Meteoric Resources takes crown for world’s largest clay-hosted rare earths project

Meteoric Resources’ Caldeira rare earths project in Brazil’s Minas Gerais state. Credit: Meteoric ResourcesMeteoric Resources’ (ASX: MEI) update of its Caldeira rare earths project in Brazil makes its 1.1 billion-tonne resource the largest ionic adsorption clay deposit in the world by tonnage and grade.The update boosts by 50% the total rare earths oxides (TREO) by global tonnage at Caldeira, and grades it at 2,413 parts per million (ppm), including 559 ppm magnetic rare earth oxides (MREO). Caldeira is located in southwestern Minas Gerais state.“(The update) reinforces the tier one status of our Caldeira project inclusive of its significant scale and the optionality which it brings to global rare earth markets,” Stuart Gale, managing director said in a release on Tuesday. “While the project’s scale is crucial, the flexibility it provides to target specific areas enriched with magnetic light and heavy rare earths adds substantial long-term value as we aim to deliver this critical commodity.”Measured and indicated tonnes rose by 91% to 589 million tonnes at 2,655 ppm TREO and 613 ppm MREO over the previous resource from last year. Inferred tonnage increased 31% to 519 million tonnes grading 2,138 ppm TREO and 498 ppm MREO.‘Strategic asset’The resource update “further highlights that MEI has a strategic asset and the best undeveloped rare earth elements asset with significantly higher grade, tonnes and metallurgical recovery than their ionic clay peers,” SCP Resource Finance analyst Justin Chan wrote in note on Wednesday.The project’s value also comes from the optionality and ability to target higher grade zones, Chan said, noting subsets at the Dona Maria target of 43 million tonnes at 3,753 ppm TREO, and 49 million tonnes grading 3,917 ppm TREO at the Cupim Vermelho Norte target.In a model mine plan, Chan estimates a life of 110 years at a run rate of 10 million tonnes per year.Largest official resourceMost rare earths deposits worldwide are of the ionic adsorption clay (IAC)-hosted variety. This is also true for China, which possesses most of the globe’s rare earths and dominates their processing.Most other projects in Brazil also fall under the IAC rare earths category. They include Serra Verde’s Pela Ema mine and Aclara Resources’ (TSX: ARA) Carina Module, both in Goias state.By contrast, the rare earths at Vital Metals’ (ASX: VML) Nechalacho project in the Northwest Territories are hosted in solid rock. That site was briefly Canada’s sole rare earths mine, though on a demonstration-scale basis.The closest comparable deposit to Meteoric’s by global resource and grade is Viridis Mining and Minerals’ (ASX: VMM) Colossus project, also in Minas Gerais. It hosts a global resource of 493 million tonnes grading 2,508 ppm TREO.The high-grade Barra do Pacu area at Caldeira’s southern end is to be added to the resource in the second quarter, Meteoric said.The company plans to release a pre-feasibility study for Caldeira later in the year.Meteoric shares gained 1.5% to close at A$0.06 apiece on Wednesday in Sydney, valuing the company at A$147.81 million. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of A$0.05 to A$0.26.Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com