South African rare earth mine targets first exports

South Africa’s Steenkampskraal mine is targeting its first rare earth concentrate exports before year-end following the opening of a processing plant, while plans to produce higher-value separated oxides locally remain at the development stage.

The Western Cape deposit grades about 14.5% total rare earth oxides, Mintek, the country’s state-owned minerals research organization, said on Tuesday. The first-stage plant will crush and mill ore, then use gravity separation and flotation to produce monazite concentrate for export, the research group said in a release.

“Moving from a mineral resource to a high-purity product requires much more than mining,” Mintek CEO Molefi Motuku said. “It requires the ability to understand the mineral, develop and optimise processing technologies, solve metallurgical challenges and ultimately produce a product that has commercial value.”

The development tests South Africa’s ambition to capture more value from its mineral resources through domestic processing. Steenkampskraal’s initial export product will still require further treatment, with two subsequent stages envisaged to produce a mixed rare earth product and then separate individual rare earth oxides.

Output

Mintek described the Oct. 6 opening as the start of commercial concentrate production while identifying successful commissioning and the production of saleable concentrate as immediate priorities. Its release provided no production volumes, named buyers or shipment destinations.

Mintek referred emailed questions from The Northern Miner to the Steenkampskraal mine, whose spokesperson was away sick on Tuesday and unable to immediately reply.

The mine’s owners include Steenkampskraal Holdings and Bora Mining Investments, according to the company’s website. Bora’s investment helped restart work at the site in 2024.

Processing ambitions

Mintek and Steenkampskraal produced a high-purity mixed rare earth oxalate-carbonate product at Mintek’s laboratories in June, demonstrating a potential route beyond concentration.

The next development stage would involve cracking monazite — breaking down the mineral chemically — to produce a mixed rare earth product. A third stage would separate individual rare earth oxides. Mintek says it has already piloted solvent-extraction technology for that separation.

The release gave no construction timetable or cost for either downstream stage. Laboratory results and pilot work provide a technical foundation, but commercial-scale processing remains to be established.

Thorium

Rare earths include elements used in powerful permanent magnets for electric motors and wind turbines. Steenkampskraal also contains thorium, a radioactive material that requires regulated handling and storage.

The mine opened in 1952 to produce thorium and was later placed on care and maintenance until 2024. Partial funding for the processing plant has been secured through South Africa’s Industrial Development Corporation, Mintek said.

“The objective is not simply to prove that a mineral can be processed in a laboratory,” Motuku said. “The objective is to develop technologies that can ultimately support industry.”