BUSINESS & INSIDE AFRICA
The Trump administration is expanding its strategic investment presence in Africa with $4.84 million in project-development financing for Harena Rare Earths’ Ampasindava rare-earth project in Madagascar.
The funding, provided through the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, also gives the project something potentially more valuable at this stage: the backing of a U.S. government institution focused on securing critical-mineral supply chains.
Herena estimates it would need $150 million to bring the mine into production.
The DFC financing, announced Friday at the U.S. State Department’s Critical Minerals Ministerial event, is the agency’s first mining investment in Madagascar, aimed at moving Harena’s ionic-clay rare-earth project toward investment readiness through a structured technical and development work program.
According to the deal, Harena will draw the funds against specific tasks, including pilot-plant work, on-site laboratory testing and efforts to produce rare-earth concentrate. The company is targeting first concentrate production within about 24 months, subject to financing, permitting and technical milestones.
Harena Executive Chairman Ivan Murphy called the investment a “huge endorsement” of the Madagascar project after a due-diligence process that examined its technical, environmental and ESG credentials.
The company expects the DFC relationship to extend beyond the initial funding, with the agency having direct role in shaping the project’s next phase, while Harena gains access to broader discussions with potential investors and funds that could support the much larger capital requirement for construction.
The project advances a broader U.S. effort to diversify critical-minerals supply chains as Washington seeks to reduce reliance on China, which dominates rare-earth processing and much of the global supply chain. Rare-earth elements are used in electric vehicles, smartphones, robotics, aerospace equipment, precision-guided defense systems and advanced manufacturing.
“President Trump has made securing our critical-minerals supply chains a national priority,” said Ben Black, DFC chief executive. “Through projects like Harena, DFC is helping expand America’s access to essential materials while providing our partners with transparent, high-quality financing alternatives.”
Harena’s case rests partly on its geology. Ionic-clay deposits can, in some cases, be brought into production faster and with simpler processing than conventional hard-rock rare-earth mines. The company says Ampasindava has a substantial heavy rare-earth resource and a potentially lower-impact development path than projects requiring large-scale blasting and crushing.
The DFC’s interest also reflects its familiarity with Madagascar. The agency has supported infrastructure initiatives in the country, including projects tied to infrastructure and energy. That existing relationship may help reduce perceived country risk for prospective financiers, although Harena will still need substantially more capital before construction can begin.
DFC said the Harena financing builds on its strategic portfolio of rare-earth investments, including Serra Verde and Clara, which are intended to support more resilient supply chains for the U.S. and its partners. Serra Verde, in Brazil, is also an ionic-clay rare-earth project and provides a useful precedent as Harena seeks larger-scale funding.
For Madagascar, Ampasindava could provide an entry point into the growing global market for critical minerals. If developed properly, the project could support jobs, workforce training, infrastructure investment, and opportunities for local suppliers, while increasing the country’s role in supply chains serving U.S. and allied manufacturers.
The deal also adds to DFC’s expanding presence in Africa’s resource and infrastructure sectors. The agency reported more than $10 billion in portfolio exposure across the continent as of September 2025, spanning infrastructure, energy, agriculture, health care and critical minerals.
That portfolio includes the Lobito Corridor, which is intended to improve the transport route between Angola’s Atlantic coast and mineral-producing regions in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia. The corridor is expected to improve access to copper and cobalt, materials central to battery and industrial supply chains.
The U.S. has also expanded project-development work in Gabon, where DFC backed feasibility studies for the Banio Potash Project, intended to advance Africa’s first potash mine and expand regional fertilizer supply.
