Brazilian Critical Minerals (ASX: BCM) has produced a high-grade mixed rare earth carbonate (MREC) during in-situ recovery field trials at the Ema ionic adsorbed clay rare earth project in Brazil.
The company generated the product from 1,000 litres of pregnant liquor solution it had recovered from trials earlier this year and sent for testing to the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) in Sydney.
The raw solution averaged 877 parts per million total rare earth oxides (TREO), with approximately 50% subject to impurity removal and MREC precipitation to generate 650 grams of high-value, high-quality carbonate containing 52.5% TREO.
Of the 15 rare earth oxides recovered within the MREC, the four economically-critical oxides—praseodymium, neodymium, dysprosium, and terbium—collectively represented 41.5% magnet oxides, positioning Ema’s carbonate as one of the highest MREO products available.
The export-quality material was produced without complex flotation or hydrometallurgical processing, eliminating the need for 90% of the capital expenditure involved with most rare earth projects.
Low Impurity Levels
With less than 2% impurities, Ema’s MREC was considered within commercial specifications, confirming the viability of the in-situ recovery processing route.
Key deleterious elements such as iron, aluminium, calcium, magnesium, uranium, and thorium were reduced to trace levels to produce a clean product suitable for further separation and refining.
The company expects the low impurity profile to simplify downstream processing, reduce reagent consumption, and enhance overall product value.
Brazilian Critical has now sent MREC samples to prospective offtake customers for validation testing as part of ongoing discussions.
ANSTO will continue with follow-up optimisation test work focused on impurity removal and MREC precipitation, with the results to be incorporated into a bankable feasibility study due for completion in the new year.
Strategic Rare Earths Importance
Managing director Andrew Reid said the test results reinforced Ema’s strategic importance as a potential western supplier of critical rare earths.
“We remain firmly focused on a path to achieving our goal of producing commercial quantities of rare earth oxides via in-situ recovery by developing the lowest capital-intensive rare earth project in the western world,” he said.
“These results are a key component in validating project economics and future cashflows for our bankable feasibility study which is being completed in parallel with the key phases of project permitting and offtake discussions.”
The company remains fully engaged with all required government departments in relation to the ongoing permitting process for Ema.
