Name of the Project
Gakara rare earths project.

Location
The Gakara mining licence is located within the north-eastern Kibaran belt, in the Bujumbura province of western Burundi.

Project Owner/s
Rainbow Rare Earths has a 90% interest in the project, with a nondilutable 10% owned by the Burundi government.

Project Description
Gakara is one of the highest-grade rare earths projects globally, with 47% to 67% total rare-earth oxide (TREO).

The project hosts a deposit with a very high run-of-mine grade, averaging 54.3% TREO for 141 853 t of contained TREO, with high-quality and well-understood mineralogy.

The high grade of the vein material is expected to enable Rainbow to pursue a low-risk processing route. Owing to the minimal level of processing required, complex and expensive processing facilities, as well as the use of hazardous chemicals, will not be required.

Rainbow is fast-tracking the project to production and will produce a high-grade concentrate using simple mining.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

All-in Sustaining Costs/All-in Costs
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Capital Expenditure
Not stated.

Planned Start/End Date
In September 2017, Rainbow started ore extraction at the Gasagwe site and, in December 2017, announced inaugural production and sales of its mineral concentrate.

The Gakara project entered commercial production in the 2018 financial year ended June 30, 2018.

Latest Developments
Rainbow Rare Earths has reported that, as a result of a recent structural and lithological review of the Gakara project, three large carbonatite bodies have been identified, representing the regional source of rare-earth elements.

The structural and lithological review entailed the reinterpretation of high-resolution geophysical data by TECT Geological Consulting, which was conducted in March and April.

The results confirm the highest priority areas for the ongoing exploration programme.

The review combined the structural information with the comprehensive mapping database accumulated by Rainbow over several years, as well as the geological knowledge derived from PhD research completed in December 2019.

This has been used to define a data-driven, objective appraisal of sites where rare-earth elements mineralisation, in the form of vein stockworks and/or breccias, are likely to have been more intensely developed. This work has defined 57 exploration targets.

In parallel with the structural review and targeting, Rainbow has been reviewing the historical mining and exploration data to ensure that the full historical knowledge of the Gakara project is included in the next phase of exploration planning.

The combination of historical data, recent structural analysis and upcoming three-dimensional (3D) mineralisation models will be used to refine the targets for ongoing exploration and trial mining, aimed at converting exploration targets into mineral resources.

Rainbow continues to operate trial mining and processing activities, demonstrating that the ore from veins found across the licence area are amenable to simple processing through gravity separation to produce a high-grade concentrate, which averages between 52% and 58% total rare-earth oxide.

It has stated that this oxide is suitable for direct shipping with minimal radioactive elements or other deleterious by-products often associated with rare earth projects.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Obsideo Consulting (EPCM) and CSA Global UK (mineral resources).

Contact Details for Project Information
Rainbow Rare Earths, email info@rainbowrareearths.com.