South Africa has taken a significant step towards establishing a domestic rare earth processing industry after Steenkampskraal Monazite Mine (SMM) and Mintek successfully produced high-purity Mixed Rare Earth Oxalate (MREO), marking the first achievement of its kind on the African continent through a collaboration between a mining company and a national research institution.

Announced on 19 June, the milestone underscores the growing importance of partnerships in developing Africa's critical minerals sector and comes amid increasing global demand for rare earth elements used in electric vehicles, renewable energy technologies, advanced electronics and defence applications.

The achievement is being hailed as a major validation of South Africa's ability to move beyond mineral extraction and participate more meaningfully in higher-value stages of the critical minerals supply chain.

“This is not only a victory for Steenkampskraal and Mintek; it is a victory for South Africa,” said Dr Enock Mathebula, Executive Chairman and Shareholder of Steenkampskraal Monazite Mine.

“It demonstrates our country’s ability to develop world-class technologies, create local beneficiation opportunities, and participate meaningfully in global critical mineral supply chains.”

Collaboration at the centre of South Africa's beneficiation drive

The breakthrough is the result of a long-standing collaboration between SMM and Mintek, supported by several strategic national institutions including the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) and the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa).

The partnership represents a model increasingly being promoted across Africa's mining sector: combining world-class mineral resources with local scientific expertise, development finance and regulatory support to unlock greater value from mineral production.

According to Mathebula, the multi-stakeholder approach has been instrumental in advancing the project from concept to commercial reality. “Our partnership, supported by key South African organisations such as the IDC, the NNR, Necsa and others, is key to ensuring the safe, compliant and commercially successful execution of this strategic project,” he said.

For Mintek, the project demonstrates the role that research institutions can play in helping African countries capture more value from their mineral resources. “This milestone is a powerful demonstration of what South Africa can achieve when our research institutions and industry partners unite around a shared vision of value addition and local beneficiation,” said Mintek CEO Dr Molefi Motuku.

“Mintek’s expertise, combined with Steenkampskraal’s world-class resource, has proven that South Africa possesses not only the minerals but also the scientific capability to compete globally in critical minerals processing.”

Reviving one of the world's highest-grade rare earth deposits

Located in the Western Cape, Steenkampskraal is widely recognised as one of the world's highest-grade rare earth and thorium deposits. The mine has a long and strategically important history. Originally opened by Anglo American in 1952, Steenkampskraal was developed primarily to produce thorium for international nuclear energy programmes during the early decades of the nuclear age.

Following years on care and maintenance, the project was officially reactivated in 2024 after securing approvals from both the National Nuclear Regulator and the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources.

Since then, substantial progress has been made toward restarting operations. Funding for the first phase metallurgical processing plant has been secured through the IDC, while construction of both metallurgical and hydrometallurgical facilities is advancing. Recent metallurgical test work successfully produced a monazite concentrate grading approximately 50%, achieved through a single-pass concentration process. According to project partners, this is the first time such a result has been achieved at the mine in more than six decades.

Mintek independently validated the ore characteristics and processing methodology, providing confidence in the project's technical foundations as it moves toward commercial production.

Thorium opportunity adds strategic dimension

Beyond rare earth production, the project could also unlock a potentially valuable thorium industry in South Africa. Thorium is increasingly attracting attention globally as a potential fuel source for advanced nuclear technologies, including next-generation Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and pebble-bed reactor systems.

Necsa Group CEO Loyiso Tyabashe believes the collaboration creates opportunities that extend far beyond mining. “The partnership between Steenkampskraal and Mintek is a game changer in the area of rare earth minerals as this development serves as the foundation for longer-term beneficiation plans,” said Tyabashe.

“Necsa is ready to collaborate on the back of its expertise to capture and develop the opportunity presented in the high-end value chain of rare earth and thorium products as part of our mandate in nuclear technology development for general industry and medical applications.”

The potential development of a thorium value chain could position South Africa at the intersection of critical minerals, energy security and advanced nuclear innovation.

Building an African rare earth processing hub

The successful production of MREO represents only the first stage of a broader beneficiation strategy.

Steenkampskraal and Mintek are now exploring opportunities to establish rare earth separation capabilities within South Africa—a critical step that would allow the country to produce separated rare earth oxides rather than exporting intermediate products for further processing abroad.

The move aligns with a growing continental push to localise mineral processing and develop industrial value chains around strategic resources. “While we celebrate this achievement, we are not stopping here,” Mathebula said.

“We are currently advancing discussions and development work aimed at establishing separation capabilities in South Africa. Together with Mintek, we are continuing to explore and develop local solutions that will support the future establishment of a world-class separation system.”

He added that the long-term vision extends beyond the mine itself. “Our vision is not simply to mine resources but to beneficiate them, process them, and create greater value within South Africa and become a rare earth processing hub in Africa.”

Looking ahead: first production and strategic investment

Construction of the hydrometallurgical processing plant is progressing, with concentrate production expected to begin later in 2026 and first shipments anticipated before year-end.

At the same time, the company is engaging with strategic investors currently conducting due diligence on potential participation in the project, highlighting growing investor interest in secure and diversified rare earth supply chains outside traditional producing regions.

Steenkampskraal is also evaluating opportunities in the nuclear medicine sector through partnerships focused on isotope production, potentially creating an additional high-value downstream industry linked to the project.

As countries worldwide seek to diversify critical mineral supply chains and reduce dependence on concentrated sources of rare earth processing capacity, the Steenkampskraal-Mintek partnership offers a blueprint for how African nations can leverage collaboration between government, research institutions, financiers and industry to capture greater value from their mineral wealth.

For South Africa, the successful production of Mixed Rare Earth Oxalate is more than a technical achievement. It is an early indication that the country's long-held ambition of becoming a globally competitive beneficiation hub for critical minerals may be moving closer to reality.