South Africa’s Steenkampskraal mine expects its first rare earth concentrate sales in early 2027 to buyers in China, as commissioning continues at a processing plant opened this month.
The Western Cape operation is targeting at least 5,000 tonnes of concentrate a year from 2027, chief financial officer and executive director Tyrone Searle told The Northern Miner by email. The plant cost 184 million rand (US$11.2 million), funded by South Africa’s Industrial Development Corp., with another 45 million rand provided for supporting infrastructure.
“Still commissioning – product sales in first quarter 2027,” Searle said when asked whether the plant was producing saleable concentrate. “Buyers secured and destined for China delivery.”
The replies clarify the operation’s status after Mintek, South Africa’s state-owned minerals research organization, described the Oct. 6 opening as the start of commercial concentrate production. The sales timetable extends beyond the year-end export target previously reported, while the destination underlines the challenge of capturing more processing value locally.
Output
The first-stage plant will crush and mill ore, then use gravity separation and flotation to produce monazite concentrate for export, Mintek said in its Oct. 20 release. The company’s development plan targets concentrate grading 50% rare earth oxides, including yttrium oxide.
Searle did not identify the buyers or provide a separate first-shipment date. He confirmed the annual concentrate target would apply in 2027 but gave no production forecast for the remainder of this year.
The additional infrastructure funding covered dams, electrical distribution and other surface facilities needed to support operations, he said.
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.
Resource
Measured and indicated resources, including historical tailings, total 605,000 tonnes grading 14.4% rare earth oxides, including yttrium oxide, for 86,900 tonnes of contained oxides. Inferred resources add 60,000 tonnes grading 10.5%, containing 6,300 tonnes.
The inferred category accounts for the difference between the 605,000-tonne and 665,000-tonne figures appearing on the company’s website, business systems manager Derek Henderson said.
The company supplied a statement signed Sept. 25 that restates the resource estimate effective Oct. 31, 2013. No additional drilling, sampling, geological modelling or resource estimation has been completed since then, the statement says.
It also restates a March 2014 reserve estimate but cautions that costs, prices and the development plan have changed. Their effects have not been quantified, so the reserve does not reflect current economic assumptions.
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 proposed hydrometallurgical plant would cost about US$30 million and could be completed before the end of 2028 if funding is secured by January 2027, Searle said. He did not provide a separate timetable for individual oxide separation.
“Moving from a mineral resource to a high-purity product requires much more than mining,” Mintek CEO Molefi Motuku said in the release. “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.”
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 work resumed in 2024. Its initial export concentrate will require further treatment, while commercial-scale downstream processing in South Africa remains to be established.
“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.”
This story updates an earlier version with company replies clarifying that commissioning continues and first sales are expected in early 2027 to buyers in China, plus plant costs, downstream development plans and resource figures.
