Brazilian Critical Minerals Appoints Altris Engineering to Manage Ema FEED Phase

Brazilian Critical Minerals (ASX: BCM) has appointed Altris Engineering as lead design engineer for the front-end engineering and design (FEED) phase of its Ema rare earth project in Brazil.

The FEED program is expected to take about 24 weeks and will further develop the process plant and associated infrastructure while preparing Ema for detailed engineering and procurement.

Altris previously led the engineering component of the bankable feasibility study (BFS), giving the project continuity into its next development stage and retaining knowledge already built around the design, infrastructure and execution strategy.

Brazilian Critical expects the completed FEED package to increase Ema’s engineering maturity and establish the technical foundation for subsequent detailed design, procurement and construction.

Existing Engineering Carried Forward

The FEED phase will confirm major equipment selections, further optimise the process plant and infrastructure design, develop procurement packages, and refine Ema’s capital cost estimate and implementation schedule.

Altris will retain responsibility for engineering integration across work extending from receipt of pregnant leach solution generated by the in situ recovery (ISR) well-field through impurity removal, mixed rare earth carbonate (MREC) precipitation, dewatering, and product load-out.

The engineering will also incorporate ongoing test work, field investigations, and optimisation studies as they become available, allowing new technical information to be folded into the developing design.

“The focus of FEED is now increasingly about execution—finalising key engineering decisions, obtaining vendor quotations, advancing procurement packages, optimising capital and operating costs and further reducing the technical and execution risks ahead of a Final Investment Decision,” managing director Andrew Reid said.

“BCM continues to systematically de-risk Ema and advance what we believe has the potential to become a strategically important, low-cost source of rare earths outside of China.”

Procurement Readiness

A significant part of the FEED work will bring major equipment packages closer to procurement through equipment specifications, datasheets and enquiry documentation prepared by Altris.

The engineer will coordinate requests for quotation and technically evaluate vendor proposals, with the objective of securing conforming quotations that provide greater certainty around equipment selection, pricing and delivery schedules.

Value engineering will run alongside that work as BCM and Altris refine the execution strategy, capital estimate, and schedule while targeting improved capital efficiency, operating costs, constructability, and operational performance.

Once FEED is complete, a suitably qualified Brazilian contractor will undertake detailed engineering and construction documentation, with Altris providing technical handover and design continuity to preserve the engineering intent established through the BFS and FEED phases.

Ema is an ionic adsorption clay rare earth project near Apuí in Brazil’s Amazonas State, where BCM plans to use ISR with magnesium sulphate solution to recover rare earths from mineralised clay before processing them into MREC suitable for export and downstream refining.