Abstract: Rare earth elements (REE) of the host rocks (Fe-siliceous rocks) and manganese ores of the Nchwaning Mine (Hotazel Formation, Kalahari manganese field) were studied. An important feature of manganese ores and host rocks (Fe-silicites) is the presence of negative and positive cerium (Ce/Ce*) and europium (Eu/Eu*) anomalies. This testifies to the complex and long history of the formation of manganese ores. Initial metal-bearing (Mn, Fe) sediments of a shallow-water basin with a negative cerium anomaly (Ce/Ce*) were enriched in europium (positive Eu/Eu*) at different stages of lithogenesis both during sedimentation (underwater discharge of hydrothermal fluids), and subsequent processes of hydrothermal transformation of the ore-bearing strata. The source of manganese could be basaltic andesites of the underlying Ongeluk Formation. © Pleiades Publishing, Ltd. 2024. ISSN 0024-4902, Lithology and Mineral Resources, 2024, Vol. 59, No. 5, pp. 569–588. Pleiades Publishing, Ltd., 2024.