• Africa expected to account for 7% of global rare earth production by 2034.
• South Africa, Angola, Malawi, and Tanzania set to lead regional output.
• Growing Western investment aims to reduce dependence on Chinese supply.

Africa is expected to contribute 7% to global rare earth production by 2034, supported by a strong project pipeline across Southern and Eastern Africa, according to a Fitch Solutions report published on October 21, 2025.

Titled “Africa Rare Earths Outlook: South Africa, Tanzania, Angola and Malawi Set to Emerge as Major Regional Players,” the report also indicates that by the same year, Africa should account for around 16% of global supply outside China. These minerals are essential for manufacturing technologies critical to the energy transition and modern electronics.

No African country currently produces rare earths. However, South Africa, Angola, Malawi, and Tanzania are well positioned to become major producers of the 17 chemically related mineral elements—including scandium, yttrium, neodymium, and praseodymium—over the coming years.

South Africa has three projects under development, all expected to begin production before 2030. At the border between the Western Cape and Northern Cape, Frontier Rare Earths is developing the Zandkopsdrift project, listed by the European Commission in June 2025 as one of 13 strategic projects located outside the European Union. The site hosts 789 kilotons (kt) of proven and probable reserves of rare earth oxides with an average grade of 1.92%, targeting annual production of 17 kt of rare earths, including 4 kt of magnetic rare earths, over a 45-year mine life. According to the latest update released in February 2024, the project is expected to enter production in the second half of 2028.

Located further south in the Western Cape province, the Steenkampskraal project is based on a monazite deposit containing around 87 kt of rare earth oxides. From the second half of 2025, it is expected to produce about 5.4 kt per year of monazite concentrate, the main mineral source of rare earth elements. A second phase, scheduled for 2026, will involve the commissioning of a monazite cracking plant, while the third phase foresees the construction of a separation plant to produce 2.7 kt per year of individual rare earth oxides, including yttrium oxide, starting in 2027.

In the Limpopo province to the east, Rainbow Rare Earths is developing the Phalaborwa project, which contains an estimated 35 million tonnes of resources grading 0.44%. It is expected to produce 1.9 kt per year of separated magnetic rare earth oxides, including neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium.

New foreign investments expected

By 2034, Phalaborwa, Zandkopsdrift, and Steenkampskraal are projected to produce a combined total of 12.4 kt of rare earth oxides, positioning South Africa as Africa’s top producer and the world’s seventh-largest.

In Angola, British company Pensana is developing the Longonjo project, located along the Lobito rail corridor. The deposit is expected to produce 20 kt per year of mixed rare earth carbonate (MREC), an intermediate product to be processed at a facility in the United Kingdom, yielding 12.5 kt per year of magnetic rare earth oxides.

Production at this project—financed by the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC)—is scheduled to begin in the second half of 2026. Pensana also plans to double Longonjo’s capacity to 40 kt per year following a potential expansion phase.

In Malawi, the Kangankunde project, owned by Australian miner Lindian Resources, is expected to produce 8.3 kt per year of rare earth oxides, including 1.61 kt per year of neodymium and praseodymium. Lindian, which signed a financing and offtake agreement with commodity trader Gerald Metals in December 2024, plans to start production in the first quarter of 2026. Also in Malawi, Mkango Resources’ Songwe Hill project should produce 5.9 kt per year of total rare earth oxides (TREO), to be processed in Poland, with an output of 1.9 kt per year of neodymium-praseodymium oxides. Like South Africa’s Zandkopsdrift, Songwe Hill was designated a strategic project by the European Commission in June 2025.

In Tanzania, the Ngualla project operated by Australian group Peak Rare Earths is expected to produce an average of 16.2 kt per year of high-grade rare earth concentrate containing 3.6 kt per year of neodymium and praseodymium over a 24-year mine life.

In Uganda, Ionic Rare Earths is developing the Makuutu project, which contains ion-adsorption clay deposits similar to those found in southern China and Myanmar, offering a potential source of heavy rare earth oxides.

Meanwhile, Mozambique, Madagascar, Namibia, and Zambia host early-stage rare earth exploration projects still in preliminary development.

Given the growing strategic importance of rare earths, Fitch Solutions expects new foreign investments in the African sector, driven by efforts from Western powers such as the United States and the European Union to reduce their heavy dependence on China.