ABSTRACT The Balzhe rare earth deposit, located in Inner Mongolia, China, is a complex deposit that also contains niobium and zirconium. However, it remains undeveloped. One notable challenge is the low grades of the main valuable minerals, including xinganite, zircon, niobite, ilmenorutile, pyrochlorite, eschynite, monazite, and bastnaesite. These minerals are either weakly magnetic or associated with ilmenite, a paramagnetic mineral. To overcome this, a high-intensity magnetic method can be employed to separate these valuable minerals from the gangue minerals, thereby generating enriched products to lower the cost of the following flotation. In this study, the first step involved utilizing a high-intensity magnetic separation to enrich particles in different size fractions. It was observed that the size fraction of −0.5 + 0.02 mm was particularly suitable for effective separation. Subsequently, staged magnetic pre-concentration was conducted to obtain products with varying specific magnetization coefficients. To optimize the applied magnetic field intensity, a combination of a high-intensity magnetic separator and a superconducting magnetic separator was employed at different magnetic induction intensities. This proposed technique not only reduces reagent costs but also enhances the operational efficiency of subsequent flotation processes. By implementing this approach, it is anticipated that the Balzhe rare earth deposit can be effectively processed, overcoming the challenge of low-grade valuable minerals. This would contribute to improved economic viability and operational efficiency in the extraction of rare earth elements, niobium, and zirconium from the deposit.