Rare-earth minerals are crucial for technology, electronics, and clean energy.
A small group of African leaders is now building the capacity to refine and process these minerals locally, adding value and creating strategic opportunities for the continent.
Here are five African entrepreneurs and leaders who are actively advancing rare-earth processing as of 2025:
— Olaotse “Ola” Leepile (South Africa): CEO of Novare Holdings. Leepile is leading a multibillion-rand investment with ReElement Technologies to establish Africa’s first fully integrated rare-earth and critical minerals refining facility.
— Ben Kincaid (Africa-focused): CEO of ReElement Technologies Africa. Kincaid is deploying advanced chromatographic separation and purification technologies to produce high-purity rare earth oxides and other critical minerals in Africa.
— Prince Jidayi Ijudigal (Nigeria): Managing Director of Hasetins Commodities Ltd. He is spearheading a $400 million processing plant in Nasarawa State to scale Nigeria’s rare-earth refining capacity.
— Chris Le Roux (South Africa): Technical lead at Rainbow Rare Earths. Le Roux is guiding the development of ion-exchange and chromatography processes for rare-earth separation and refining.
— Tamsyn De Jager (South Africa): Project Manager at Rainbow Rare Earths. She leads technical studies and operational planning for high-purity rare-earth oxide production at Rainbow’s refining facility.
These entrepreneurs and leaders are helping Africa move beyond raw extraction toward local processing and value addition, supporting technology development, clean energy, and strategic industry growth.
This list focuses on African or Africa-based leaders with documented roles in rare-earth processing or beneficiation.
Criteria included leadership, innovation in refining or separation, measurable impact, and verification from credible public sources as of Q4 2025.
Image Credit: Freepik
