The US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has committed $62.8 million to rare earth mining projects in Malawi, Angola, Madagascar, and South Africa, countries where private capital has refused to invest. Most of that sum, roughly $50 million, is headed to the Phalaborwa project in South Africa, which extracts rare earth oxides (neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium) from gypsum waste from legacy phosphate mines. These four elements are essential to the clean energy transition: neodymium and praseodymium are used in permanent magnets for EV motors and wind turbines, while dysprosium and terbium allow those magnets to function at high temperatures. The DFC stated it aims to help these projects reach a less risky stage to eventually attract private investors, as the market is currently oversaturated with rare earth project announcements relative to existing demand.
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