SA rare earths project extracting valuable elements from chemical waste product left by Sasol 

Demand for rare earth elements (REEs) is accelerating worldwide in service to the energy transition, particularly as they're needed to make the permanent magnets which are used in e-motors and wind turbines.

However, this is not their only use - REEs are also valuable for defence applications.

Stephen Grootes talks to George Bennett, CEO of Rainbow Rare Earths, which has announced that it is starting pilot scale operations at South Africa's rare earths project at Phalaborwa in Limpopo.

Bennett explains that this unique project will be the first commercial recovery of REE from phosphogypsum, a waste product from phosphoric acid production.

These particular deposits to be extracted and processed, are waste material left by Sasol's work at the site.

The recovery of REE from a waste product means that many of the costs, risks and long timescales associated with traditional mining projects are eliminated, boosting revenue.

"The key that Rainbow has cracked is phosphogypsum, and we've done it successfully. We're now doing our last stage of piloting before we go into commercial production which we're targeting in 2028."

Rainbow is involved in a similar project in Brazil, in partnership with fertiliser producer Mosaic.

China is the world's top producer of rare earth elements, with its exports in 2025 hitting the highest level since at least 2014 despite US restrictions.

For more detail, listen to the interview audio at the top of the article