The United States is putting new funding into rare-earth projects across Africa as competition with China over critical mineral supply chains grows.
The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation has committed $62.8 million to projects in Malawi, Angola, Madagascar and South Africa. None of the four projects has reached production, according to DFC executives cited by Reuters.
Most of the funding, about $50 million, is going to the Phalaborwa project in South Africa, developed by Rainbow Rare Earths and backed by mining investor TechMet. The project is focused on recovering rare earths from existing phosphate mining waste, giving it a different profile from conventional greenfield mines.
In Malawi, DFC is supporting development work at the Songwe Hills rare-earth project. The agency says its funding is being used for final engineering work needed to move the project toward construction. The planned output would undergo initial processing in Malawi before the material is transported through Mozambique to Poland for separation and further refining.
In Angola, DFC is providing project-development support for testing at the Longonjo neodymium and praseodymium deposit. The project is expected to benefit from its proximity to the Lobito railway and port, which could provide an export route for material from central Angola.
Madagascar is also part of the new U.S. push, adding another potential source of rare earths to a supply chain that Washington wants to diversify.
The focus reflects the strategic importance of rare earths in permanent magnets used in electric vehicles, wind turbines, electronics and defense equipment. China remains the dominant force in the global rare-earth industry, particularly in processing, making alternative sources a priority for the United States and its partners.
The African commitments are relatively small compared with a separate U.S.-backed package for a rare-earth project in Brazil.
That package totals $1.55 billion and includes $750 million in Pentagon financing, $300 million in purchase guarantees from the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency and $500 million in bank financing. The funding is linked to Serra Verde’s Pela Ema project, an operating rare-earth mine in Brazil.
The difference in scale also reflects the different stages of the projects. The African investments are largely aimed at development and de-risking, while the Brazilian project is already producing.
For African producers, the new funding provides another source of capital for projects that have struggled to attract private investment. For Washington, the projects offer potential future sources of rare earths outside China as competition over critical mineral supply chains intensifies.
The latest commitments do not yet amount to a major shift in global supply. But they show that African rare-earth deposits are becoming part of the broader effort to build more diversified mineral supply chains.
