Rainbow Rare Earths is pleased to announce its preliminary results for the year ended 30 June 2024 (“FY 2024” or the “Year”). The financial information in this release does not constitute the Financial Statements. The Group’s Annual Report, which includes the audit report and audited Financial Statements for the year ended 30 June 2024, will be available on the Company’s website at www.rainbowrareearths.com

Highlights

• The market for rare earth permanent magnets nearly doubled between 2020 to 2024, and demand is forecast to continue to grow strongly by ca. 7% per annum over the next 10 years, according to Argus Media, driven by the unstoppable global megatrend of the green energy transition, as well as exciting new markets such as robotics and advanced air mobility.
• The supply chain for rare earth elements (“REE”) is almost entirely dominated by one country, China, leading to concerted efforts by Western and aligned governments to create supply chain diversification in order to mitigate the inherent risks and vulnerabilities.
• Pilot operations at Rainbow’s Phalaborwa project have produced two saleable products: a mixed rare earth carbonate, and separated neodymium and praseodymium oxide (“Nd/Pr”) of ca. 96% purity, paving the way for the first commercial recovery of rare earths from phosphogypsum. Once optimisation of the Nd/Pr oxide separation is complete, focus will turn to the separation of the heavy rare earths: dysprosium (“Dy”) and terbium (“Tb”).
• Phalaborwa’s status as a near-term, low-cost and strategic source of all four critical rare earths used in permanent magnets confirmed further to a proposed US$50 million investment from the U.S. International Development Corporation (the “DFC”) via strategic shareholder TechMet Limited (“TechMet”).
• Strong project validation also received via the royalty and share placement agreement announced post Year end with Ecora Resources plc (“Ecora”), raising US$10 million.
• Significant optimisation and simplification of the Phalaborwa primary plant flowsheet achieved, boding well for the updated economics of the project to be released in an Interim Report before the end of 2024.
• The honing of this technology will unlock a global opportunity for low-cost and responsible magnet rare earth supply from similar secondary sources, such as the partnership with the Mosaic Company (“Mosaic”) at Uberaba in Brazil.
• Responsible production is at the heart of Rainbow’s business model and the Company continues to embed environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) standards and practices within its corporate and project development.

News in full

We caught up with CEO George Bennett at  the Mining Indaba conference in Cape Town. He provided an update on Rainbow’s operations, but also tells about the many uses of rare earths and why they are so important in the global energy transition