US Funding Boosts Madagascar Rare Earths Project to Reduce China Dependence

The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has committed up to $4.84 million to the Ampasindava ionic‑clay rare‑earths project in Madagascar. The project, operated by London‑listed Harena Rare Earths Plc, holds a 75% stake and is valued at roughly $150 million. It targets an annual output of about 4,000 metric tons of rare‑earth oxides by mid‑2028, including neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium—materials essential for permanent magnets used in electric‑vehicle motors, wind‑turbine generators and defense systems.

U.S. officials presented the financing as part of a broader strategy to diversify supply chains and weaken China’s dominant share—over 70%—of global rare‑earth production. The DFC investment is framed as a credibility signal to attract larger private financing and to counter what Washington describes as “opaque, predatory” Chinese investments in Africa’s mining sector. Similar U.S.–backed initiatives are emerging elsewhere on the continent, such as Pensana Rare Earths’ project in Angola.