Brief Study Of Brazil's Emma Ionic Rare Earth Mine Completed
Feb 28, 2025
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On Wednesday, Brazilian Critical Minerals released the results of its brief study on the Ema clay rare earth mine in southeastern Brazil's Amazon.
The Emma Rare Earth Mine can produce 4,800 tons of mixed rare earth oxide concentrate annually, of which 1,800 tons of high-value magnet rare earth oxides.
Assuming that the total rare earth oxide (TREO) cost is US$6.15/kg, or the cost of proxydine is US$16.75/kg, calculated at the price of US$74/kg of neodymium aerophobics, the construction investment of the project requires US$55 million, the net present value after tax (NPV) is US$498 million, the internal rate of return (IRR) is 55%, and the return period is only 2.4 years.
If the spot price of praseodymium neodymium is US$60 per kg, the NPV will drop to US$355 million and the IRR will drop to 52%, but most other indicators will not change much.
The annual revenue is between US$143 million and US$182 million, and 90% of the revenue comes from magnet rare earths.
According to different forecast prices, the cash flow during mining is approximately US$48 million-67 million.
The mine has a 20-year life span, and the early cash flow will be used for expansion projects with a total investment of US$22 million, and the design capacity will reach 9,600 tons (TREO) per year in the fourth year.
The company believes that due to its shallow burial and suitable for in-situ recycling, only simple processing facilities are required, Emma Rare Earth Mine will become one of the least investment and lowest operating costs in the world.
At the same time, due to the absence of waste rock or tailings, the project has little impact on the environment. Due to the low investment, it is very easy for Emma Rare Earth Mine to enter the market.
"Now, we will speed up field trials, verify penetration, complete environmental bottom line assessments, start engineering design, and will complete these tasks in 2025," the company said.
The scope of the research resource is limited to the central ore section, with ore resources of 341 million tons and the TREO grade is 0.0746%.
The Emma rare earth ore area exceeds 82 square kilometers, and the ore resources are 943 million tons, with a grade of 0.0716%.
The company will start applying for a license and will launch a pre-feasibility study next quarter.
On Monday, Viridis Mining and Minerals and American Rare Earths announced their rare earth mines are the lowest-cost projects in Western countries.
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