Rainbow Rare Earths Limited (LON:RBW) has exported a further 75 tonnes of concentrate from its Gakara deposit in Burundi.
Grades were approximately 53% Total Rare Earth Oxides, of which 19.5% was Neodymium and Praseodymium, with the concentrate sold through offtake partner Thyssenkrupp.
George Bennett, chief executive, said: "We have recently been trialling a more mechanised extraction of ore at lower grades, and the fact that we are still able to produce high-grade concentrate through our pilot plant underlines the benign mineralogy of our deposit and bodes well for the design of a much larger bulk mining operation, which is well underway. "
Rainbow's Gakara project is one of the highest-grade (47%-67% Total Rare Earth Oxide) rare earth projects globally and the only one producing in Africa.