Burundi Rare Earth: Gakara’s High-Grade Deposit & Care and Maintenance

• Burundi rare earth production has been on hold since June 2021, when Gakara — Africa’s only producing rare earth mine — was placed on care and maintenance at the government’s request
• Rainbow Rare Earths holds 90% of the project, with a non-dilutable 10% held by the Burundi State
• Concentrate grades of 52-56% TREO rank among the highest in the world; run-of-mine grade is approximately 10% REO
• The asset has been fully written down to nil, except cash and recoverable VAT, per Rainbow’s 2024 Annual Report
• No resumption date has been confirmed as of July 2026, and Rainbow’s development focus has shifted to its Phalaborwa Project in South Africa

Project Overview

Burundi rare earth activity centres on the Gakara project, approximately 20km south-southeast of Bujumbura in western Burundi. Operated by Rainbow Rare Earths, it was the only producing rare earth mine in Africa before operations were suspended. The mineralisation occurs in narrow, high-grade veins within the Kibaran Fold Belt, hosted predominantly in bastnaesite with secondary monazite.

Rainbow was granted a mining licence in March 2015, covering 39km² within an overall coverage area of 135km². The licence runs for 25 years and is valid until 2040. Rainbow holds a 90% interest in the project, with a non-dilutable 10% held by the Burundi State. Full project specifications are maintained on Rainbow’s own Gakara project page.

Grade and Resource Data

Gakara’s mineralisation is unusual for its combination of high in-situ grade and narrow, non-uniform veins. Concentrate grades of 52-56% TREO are among the highest in the world for a rare earth project. Selective mechanical mining of ore delivers a run-of-mine grade of approximately 10% rare earth oxides.

An October 2020 JORC Exploration Target estimated 262,000 to 375,000 tonnes of high-grade vein material at 7-12% TREO, alongside 252,000 to 342,000 tonnes of lower-grade breccia material at 1.0-1.5% TREO. An earlier JORC-compliant resource estimate at Kiyenzi, dated December 2018, put ore at approximately 1.2 million tonnes averaging 22% TREO; this figure predates the 2020 Exploration Target work and should be read as historical context rather than the current resource picture.

Neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr) account for roughly 19.5% of Gakara’s mass but approximately 88% of basket value, reflecting the concentration of magnet rare earths in the deposit. For a wider view of how Gakara ranks regionally, see REM’s top African rare earth projects.

Care and Maintenance Since 2021

Operations at Gakara were suspended in June 2021 at the request of the Burundi government, with export restrictions imposed the same month and a full suspension order following in July 2021. Staff were placed on suspension and short-term cash requirements minimised. As of Rainbow’s 2024 Annual Report, the asset has been fully written down except for cash and recoverable VAT.

Costs associated with Gakara remain minimised pending a resolution with the Burundi government. As of Rainbow’s most recent project disclosure, the project remains on care and maintenance at the government’s request, with no confirmed resumption date. Burundi’s suspension of Gakara sits within a broader pattern across rare earth projects across Africa, where regulatory risk has repeatedly slowed development timelines.

Regulatory Context: The 2023 Mining Code

Burundi enacted a revised mining code in August 2023, amending 2013 legislation and formally allowing the resumption of mining activities suspended since mid-2021. The revised code sets a state equity requirement of 15% for mining projects going forward, alongside provisions encouraging local processing before export.

This requirement applies to the code’s forward-looking framework rather than retroactively altering existing agreements. Rainbow’s own project disclosure continues to describe Burundi’s stake in Gakara specifically as 10% and non-dilutable, with no reported renegotiation of that structure. The two figures describe different things: a general policy setting for new and resuming projects, and Gakara’s original, unchanged ownership terms.

Wider Sector Risk: The Ntega Holding Arbitration

The 2021 suspensions affected multiple foreign operators in Burundi, including British, Chinese, and Russian companies. In January 2026, a separate operator, Ntega Holding Burundi, filed an ICSID arbitration claim against the Burundi government over a mining concession dispute stemming from the same 2021 suspension period, as reported by African Law & Business. This case is unrelated to Rainbow’s Gakara project but illustrates the broader regulatory risk facing operators in the country following the 2021-2023 disruption.

Outlook

Rainbow’s current development priority has shifted toward its Phalaborwa Project in South Africa, where a Definitive Feasibility Study is in progress. Gakara remains a secondary asset pending resolution with the Burundi government. For regional comparison, Burundi rare earth output can be measured against neighbouring Tanzania and Mozambique, both covered in REM’s top African rare earth countries ranking.