costs will fall considerably in the next six months as we approach our target of 400 tonnes per month by the end of the year.”
Gakara is one of the highest grade rare earth element mining projects globally, with an estimated in-situ grade of 47-67% Total Rare Earth Oxide (TREO).
"This has been a highly active quarter on the ground, evidenced by our expansion initiatives,” added Eales.
“Phase 1 of our maiden exploration drill campaign was successfully completed during the period with exciting results, and with Phase 2 already underway, we look forward to delivering a code-compliant resource by the end of the year. Additionally, we are delighted to have advanced our second mining area, Murambi, which mirrors Gasagwe's mineralogy and exceptionally high grades (48-60% TREO) with almost double the strike length, with a view to commencing mining operations in early Q4 2018.”