US EditionDespite a diplomatic clash, the US is investing in an experimental South African rare earths project
The $50 million equity stake will fund a rare earths plant that aims to supply magnets and defense systems, company officials said.
- The U.S. government's International Development Finance Corporation is backing the Phalaborwa Rare Earths Project in South Africa with a $50 million investment to extract critical minerals from industrial waste and reduce reliance on China.
- President Donald Trump has made expanding U.S. access to critical minerals a central policy to counter China, pledging nearly $12 billion this year to create a strategic reserve targeting 35 million tons of phosphogypsum waste.
- Rainbow Rare Earths aims to start extraction in 2028, with factory construction anticipated in early 2027, using up to 90% renewable energy to significantly lower costs compared to traditional mining.
- Despite a major diplomatic rift with South Africa that began when Trump issued an executive order last February halting aid, the administration has prioritized the project, showing economic concerns supersede political tensions.
- Beyond Phalaborwa, the U.S. continues supporting other African mineral projects, including the Lobito Corridor railway linking Congo and Zambia. Mining specialist Patience Mususa said the U.S. is "trying to catch up in terms of investment in mining.
46 Articles
46 Articles
US sets aside diplomatic rift with South Africa to invest in rare earths project
Donald Trump has had to put aside his hostility with South Africa, to get rare earth minerals which can be easily accessed from waste on the site of a former chemical plant in northern Limpopo Province. The US has invested $50 million in the project, despite worsening ties with Pretoria.
U.S. invests in project to remove rare earth minerals despite differences with South Africa
The U.S. has committed a $50 million investment in the Phalaborwa Rare Earths Project despite U.S.-South Africa relations plummeting to their lowest point in decades.
The Columbian
CTV NewsThe U.S. backs a South Africa project to extract rare earths despite a diplomatic clash
PHALABORWA, South Africa (AP) — Two enormous sandlike dunes at an old chemical processing plant in South Africa are at the center of an exploratory U.S.-backed project to extract highly sought-after rare earth elements from industrial mining waste. Read more...
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