Phalaborwa, South Africa / Rare Earths
View on map
Phalaborwa is a long-life, low cost project located in the Limpopo region of South Africa. Amongst the highest quality rare earth projects globally, it is expected to generate strong cash flows throughout the commodity price cycle.
Development
Rare Earths
Rainbow Rare Earths
South Africa
Royalty rate and type
0.85% GRR
Balance sheet classification Royalty financial instrument
Key facts
16
Year mine life
15%
Increase in Mineral Resource Estimate
Phalaborwa is located in the Limpopo region of South Africa and is 85% owned by Rainbow Rare Earths, who have the right to acquire 100% ownership of the Project. It has a total JORC compliant MRE2of 30.4Mt at 0.44% TREO contained within phosphogypsum in two unconsolidated stacks derived from historic phosphate hard rock mining. High value neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr) oxide, critical elements used in permanent magnets, represent c. 75% of the magnet rare earth basket by value, with economic dysprosium (Dy) and terbium (Tb) oxide credits enhancing the overall value of the rare earth basket.
Ecora owns a 0.85% GRR over the project, which increases to 0.95% if commercial production does not occur prior to 1 October 2027, and to 1.1% if commercial production does not occur prior to 1 July 2028.
The royalty is payable with reference to published seperated rare earth oxide prices without any payability adjustments regardless of whether the project produces seperated rare earths oxides or intermediate rare earths products.
As well as the $8.5m royalty acquisition, Ecora subscribed for 10,442,427 new ordinary shares in Rainbow Rare Earths Ltd for $1.5m in cash.
In March 2026 Rainbow Rare Earths announced a share issuance, raising $14.6 million with proceeds to fund the completion of the Phalaborwa definitive feasibility study amongst other uses.
In July, Rainbow announced that its Phalaborwa test work and pilot plant operations have optimised and simplified the flowsheet at the Phalaborwa Rare Earths project, with 75% of the flowsheet now in the engineering phase of the Definitive Feasibility Study with final optimisation of the solvent extraction underway.