Species with highly restricted ranges are disproportionately at risk of extinction, particularly where habitat loss occurs as a result of mining. Postmining restoration of rare species populations is considered as an appropriate response to counter such threats, but requires a careful, evidence-based, and information-driven approach. The economically important diamond mining at Sendelingsdrif in the southern Namib Desert occurs in the highly diverse Succulent Karoo Biome and threatens a significant part of the population of the narrow endemic succulent plant species Juttadinteria albata. To decrease the inherent risks of restoring such a rare species, we studied the habitat features of premining J. albata populations and experimentally tested whether some features could assist future reintroductions in postmining substrates. Plots where J. albata occurred were mostly south-to west-facing and had among others higher rock cover and steeper slopes than plots where J. albata plants were absent. A revegetation experiment, with J. albata cuttings that were established on postmining substrate mounds, revealed that plants on steeper slopes, facing south to west, grew faster than plants on other slopes and aspects. Slope and aspect are therefore important habitat properties to recreate when restoring J. albata populations. These, and other preferred habitat properties such as higher levels of organic C, should now be tested in larger-scale field trials. Validation of habitat requirements of J. albata through the revegetation experiment has decreased the risks at least partially and provides additional empirical evidence of the importance of establishing reference conditions to enhance ecological restoration. Implications for Practice• Field surveys of habitat preferences and subsequent experimental results suggest that Juttadinteria albata should be transplanted (or seeded) onto south-southwest or west-facing steep (>20 ∘ ) slopes during ecological restoration. • Other features that proved to explain variation in species occurrence in nature, such as rock cover and organic carbon levels, could theoretically further improve chances of successful establishment. This should be tested at appropriate scales to better understand the mechanisms involved. • Our study has reinforced the general principle of establishing reference conditions in advance, and testing the application of these in a systematic experiment to facilitate effective ecological restoration.