Mining for rare earth elements on the continent has received a US$60 million-plus funding injection.

The US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC)  has committed US$62.8 million to four projects under development in Malawi, Angola, Madagascar and South Africa, reports Reuters.

The lion’s share of the funding – US$50 million – has been earmarked for the Phalaborwa rare earths project in South Africa.

Rare earths – comprising 15 lanthanide elements plus scandium and yttrium – are essential for magnets used in electric vehicles, wind turbines and defence systems.

The Phalaborwa project, supported by Dublin-based mining investor TechMet, will reprocess gypsum waste from legacy mining activity to extract, process and separate rare earths.

According to the Reuters report, the US is increasingly using the DFC to help develop and secure Western-aligned supply chains for critical ⁠minerals.

Phalaborwa TechMet chairperson and CEO Brian Menell said earlier that the project  had ‘the potential to become one of the most environmentally friendly and lowest-cost rare earth projects anywhere in the world’.

25 August 2026
Image: Unsplash