Rainbow Rare Earths has reported promising results from its pilot plant operations in Phalaborwa, with activities taking place in both Florida and Johannesburg.
In Florida, the company is conducting rare earth oxide separation using a method developed by K-Technologies, their technical partner based in the US. Rainbow aims to apply this K-Tech process for extracting rare earths from gypsum dumps located in Phalaborwa, South Africa.
The company plans to initially produce neodymium and praseodymium oxides, followed by dysprosium and terbium, as per Rainbow’s announcement.
In Johannesburg, at the facilities of the Council for Mineral Technology (Mintek), two out of three campaigns have been completed. So far, approximately 5.75 kg of mixed rare earth carbonate has been sent to K-Tech in the US in five separate shipments.
Starting from the week of January 15, 2024, the front-end pilot is set to operate continuously, with the expectation of increased shipment volumes as the year progresses.
Rainbow has clarified that this additional processing step will not significantly increase capital or operational costs. It will reduce the volume of mixed rare earths needed in the CIX/CIC circuit by about 40%, offering capital and operational cost advantages.
George Bennett, the CEO, remarked that despite some delays in the original schedule, the integrity of the process flowsheet remains unaffected and is progressing as planned. He added, “During this period, we have also been focusing on optimizing the front-end plant to ensure the most efficient final flowsheet for commercial operations, along with the continued shipment of mixed rare earth carbonate to K-Tech.”
