Processing of iron-rich rare earth bearing ores

A method of processing an iron-rich rare earth-bearing ore which includes a step of carbothermic smelting of the ore to produce a slag, the smelting step being regulated to control a level of residual FeO in the slag and to concentrate rare earth oxide minerals in a leachable species in the slag wherein the slag, after solidification, is milled to a size of 35 micron, and the milled slag is leached in hydrochloric acid to extract the rare earth oxide minerals from the milled slag, and wherein, during the smelting step, iron and manganese oxides in the ore are reduced to a pig iron in a metal phase.