South Africa has taken a meaningful step towards building its own rare earth processing industry, after the Steenkampskraal Monazite Mine and state research body Mintek announced they had produced high-purity mixed rare earth products at laboratory scale. The milestone, unveiled on Wednesday, makes South Africa the first African country to refine these strategic minerals through a partnership between a mining company and a national research institution.
Rare earths are the unglamorous backbone of the modern economy, used in the magnets that power electric vehicles, wind turbines, smartphones, advanced electronics, defence systems and medical equipment. Global supply is dominated by China, which has left manufacturers elsewhere exposed and given resource-rich countries a powerful incentive to develop their own capacity.
Moving up the value chain
The breakthrough matters because it pushes South Africa beyond simply digging up and exporting raw ore. By processing monazite concentrate into high-purity material at home, the country can capture more of the value that currently flows offshore. The project is built on the Steenkampskraal mine in the Western Cape, regarded as the world's highest-grade rare earth and thorium deposit, and has drawn support from the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa).
“This is not only a victory for Steenkampskraal and Mintek, but a victory for South Africa,” said the mine's executive chairman, Dr Enock Mathebula. “It demonstrates the country's ability to develop world-class technologies, create local beneficiation opportunities and participate meaningfully in global critical mineral supply chains.” Mintek chief executive Dr Molefi Motuku said the work proved South Africa possessed “not only the minerals but also the scientific capability to compete globally in critical minerals processing.”
What happens next
The partners say the achievement lays the foundation for commercial production of rare earth products before the end of 2026, with the potential to expand into rare earth and thorium beneficiation and even medical isotopes. The Industrial Development Corporation has fully funded the mine's first-phase metallurgical processing plant, which is under construction and scheduled for commissioning in August. Concentrate production is expected later this year, with first shipments anticipated before year-end.
Brought out of care and maintenance in 2023 with approvals from the National Nuclear Regulator and the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, Steenkampskraal is now courting strategic investors conducting due diligence on the project. Discussions are also under way to establish local rare earth separation capabilities — the technically demanding step that would move South Africa closer to a fully fledged processing hub.
