Business
The issue of conflict minerals
has become synonymous with
countries like the DRC and its
neighbours. To date, REE has
not attracted the same attention
Rainbow Rare Earth’s project in Burundi is up and running and was
the first producing REE mine in Africa.
the operation. Eales points out that the capex cost for other
operations could be up to USD200-million more to develop.
He goes on to mention that Burundi introduced new mining
legislation in 2013, simplifying it to operate in the country.
Eales also states that the Burundian government holds a
10% interest in the mine.
The new generation of EV and ‘green’ energies are dependent
on REEs as a critical set of elements; yet have not seen the
same amount of hype as lithium, graphite or nickel, for
example. Bankers still appears to see REE as an opaque
market and is not as readily funded to the same extent as
gold or coal projects are. Eales agrees with the sentiment
and adds that this is due to debt lenders relying on some
hedging, which is not available to REE projects at the
moment, coupled with price uncertainty in the sector; yet,
the demand for REE products is as strong as hoped.
as gold, tin, tungsten, and
tantalum (GTTT).
but has since increased the quotas this year. He goes on to explain that
this is due to stable growth and projected strong market that is demand
driven, with no long changes visible. China has also introduced stricter
environmental legislation and in June 2018, acted against a company
that operated in contravention of the current legislation, indicating that
China is serious, adds Eales. He concludes by saying that there is an
expectation that China will become a net importer of REE minerals
within the next 5–10 years.
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The issue of conflict minerals has become synonymous with
countries like the DRC and its neighbours. To date, REE has
not attracted the same attention as gold, tin, tungsten, and
tantalum (GTTT). Eales indicates that although REEs are
not deemed a conflict mineral, Rainbow Rare Earths is listed
on the London Stock Exchange, which applies scrutiny to all
companies listed and meets the high standards set by the off-
take partner Thyssenkrupp.
Turning briefly to the recycling market, some analysts have
indicated that there might be sufficient electronics available
in five years to make an impact on the primary producing
ore minerals market segment. Eales’s sentiment is that REEs
do not have a significantly big market share at the moment
and that the associated cost would need to be justified. He
also indicates that any developments on this front are price
dependent to make REE magnet recycling viable.
Looking at China, over the past couple of years, the Chinese
market has consolidated the numerous smaller operations.
Eales notes that initially, the country reduced quotas (2010),
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