虹稀土有限公司计划从其布隆迪的Gakara稀土项目中每年生产10000吨稀土精矿。

与今年截止到6月30号的的产量(850吨)相比，该计划产量增加了10倍，同比增长为44%，其稀土氧化物含量为57%，售价1812美元/吨。

公司其实早已开始了测试工作，为了进一步勘探并确认其矿藏储量是否能支撑其新的10年开采计划。

公司目前处于地表矿脉测试阶段，但测试结果显示即使是地表也仍含有较低水平的稀土元素，这意味Gakara可能拥有比最初预期的更大的矿床。

公司决定，为了提高开采质量，开采任务将由新的开采队伍和新的机器实施。

公司的短期目标是在2020年1月达到盈亏平衡，然后利用现金资源实现新目标。

新上任的首席执行官乔治？贝内特(george bennett)表示：“尽管这个产量具有挑战性，但将今年的经营方式定性为一种尝试将更为正确。今年我们的项目取得了很多进展，如今新的经营方式也将会以更系统更高效的形式出现在Gakara的开采中。”

Rainbow Rare Earths Ltd (LON:RBW) is targeting production of 10,000 tonnes per annum of rare earth concentrate at its Gakara mine in Burundi.

It would be a ten-fold boost from the 850 tonnes produced in the year to 30 June, which was a 44% increase year-on-year.

The grade of 57% total rare earth oxides sold at an average price was US$1,812 per tonne.

The miner has already begun a programme of test work and further exploration to define whether the mine’s reserves can support the new target for a ten-year operating life.

While current activities focus on veins outcropping at surface, recent testing suggested there are minerals at a lower level too, implying potential for a larger deposit than initially expected.

Operations will be supported by a new mining fleet, better suited for wet terrain, and mechanical extraction, rather than by hand, to allow for greater quantity.

The short-term objective is to reach breakeven profitability by January 2020, to then employ cash resources for the new target.

“While production was challenging, it would be more correct to characterise our operating methods in the year as trial mining,” said new chief executive George Bennett.

“We have been able to learn a lot about our project in the year, and are now adapting the way we operate, and while we will continue the trial mining at Gakara, we are moving to a more mechanised, efficient operation.”(source：proactiveinvestors)