Rainbow Rare Earths Ltd. provided an update on the initial results of the ongoing metallurgical test work programme for the Phalaborwa Project ("Phalaborwa" or the "Project") being undertaken by ANSTO Minerals in Australia ("ANSTO"). Testwork has confirmed the phosphogypsum is amenable to simple, direct, leaching with low cost sulphuric or hydrochloric acid without pre-treatment: Initial recoveries of rare earths of greater than 70% have been achieved within 24 hours, which will be improved through further optimisations. It is expected that production of high value products (mixed rare earth carbonate or separated rare earth oxides) will be possible from the leach solution. The phosphogypsum contains exceptionally low levels of radioactive elements uranium and thorium when compared to other rare earth projects: No radioactivity controls are expected to be required for the shipment of the rare earth products. No expensive redeposition measures should be required for the leached phosphogypsum residue. The test work results to date support the expectations that a simplified processing flow sheet can be developed and optimised from the original Sasol flow sheet to recover the rare earths without the high cost, energy and reagent intensive mining, crushing, milling, primary beneficiation, cracking and uranium/thorium removal costs associated with a typical rare earth project. The next phase of testing, currently in progress at ANSTO, is focussed upon optimisation of leach recovery, acid consumption and initial selective recovery of the rare earths from the leach solution. The first phase of work at ANSTO focused on testing various leach lixiviants and conditions on a composite sample of material sourced from auger drilling across the gypsum stacks.  The composite sample was constructed with 10 individual samples spatially distributed to replicate the expected resource average grade with respect to major and target elements.   Test work was performed utilising nitric acid, sulphuric acid and hydrochloric acid as the key lixiviant based on historical work completed on similar material.  The sulphuric acid and hydrochloric acid tests initially indicated good ambient temperature leach recoveries and kinetics leaching virtually concluded within a 24 hour period recovering ~70% of the rare earth elements present in the sample.  It is likely that sulphuric acid will be the lixiviant of choice due to local availability, costs and materials of construction as compared to hydrochloric acid.Gamma analysis was also completed on the composite sample to understand the presence of radioactive elements within the gypsum stacks and the impact that may have on the processing and final product.  The analysis conducted to date shows that the overall level of radioactive materials is low, with the phosphogypsum having less than 1Bq/g of radionuclides present, which is in line with the IAEA International guidelines for exemption from regulations pertaining to radioactivity. The test work to date has confirmed that the Phalaborwa tailings are expected to be benign, negating the need to manage multiple tailings facilities which adds increased costs for many global rare earth projects.  The concurrent rehabilitation of two historical gypsum stacks reduces the environmental footprint in an ecologically sensitive area. Further work is planned to confirm the leach characteristic variability of the stacks to support a preliminary economic assessment for the Phalaborwa project.  Further optimisation and processing development work will then be undertaken prior to the completion of a full feasibility study.