Harena Rare Earths: Mining licence granted, on to pilot plant!

"Harena Rare Earths has received its exploitation licence in Madagascar, and the company’s executive chairman Ivan Murphy says this moves the project from the ‘transformation’ phase into the final licensing stage before production. Combined with a nearly $5 million investment from the US Development Finance Corporation (DFC) — which was highlighted in a White House fact sheet by President Trump — the company is now one of the only ex-China ionic clay projects with both US government funding and a licence to operate its pilot plant and laboratory."

What the exploitation licence unlocks

The licence upgrade from “transformation” to “exploitation” is the last phase of permitting before full production. It immediately allows Harena to open and operate its pilot plant and laboratory in Madagascar — the core activities for the next six to nine months. The pilot plant is a mini version of the full-scale project, designed to demonstrate that the company can produce rare earth concentrate on site using its ionic clay deposits. Murphy emphasises the company’s strategy is limited to producing concentrate and selling it at port for shipping to refiners, not integrating into battery manufacturing or refining itself. The laboratory work will continue to optimise the concentrate’s composition to match what refiners want, which in turn supports more detailed off-take negotiations and the