END-OF-DAY WRAP · France's DG Trésor confirmed this week that Washington is maintaining its support for a rare earths pilot plant in Madagascar through the Development Finance Corporation (DFC). The ionic clay deposit at Ampasindava in northern Madagascar is emerging as one of the most strategically significant mining assets in the post-Chinese-dependency era for critical minerals.
A unique ionic clay deposit in northern Madagascar
The Ampasindava project, developed by London-listed Harena Rare Earths, targets an ionic clay deposit in northern Madagascar. This type of ore — chemically similar to China's dominant deposits — is significantly easier and cheaper to process than hard rock, giving it a meaningful cost advantage at the processing stage.
Harena is targeting annual production of around 4,000 tonnes of rare earth oxides, including 1,700 tonnes of high-value magnet metals: neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium. These are indispensable for electric vehicle motors, defence equipment and precision guidance systems.
Washington commits: up to $4.84 million for the pilot plant
The DFC can invest up to $4.84 million for the pilot plant, laboratory testing and environmental programmes. In a second phase, total US funding could reach $150 million — the project's estimated full envelope — subject to due diligence and regulatory approvals.
The US State Department framed the support as a direct response to what it called the «opaque and predatory» investments of rival powers in African resources. For the refining stage, Harena is exploring partnerships with MP Materials, USA Rare Earths and Solvay in the United States and Europe — no contracts have yet been signed.
The geopolitical stakes: breaking the China-centred supply chain
China currently controls over 85% of global rare earth refining and has not hesitated to deploy export controls as a geopolitical lever. Madagascar's Ampasindava ionic clay deposit represents one of the very few credible alternatives to the China-centred supply chain for heavy rare earths — the most valuable industrially.
Madagascar's Ministry of Mines has not yet issued a mining permit. Harena hopes to begin commercial production around mid-2028, a timeline that remains conditional on obtaining the required authorisations.
Why it matters
For Madagascar, this marks its entry into the geopolitics of critical minerals — one of the defining strategic contests of the 2026-2036 decade. Ampasindava is not just a local mining project: it is part of a global battle to secure supply chains for electric vehicles, defence and the energy transition. If Washington backs the project to commercial scale, Madagascar could become one of the very few non-Chinese producers of heavy rare earths — a first-class asset for attracting far broader foreign investment and strengthening the island's mining sovereignty.