Africa is steadily moving from raw-ore exportation to local beneficiation, and rare-earth processing is at the center of this shift. While the continent still hosts far fewer processing plants than mines, a handful of companies are building credible, verifiable capacity to refine rare-earth materials within Africa.
Here are the Top 5 Rare Earth Metals Processing Companies in Africa, based on confirmed processing progress, pilot plants, and officially verified value-addition programs.
— Steenkampskraal Rare Earth Refinery (South Africa): Operating alongside the Steenkampskraal Mine, this facility is one of Africa’s only advanced rare-earth separation and processing plants, built to refine monazite ore into high-purity rare-earth products. It includes cracking, leaching, and solvent-extraction circuits, all documented in the project’s redevelopment plan.
— Rainbow Rare Earths – Phalaborwa Processing Plant (South Africa): Rainbow is developing a full rare-earth processing plant flow sheet in South Africa to convert phosphogypsum waste into separated oxides. The company has publicly confirmed that beneficiation, cracking, and separation will occur locally, making it one of Africa’s most advanced near-term processors.
— Mintek (South Africa): Mintek operates Africa’s leading metallurgical and mineral-processing research infrastructure, including rare-earth pilot-scale cracking, roasting, separation, and hydrometallurgy systems. It processes African rare-earth materials through pilot plants and supports several industrial-scale feasibility programs.
— Ugandan Rare Earth Refining Initiative (Uganda): Uganda is building East Africa’s first rare-earth processing capacity linked to the development pipeline of the country’s REE resources. Government-backed plans include cracking and separation facilities designed to supply magnet-metal intermediates. This initiative is one of the few verifiable processing programs outside Southern Africa.
— IBI Group Rare Earth Beneficiation Project (Madagascar): Madagascar’s emerging rare-earth beneficiation programs include processing of monazite-bearing sands through pilot-scale hydrometallurgy and separation systems. The IBI program is documented as one of the country’s leading attempts to establish local value-addition for REEs rather than exporting raw concentrate.
Africa’s rare-earth processing ecosystem is still young, but these five stand out for verifiable on-ground activity, confirmed processing infrastructure, and clear contributions to Africa’s shift from mining to advanced materials production.
Image Credit: Energy Capital & Power
