Rainbow Rare Earths Share Discussion Threads

[vatnabrekk] 11/1/2024 09:07

The "market" doesn't seem to understand technical matters. They just react to profit figures!

[timnicebutdim] 11/1/2024 08:26

well that's done wonders for the share price.....look at the trades flood in.

[perfect choice] 11/1/2024 08:25

As you say CP42Kx07, that RNS has given a clear xplanation of the delay and importantly they now commenced back-end RE Oxide pilot processing. Looks like a few weeks to go before the first RE Oxide output so expect a further RNS then (RNS states "The first separated oxides to be delivered will be the NdPr, expected within the coming weeks, while the Dy and Tb will follow thereafter".

So they have had to in produce an additional step to generate a "cerium-depleted mixed rare earth carbonate" for use as feedstock into the K-tech 2nd stage, instead of RE Sulphate output. By implication there was a problem using RE Sulphate and sounds like a need to supply a high grade feedstock (states "higher-grade feedstock to the back-end separation circuit") plus removal of certain impurities (clearly cerium as mentioned).

So they have resolved that now by shipping RE Carbonate instead. This is chemical engineering development work, expect revisions to come as the end to end process is optimised.

As stated they have made good progress on the 1st stage at Mintek i.e. "improvement in the impurity and rare earths leach temperature conditions" with a 50% energy saving so these are examples of the iterative process of optimisation.

It sounds the Mintek pilot plant has been working on a start/stop basis as they optimise and 2 campaigns done so far i.e. "has successfully completed the first two of three planned campaigns". It will now run on a continuous basis to increase RE Carbonate output i.e. "front-end will start running on a continuous basis from the week commencing 15 January 2024".

I had a look at the video and a few comments from GB in the video. All looks very automated as GB commented, the one thing he did say of note is that he referred to locating this 2nd stage in either USA or South Africa. So effectively keeping all options open for now but clearly the wish to have the 2nd stage based in the USA.

So basis of delay now known and looks resolved with an additional process required to get the feedstock right into K-Tech. Expect progress news going forward which is mentions i.e. GB states "We look forward to providing updates on the pilot plant milestones during Q1 2024."

[themaxhunter] 11/1/2024 08:16

Rainbow Rare Earths is pleased to announce the progression of the Phalaborwa pilot plant process, with the rare earth oxide separation process now underway at the facilities of Rainbow's technical partner K-Technologies, Inc. ("K-Tech") in Florida.

This back-end plant process utilises continuous ion exchange ("CIX") and continuous ion chromatography ("CIC") to produce separated rare earth oxides. The innovative application of this established technology has been pioneered by K-Tech in the rare earth space and replaces traditional solvent extraction which uses toxic and flammable solvents and diluents and requires more than 100 separate stages. The process will produce all four of the critical rare earths used within permanent magnets, being neodymium and praseodymium (together "NdPr"), dysprosium ("Dy") and terbium ("Tb"). A video of Rainbow's CIX / CIC test runs underway at K-Tech's facilities can be viewed at hxxps://www.rainbowrareearths.com/news-media/media/.

Bench scale testwork carried out by K-Tech is already showing positive rare earth oxide separation in line with expectations. The continuous run of the CIX / CIC pilot plant has also now commenced. The first separated oxides to be delivered will be the NdPr, expected within the coming weeks, while the Dy and Tb will follow thereafter due to their presence in smaller volumes within the rare earth basket.

The front-end pilot plant, which is situated at the Johannesburg facilities of the Council for Mineral Technology ("Mintek"), a global leader in mineral processing, extractive metallurgy, and related fields, has successfully completed the first two of three planned campaigns, from which ca. 5.75 kg of mixed rare earth carbonate have been shipped to K-Tech in five batches to date.

The front-end will start running on a continuous basis from the week commencing 15 January 2024. This integrated, whole-circuit campaign will produce increasing volumes of mixed rare earth carbonate to ship to K-Tech over the course of Q1 2024.

The pilot plant process is an iterative process that allows for continual optimisation in order to deliver the most efficient final flowsheet for commercial scale operations. As part of this process, Rainbow has worked with its partner K-Tech to establish the optimal mixed rare earth product for the back-end CIX / CIC system. Having first successfully produced a mixed rare earth sulphate, it was decided to further beneficiate the product, removing certain unwanted elements, with the optimal end product for separation agreed as a cerium-depleted mixed rare earth carbonate, providing a higher-grade feedstock to the back-end separation circuit.

The inclusion of this extra processing step into the front-end process does not add any significant capital or operating expenditure to the front-end flowsheet, but reduces the quantity of mixed rare earths to be processed in the CIX / CIC circuit by approximately 40%, with resultant capital and operating cost benefits.

In addition, the piloting process has delivered further optimisation results to date including:

· improvement in the impurity and rare earths leach temperature conditions from the 40⁰C set out in the Preliminary Economic Assessment to 30⁰C, delivering a significant ca. 50% saving in energy requirements with resultant expected capex and opex savings; and

· the successful regeneration of two key reagents in the leach solution.

The four rare earths that will be produced at Phalaborwa - NdPr, Dy and Tb - are all designated as critical minerals further to their important role in the transition to the green economy. As vital components of permanent magnets, these rare earth elements are used within electric vehicles and wind turbines, as well as many other advanced technologies including those required for strategic defence purposes, such as guided missiles, drones, electronic displays, sonar and jet fighter engines.

[source] 11/1/2024 07:29

Wow! Massive improvements & processing seems to being achieved!This will only further boost Rainbows already stellar economics. Markets sleeping on this one quite badly. (All too common recently lol)

[cp42kx07] 11/1/2024 07:22

Today's RNS contains a clear explanation of the current situation and the reasons for the very slight delay. Everything appears to be progressing well so perhaps this will arrest the recent share price decline. Well done RBW management.

[perfect choice] 09/1/2024 21:40

Yep Archie, small company web sites tend to not be that up to date I find. Sprott equity research issued something around March as I have a copy and I am sure Berenberg issued a note in 2023 but I don't have it to hand myself right now. But nobody's put anything on the company site.

Plenty of interviews though across 2023 and thanks for highlighting they will be at one event next month.

[errol the ponce] 09/1/2024 18:11

Chart looks awful. 4p fair value.

[archie222] 09/1/2024 16:22

Rainbow's website.

No broker research published since 2022 :(

Events calendar not updated for '24.

But it looks like they will be attending the 121 Mining Investment meeting in a month's time (5-6th Feb.) in Cape Town.

[archie222] 09/1/2024 10:07

Just added a few at just under 0.12.

That's my lot now - no more.

[perfect choice] 09/1/2024 09:54

Yes in my books, have some funds coming free in a weeks time so being selfish, hang around here for now please, but suspect good chance of RNS before then IMHO!

[napoleon 14th] 08/1/2024 17:06

Sleepy phase. "Add" opportunity?

[perfect choice] 08/1/2024 14:17

FYI 12p to buy right now or it was on a test buy I did.

[cp42kx07] 08/1/2024 12:21

Agreed. All the news and other available information suggests a very exciting investment opportunity. We just need a confirmation RNS to support the share price

[perfect choice] 07/1/2024 20:58

Agree we are due a news update and with the holiday period over now, also hoping we are due soon.

The last real piece of news (see my post 4075) was actually from Thomas Baroody (President and CEO at K-Tech) in his testimony at the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space and Technology Committee Hearing. He stated they are "concluding a bench scale test program on the Phalaborwa material" and the "pilot plant will commence operation shortly on samples of MREC shipped from Rainbow’s pilot plant operation in South Africa, to demonstrate the production of on-specification separated REO for the alloy and magnet industry".

So while delayed it all seems ready to go but can we have an RNS update saying that please! Suspect they want to have their first RE Oxide output to show first, as did the same with the first Mintek stage showing RE Sulphate output.

Its very obvious they are working on building up a Western supply chain for rare earth elements, with agreements or commitment secured from Less Common Metals, TechMet's option to invest US$50 million for a direct stake in the Phalaborwa, etc, so putting all the "cogs" in place for the "RE machine". Just need the RE Oxide now to get things going!

[cp42kx07] 05/1/2024 15:56

A disappointing drift lower over the past 3 months. It would certainly be helpful to have some positive news on the back-end pilot plant supposed to have been processing RE oxides in Q4 CY 2023. I wonder whether management are waiting until next week to announce? I suspect that a number of companies with good news to report have avoided this week as it's a holiday shoulder period.

[burtond1] 29/12/2023 06:56

20 Mining Companies for 2024 – Part II (G-Z)https://total-market-solutions.com/2023/12/20-mining-companies-for-2024-part-ii-g-z/

[odsjp] 21/12/2023 10:56

2024 should be an interesting year for us.



China Bans Exports of Some Rare-Earth Processing Technologies
Bloomberg News, Bloomberg News
(Bloomberg) -- China will halt the export of a range of rare-earths technologies, adding to emerging competition with the US and other Western nations for global supplies of strategic raw materials.
The country put technology for making rare-earth metals and rare-earth magnets on a list of items can’t be transfered overseas, according to a document from the Ministry of Commerce. The move by the world’s dominant supplier of the minerals comes amid a push by Beijing’s geopolitical rivals to cut reliance on materials produced in China.
Over the past 30 years, China has built a dominant role in mining and refining rare earths, a cluster of 17 elements used in everything from wind turbines to military hardware and electric vehicles. The new rules don’t affect shipments of rare-earth products themselves, but may be intended to frustrate efforts to develop the industry outside China.
The US is spearheading a drive to reduce China’s stranglehold over flows of minerals from rare earths to lithium and cobalt. President Joe Biden’s flagship climate legislation includes rules aimed at generating more supply domestically or from allied nations. China has responded with restrictions on the export of gallium, germanium and graphite.
How US Green Deal Has Opened Floodgates for Subsidies: QuickTake
Until relatively recently, there were barely any rare-earth refineries at all outside of China. That also means its companies and researchers have built a substantial technological and practical advantage in how to extract and process rare earths, while expertise elsewhere has dwindled.
China accounted for more than two thirds of mined rare earths last year, and still hosts about 85% of global refining capacity, according to US government figures. The country also dominates supply of rare-earth magnets, the main product deployed in manufactured goods.

[perfect choice] 21/12/2023 08:21

You're right Archie222, have amended post to state TechMet not K-Tech. Yes the importance is to get the process right as blatantly obvious RBW is playing for a RE Oxide output facility in the USA using multiple RE Sulphate in-country sources in the future as their strategy. If they achieve that the share price will be multiples of today's price, challenge now of course is to demonstrate that!

Happy with my investment here and thinking of buying more in the drop back while we wait news, but if you look enough you can find evidence of progress, as per that video statement of Thomas Baroody. Not in an RNS yet, but you know they are progressing and about to get to pilot start.

[archie222] 21/12/2023 07:48

I think you meant to say TechMet rather than K-Tech on the Pb equity stake.

RE REO production ...(!)

I think RBW are now no longer playing to a audience of small punters with the US Govt. looking over its shoulder so extracting REOs alone is not enough for them, it needs to be up to the commercial grade targets they have talked about in the past (99.5% purity) and for the operation to 'sing' in terms of it's economic practicality at scale.

The delay doen't bother me - I don't expect it's an easy task and there is no immediate need to rush news, particularly on a self imposed deadline.

[perfect choice] 20/12/2023 22:38

Well CHAR are an oil & gas play, so nothing to do with rare earths. RBW's situation very different with first stage production (to produce RE Sulphates which can be sold commercially) now proven to be commercial viable from pilot results.

In terms of the second stage to produce RE Oxides for maximum revenue, it's certainly 2 months late to what was planned. But listen to Thomas Baroody (President and CEO at K-Tech, responsible for conducting the 2nd stage pilot + as a related matter, TechMet have also agreed to take an equity stake directly in Phalaborwa itself) who 3 weeks ago was presenting as a witness to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space and Technology Committee Hearing on the role of federal research in establishing a robust US supply chain of critical minerals and materials. Statements and a video of the hearing can be seen at


He stated "K-Tech is currently concluding a bench scale test program on the Phalaborwa material and has assembled a CIX/CIC pilot plant for Rainbow at its Lakeland, Florida facility. This pilot plant will commence operation shortly on samples of MREC shipped from Rainbow’s pilot plant operation in South Africa, to demonstrate the production of on-specification separated REO for the alloy and magnet industry. The process in Lakeland will, for the first time, allow for the production of separated REE battery metal oxides on a commercial basis in the U.S. That represents a major step forward in bringing this type of supply into the U.S."

Suspect that bench scale work (or supply of enough RS Sulphate from South Africa, or a combination of both) took longer than planned, but purpose is to ensure the pilot plant run works.

Key point as of 30th November is that bench scale testing is completing and by implication was successful, as due to start the pilot run "shortly", which wouldn't be the case if they were not happy to start from the output of the bench testing.

OK not had an RNS yet updating status and myself I was hoping for one before Christmas, just to say the pilot has actually started, but do expect that very near in the New Year based on what was said above on the 30th November.

A case of a little more patience and certainly not sell which would be really bad timing if done now IMHO!

[maccamcd] 20/12/2023 18:13

You've made your personal views and thoughts clear. You'll either be proven right or really wrong.As a shareholder in both companies, probably multiple times the size of your holding, and knowing Adonis personally, I think you are wrong in your opinions about both situations.I've been buying more chariot down at these levels.. And will buy more of both as I free up liquidity.Sorry to hear you lost money in chariot squire... I think you should buy yours back...Have a great Christmas

[lewis winthorpe] 20/12/2023 17:27

Lol if your held for 2 years you haven't lost anything. You can't blame anyone for not selling at 20p or on its way down. Not sure your argument holds weight