TIDMRBW
RNS Number : 8278G
Rainbow Rare Earths Limited
29 July 2021
Rainbow Rare Earths Limited
("Rainbow" or the "Company")
(LSE: RBW)
29 July 2021
Commencement of Phalaborwa Preliminary Economic Assessment
Rainbow Rare Earths Ltd is pleased to announce that work on the
Preliminary Economic Assessment (the "PEA") for the Phalaborwa rare
earths project ("Phalaborwa") in South Africa has commenced.
Independent test work carried out to date has confirmed that the
phosphogypsum at Phalaborwa is amenable to direct leaching with
sulphuric acid for extraction of the contained rare earths. The
resultant pregnant leach solution, after acid recovery, will be a
suitable feedstock for purification and separation of the valuable
rare earths. The PEA will compare a conventional route to produce a
Cerium-depleted mixed rare earths carbonate versus an alternative
flow sheet that bypasses the carbonate stage and delivers three
higher value products, comprising NdPr oxide, Tb oxide and Dy
oxide[1]. The results will then guide the direction for development
of a pre-feasibility study.
The scope of the PEA has been enlarged from the original plan to
now include a downstream processing step, as an alternative to the
original flowsheet which will produce a mixed rare earth carbonate.
This is possible at Phalaborwa owing to the fact that the rare
earths contained in the phosphogypsum are in a "cracked" chemical
form. Further downstream processing to separate and purify
individual oxides is anticipated to deliver the following benefits
compared to a traditional flowsheet:
-- The enhanced flowsheet is expected to be capable of
delivering a higher value product, delivering the full value of the
separated rare earth metal oxides. By comparison, Rainbow's Gakara
project produces a high-grade mineral concentrate, which has been
sold to China for further downstream beneficiation/processing,
realising approximately 30% of the contained rare earths metal
oxide value. The traditional flowsheet at Phalaborwa would produce
a mixed rare earth carbonate, realising approximately 60% - 65% of
the contained metal oxide value, compared to 100% of the metal
oxide value we would achieve by going further downstream to produce
separated individual oxides as a per the enlarged PEA scope of
work.
-- Capital and operating expenditure cost savings are expected
compared to the initial traditional flow sheet to produce a mixed
rare earth carbonate for further processing in a dedicated
separation facility.
-- Only the high value rare earths will be separated and
recovered (Nd, Pr, Tb and Dy which represent 95% of the Phalaborwa
rare earths basket value), thereby enabling the Company to capture
the full benefit of additional value from downstream processing,
without superfluous capital and operating expenditure which would
be needed to separate all the individual rare earth elements
present in the stacks.
The outcome of a successful trade-off study will enable
Phalaborwa to deliver the increased value of the separated rare
earth oxides through a single, low capital-intensity processing
plant at the project site.
George Bennett, CEO, said: "We are pleased to have started this
important phase of the Phalaborwa Project. We have long believed
that the real value in Rainbow's business model would come from
developing an integrated mine-to-metal producer, which is capable
of realising the full value of the underlying rare earth oxides for
stakeholders and developing a responsible, independent Western
supply chain.
Owing to the unique nature of Phalaborwa, with the rare earths
contained in a 'cracked' chemical form, we are already able to
progress to the downstream beneficiation process by producing a
mixed rare earth carbonate, rather than a mineral concentrate.
Thanks to our strong technical team, who worked alongside me at MDM
Engineering on a number of feasibility studies for rare earths
projects, we have the internal knowledge and experience at Rainbow
to identify this opportunity for a single processing flowsheet to
produce individual rare earth oxides with a lower capital intensity
than a traditional approach.
I look forward to releasing the results of the PEA to the market
in due course."
For further information, please contact
Rainbow Rare George Bennett
Earths Ltd Company Pete Gardner +27 82 652 8526
SP Angel Corporate Ewan Leggat
Finance LLP Broker Charlie Bouverat +44 (0) 20 3470 0470
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Flagstaff Strategic Tim Thompson +44 (0) 207 129 1474
and Investor Fergus Mellon rainbowrareearths@flagstaffcomms.com
Communications
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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.
[1] Nd: Neodymium, Pr: Praseodymium, Tb: Terbium, Dy:
Dysprosium
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