Brazilian Critical Minerals looks ahead to Ema scoping study

BCM receives final batch of assays for Ema project
The results will be included in an updated resource estimate
A scoping study will be released during Q1

Special Report: The market appeal of Brazilian Critical Minerals’ Ema asset in Brazil is in full force following the delivery of the fourth and final assay batch from the 2024 resource infill drilling program.

Stand-out hits including 9m at 1065ppm total rare earth oxide (TREO) from 12m, 5m at 985ppm TREO from 8m, and 5m at 858ppm TREO from 12m have extended the drilling coverage and mineralisation of the project, which boasts a goal of a minimum 20-year mine life.

Developed to determine an indicated mineral resource over the central portion of the Ema resource, the program results will now be used in an updated resource estimate for the area spanning 21km2.

All in all, assay results have now been received for a total 244 holes (90%) of the 270 originally planned holes.

The remaining 26 holes were not drilled due to the start of heavy rains and will be completed during the 2025 drill season.

Brazilian Critical Minerals (ASX:BCM) said the results generally returned thick mineralised intercepts with the highest grades of NdPr being found directly above the fresh rock interface.

‘Truly unique outside of Asia’

“The 2024 drilling program achieved everything we hoped for,” BCM managing director Andrew Reid said.

“As with all the drilling programs completed the best NdPr grades sit at shallow depths directly above the basement felsic volcanics being ideal for in-situ recovery extraction.

“The Ema region, locality, topography, style of mineralisation and host rocks are similar to the large Chinese ionic clay deposits, which have been cheaply extracted via ISR techniques for several decades,” he added.

“This project and its attributes are truly unique outside of Asia as we push hard on our value-creation strategy.”

China top REE player

Despite more than a decade of sustained efforts by Western countries to loosen China’s grip on rare earth elements – a group of 17 critical metals and indispensable components in military defence systems, renewable energy technologies and electronics – Beijing remains the top play in the REE global mining, processing and refining sectors.

It dominates roughly 90% of rare earth processing capacity and mines roughly 210,000t of rare earth oxides annually, far outpacing any other country.

But while EV and wind turbine demand is growing, the Chinese property sector has been a major drag on rare earths demand with the commodities used in, among other things, air conditioning units.

The are some green shoots emerging among Brazilian clay-hosted rare earths explorers that can move into development during the next upswing with operations that have the grade and geological advantages to populate the bottom end of the cost curve.

Scoping study release Q1

BCM believes it is strategically positioned to systematically target a large, mineralised zone in the upcoming scoping study at Ema with permeability field trials kicking off shortly.

The project is unique in that it shares almost identical characteristics with the ionic REE deposits developed over volcanic rocks in southwest China and Myanmar, the world’s largest known ionic clay region.

The scoping study for Ema is on track for release at some point during the current quarter.