Strategy & Business model
Rainbow’s technology can unlock a global opportunity for a low-cost and responsible supply of rare earth elements from phosphogypsum, which is the by-product of phosphoric acid production. Rainbow is focused on the recovery of both the light and heavy rare earths that are vital to the green energy transition, as well as many other traditional and advanced technologies.
Phosphoric acid is produced from phosphate rock sourced from either sedimentary or hard rock sources. Rainbow’s Phalaborwa project and the Uberaba project in Brazil are both associated with a hard rock carbonatite hosted phosphate source, which have higher grades of associated REE than sedimentary sources. The innovative extraction technology developed at Phalaborwa is believed to be broadly applicable to recovering REE from these types of opportunities.
The majority of phosphoric acid production is associated with sedimentary phosphate ores, which typically have lower REE grades than hard rock sources. In August 2022, Rainbow entered into a master agreement with OCP, the Moroccan world-leading producer of phosphate products, and UM6P, a Moroccan university with a strong focus on science, technology and innovation, to further investigate and develop the optimal technique for the extraction of rare earth elements from sedimentary-sourced phosphogypsum. This collaborative effort is at a much earlier stage of development than Phalaborwa but could potentially represent a significant long-term source of REE.
In addition to Uberaba and OCP, Rainbow is currently evaluating approaches for strategic partnership opportunities in Canada and Saudi Arabia
