REG - Rainbow Rare Earths - Update on Rare Earth Oxide Separation Progress

Rainbow Rare EarthsAnnouncement

05/02/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 9441B  Rainbow Rare Earths Limited  05 February 2024

 

 

5 February 2024

Rainbow Rare Earths Limited

("Rainbow" or "the Company")

LSE: RBW

 

Update on Rare Earth Oxide Separation Progress

·    Group separation of the rare earth elements has been achieved in the
initial ion exchange test-work ongoing in USA

·    The successful achievement of the group separation paves the way for
the delivery of individual separated rare earth oxides. A high purity
neodymium and praseodymium (together "NdPr") separated rare earth oxide is the
initial focus of the back-end piloting campaign, with the dysprosium ("Dy")
and terbium ("Tb") oxides to follow thereafter

·    Group separation for the samarium ("Sm"), europium ("Eu") and
gadolinium ("Gd") elements holds promise and could provide a complementary
revenue stream as a combined oxide

·    Rainbow is attending the 121 Mining Investment Conference in Cape
Town, South Africa this week. A copy of the 121 conference presentation is
available on the Company's website at:
https://www.rainbowrareearths.com/investors/results-reports-presentations/
(https://www.rainbowrareearths.com/investors/results-reports-presentations/)

 

News Release

Rainbow Rare Earths is pleased to announce an update on progress with regards
to the ongoing rare earth oxide separation work underway at the back-end pilot
plant, which is located at the facilities of Rainbow's technical partner
K-Technologies, Inc. ("K-Tech") in Florida.

The back-end plant process utilises continuous ion exchange ("CIX") and
continuous ion chromatography ("CIC") to produce separated rare earth oxides.
The innovative application of this established technology has been pioneered
by K-Tech in the rare earth space and replaces traditional solvent extraction
which uses toxic and flammable solvents and diluents and requires more than
100 separate stages.

As previously announced, the optimal feed for the back-end process has been
determined by Rainbow and K-Tech as a cerium-depleted mixed rare earth
carbonate, which provides a higher-grade feedstock to the back-end separation
circuit.

The initial separation at the back-end pilot plant has been achieved using the
mixed rare earth carbonate successfully produced from phosphogypsum from the
Phalaborwa project.  This material, which includes cerium, was previously
shipped to K-Tech from the front-end pilot plant located at the Johannesburg
facilities of the Council for Mineral Technology ("Mintek"), a global leader
in mineral processing, extractive metallurgy, and related fields. Cerium
depletion test work is ongoing at both K-Tech and Mintek and the
cerium-depleted carbonate, once available, is expected to produce better
results in the CIX / CIC separation circuits.

The back-end plant process comprises three main stages, as depicted in the
simplified CIX / CIC block flow diagram to follow, being:

1.    Stage 1: Impurity Removal via CIX;

2.    Stage 2: Group separation via CIC (in two steps); and

3.    Stage 3: Individual separation via CIC (in three steps).

Stage 1 removes remaining impurities from the mixed rare earths feed. Stage 2
then uses CIC to separate the targeted rare earth elements (NdPr, Dy, Tb) into
groups from the uneconomic rare earth elements. Stage 3 purifies the separated
target groups into the individual desired separated rare earth oxides.

 

A summary of the progress made with the back-end flowsheet is as follows:

·    successful impurity removal in the initial ion-exchange step
providing suitable feed solution for group separation;

·    successful separation of the uneconomic lanthanum and cerium group;

·    successful group separation in the first step of the chromatography
stage, delivering a NdPr group, grading  ca. 68%, as feed for purification in
the subsequent individual chromatography separation steps;

·    considerable upgrading of the concentration of the Dy and Tb from a
combined feed grade of 0.9% to 14.6%, which requires separation from the SEG
group; and

·    good separation of the samarium, europium and gadolinium ("SEG")
group at a grade of ca. 63%, which as a group provides the strong potential
for an additional valuable product line as a combined Sm-Eu-Gd oxide
concentrate.

The current focus of the pilot plant test work at K-Tech is to optimise the
second stage of the chromatography process to produce a 99.5% NdPr product.
This will be followed by CIC testing to separate and purify the separate Dy
and Tb oxides.

In addition, the production of a separated and purified SEG oxide product will
be evaluated and followed up. Initial indications are that Phalaborwa could
produce ca. 500 tonnes per annum of a saleable SEG product which, in addition
to the previously announced off-take for the residual gypsum, provides the
potential for an additional revenue stream for the project with minimal
capital and operating costs.

George Bennett, CEO of Rainbow, commented: "I am very pleased with the
continued progress to date validating our front-end process flow sheet and the
K-Tech CIX / CIC process flow sheet for the back-end. The back-end process is
on track to deliver separated high purity rare earth oxides of NdPr, Dy and
Tb, the four most economically important rare earth elements due to their
crucial role in the green energy transition. It is also notable that we have
achieved positive separation in the chromatography circuit of the SEG group of
rare earth oxides, which could add another very saleable product and revenue
stream to Rainbow at minimal cost.''

The four rare earths that will be produced at Phalaborwa - NdPr, Dy and Tb -
are all designated as critical minerals further to their important role in the
transition to the green economy. As vital components of permanent magnets,
these rare earth elements are used within electric vehicles and wind turbines,
as well as many other advanced technologies including those required for
strategic defence purposes, such as guided missiles, drones, electronic
displays, sonar and jet fighter engines. The SEG rare earths are samarium
(used in magnets), europium (used in optical displays) and gadolinium (used in
medical and nuclear applications).

 

For further information, please contact:

 

 Rainbow Rare Earths Ltd   Company  George Bennett         +27 82 652 8526

                                    Pete Gardner
                           IR       Cathy Malins           +44 7876 796 629

                                                           cathym@rainbowrareearths.com (mailto:cathym@rainbowrareearths.com)
 Berenberg                 Broker   Matthew Armitt         +44 (0) 20 3207 7800

                                    Jennifer Lee

 Stifel                    Broker   Ashton Clanfield       +44 20 7710 7600

                                    Varun Talwar

 Tavistock Communications  PR/IR    Charles Vivian         +44 (0) 20 7920 3150

                                    Tara Vivian-Neal       rainbowrareearths@tavistock.co.uk (mailto:rainbowrareearths@tavistock.co.uk)

 

 

Notes to Editors:

About Rainbow:

Rainbow Rare Earths aims to be a forerunner in the establishment of an
independent and ethical supply chain of the rare earth elements that are
driving the green energy transition. It is doing this successfully via the
identification and development of secondary rare earth deposits that can be
brought into production quicker and at a lower cost than traditional hard rock
mining projects, with a focus on the permanent magnet rare earth elements
neodymium and praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium.

The Company is focused on the development of the Phalaborwa Rare Earths
Project in South Africa and the earlier stage Uberaba Project in Brazil. Both
projects entail the recovery of rare earths from phosphogypsum stacks that
occur as the by-product of phosphoric acid production, with the original
source rock for both deposits being a hardrock carbonatite. Rainbow intends to
use a proprietary separation technique developed by and in conjunction with
its partner K-Technologies, Inc., which simplifies the process of producing
separated rare earth oxides (versus traditional solvent extraction), leading
to cost and environmental benefits.

The Phalaborwa Preliminary Economic Assessment has confirmed strong base line
economics for the project, which has a base case NPV(10) of US$627 million 1 ,
an average EBITDA operating margin of 75% and a payback period of < two
years. Pilot plant operations commenced in 2023, with the project expected to
reach commercial production in 2026, just five years after work began on the
project by Rainbow.

More information is available at www.rainbowrareearths.com
(http://www.rainbowrareearths.com/) .

 

 1  Net present value using a 10% forward discount rate

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