The United States government is pressing ahead with a $50 million investment in the Phalaborwa Rare Earths Project in northeastern South Africa, even as diplomatic relations between the two countries remain strained following a Trump executive order earlier this year that halted most US financial assistance to Pretoria. The funding, channelled through the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) via investment firm TechMet, will support developer Rainbow Rare Earths in extracting minerals such as neodymium and dysprosium from 35 million tons of industrial mining waste at a former chemical plant, with extraction targeted to begin in 2028. The project reflects Washington's broader drive to reduce dependence on China — which dominates global rare earth supply — for minerals critical to electric vehicles, defence systems, and advanced electronics.