# South Africa has taken a significant step towards establishing a domestic rare earth processing industry. This comes after the Steenkampskraal Monazite Mine in the Western Cape and mineral processing agency Mintek successfully produced high-purity mixed rare earth products at laboratory scale. This was achieved through collaboration between the mine, Mintek, and supported by the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation. The three partners said this could position the country as a strategic supplier to rapidly growing global clean energy, technology and medical sectors currently dominated by China.
South Africa takes significant step towards establishing domestic rare earth processing industry