Phase 1 of South Africa's Monazite Concentrate Plant Commences Production, Exports to Begin Within the Year
en.Wedoany.com Reported - On October 7, the Phase 1 concentrate processing plant at the Steenkampskraal monazite mine in South Africa's Western Cape Province was officially commissioned. South African Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources Gwede Mantashe presided over the commissioning ceremony, with Minister of Electricity and Energy Kgosientsho Ramokgopa and Deputy Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources Phumzile Mgcina in attendance. Mine operator SMM confirmed that the Phase 1 facility has begun commercial-scale ore processing and has signed multiple monazite concentrate offtake agreements, with plans to deliver the first batch of products to overseas customers by the end of 2026.
The Phase 1 processing plant employs ore crushing, grinding, gravity separation, and flotation processes to concentrate monazite from the ore into a saleable concentrate. The production process is based on the beneficiation flowsheet used at the mine in the 1950s, optimized by the mine's laboratory, and technically verified by South Africa's national mineral research organization Mintek and other research institutions. The mine operator previously published a Phase 1 basic design corresponding to an annual output of approximately 10,800 tonnes of monazite concentrate, but the October 7 commissioning announcement did not disclose the facility's current actual output or capacity utilization rate.
The Steenkampskraal deposit contains rare earth and thorium resources. SMM Executive Director Robbie Louw introduced that the deposit has an average grade of approximately 14.5% total rare earth oxides and a thorium content of approximately 2.1%. In addition to constructing the concentrate processing facility, Phase 1 of the project also includes the refurbishment of the underground decline and shaft areas, restoration of hoisting and transport facilities, and recovery of existing underground equipment and ore materials. The company's phased operational plan lists the restoration of underground mining and the increase of concentrate production as subsequent construction content.
Phase 2 of the project plans to construct monazite cracking and hydrometallurgical processing facilities to further process Phase 1 concentrate into mixed rare earth carbonate and recover thorium and related nuclides. In June 2026, SMM and Mintek successfully produced high-purity mixed rare earth products under laboratory conditions. The company plans to build rare earth separation facilities in Phase 3 to further produce rare earth oxide products.
According to the development financing arrangement published by SMM, US$10 million provided by the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa is used for the construction of Phase 1 metallurgical facilities and metallurgical testing for subsequent phases. The company also plans to raise an additional US$6 million for mine infrastructure rehabilitation and underground mining preparation, and is seeking US$20 million to support the construction of the hydrometallurgical processing plant. The construction of subsequent facilities remains subject to corresponding financing and project implementation conditions.
