Reported civil unrest in South Africa

RNS Number : 4344F

Rainbow Rare Earths Limited

16 July 2021

 

Rainbow Rare Earths Limited

("Rainbow" or the "Company")

(LSE: RBW)

16 July 2021

  Statement with regard to the reported civil unrest in South Africa

Rainbow Rare Earths Ltd would like to make the follow statement with regard to the reported civil unrest in South Africa.

George Bennett Chief Executive commented:

We note the recent reports of civil unrest in South Africa and would like to confirm that work continues unabated on our significant exciting rare earth project at Phalaborwa ,  South Africa, which has been unaffected by this unrest.

Our development of the opportunity is continuing with an optimised process flow sheet based on the successful Sasol flow sheet, as a result of our ongoing metallurgical test-work at ANSTO in Australia. The market will be updated on the optimisation results confirming the successful extraction of these rare earths from the +/- 38 million tonnes of gypsum contained in the two residue stacks at Phalaborwa once available.

All property rights remain intact in South Africa as well as any mineral rights where applicable

For further information, please contact

Rainbow Rare Earths Ltd	Company	George Bennett Pete Gardner	[phone]
SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP	Broker	Ewan Leggat Charlie Bouverat	[phone]
Flagstaff Strategic and Investor Communications		Tim Thompson Mark Edwards	[phone] [e-mail]

Notes to Editors:

Rainbow's strategy is to become a globally-significant producer of rare earth metals. NdPr are vital components of the strongest permanent magnets used for the motors and turbines driving the green technology revolution. Analysts are predicting demand for magnet rare earth oxides will grow substantially over the coming years, driven by increasing adoption of green technology, pushing the overall market for NdPr into deficit.

The Phalaborwa Rare Earths Project, located in South Africa, comprises an Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate of  38.3Mt at 0.43% TREO  contained within gypsum tailings stacked in unconsolidated dumps derived from historic phosphate hard rock mining.  High value NdPr oxide represent 29.1% of the total contained rare earth oxides, with economic Dysprosium and Terbium oxide credits enhancing the overall value of the rare earth basket contained in the stacks.  The rare earths are contained in chemical form in the gypsum dumps, which is expected to deliver a higher-value rare earth carbonate, with lower operating costs than a typical rare earth mineral project.

The Company's Gakara Project in Burundi, which produces one of the highest-grade concentrates in the world (typically 54% total rare earths oxides ("TREO")) through ongoing trial mining operations, is currently the only African producer of rare earths. The Gakara basket is weighted heavily towards NdPr, which account for over approximately 19.5% of the contained TREO and 85% of the value of the concentrate.

 

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