CEO Martin Eales discusses plans to increase production of rare earths in a sustainable and responsible way
The use of rare earth elements ( REE ) continues to power new and upcoming technologies . The utilisation of neodymium and praseodymium , particularly within the manufacturing of electric vehicles , generators and mobile technologies , for example , has been long-standing . Nonetheless , it has been noted that the REE market is set to rise at an annual growth rate of 8.5 % from 2016 to 2026 , providing significant opportunities for the mining sector .
Established back in 2011 , Rainbow Rare Earths has been behind the development of the high-grade Gakara Rare Earth Project in Burundi , with the ambition to become one of the leading rare earth producers outside of China . At present , China is the leader in the production of rare earths , with Lynas Corp as the only major non-Chinese supplier of the material , until now .
“ Every electric vehicle on average will begin to have twice as much rare earth content by weight than a traditional vehicle ,” explains Rainbow Rare Earths CEO Martin Eales .
“ As the world increasingly switches to using electric vehicles , there will be more demand for rare earth materials . The minerals are also used in wind turbines , as well as consumer and tech products , such as smartphones and computers .”
The Gakara Rare Earths Project Situated in East Africa , Burundi has a long mining history . The discovery of rare earth mineralisation back in the 1930s led to the mining of ore from the 1950s up to the 1970s , albeit in much lower quantities than Rainbow is now undertaking . “ The rare earth magnet was invented in the 1980s , so you can imagine global demand was very different back then ,” notes Eales .
After commencing exploration work on the deposit in 2011 , Rainbow obtained its 25-year mining licence
80 February 2018