• A total of seven new tenements have been acquired adjoining the Centro Sul and Cupim South prospects
  • The expansion adds 198.9 hectares to the Colossus project for a mere A$131,000
  • These concessions allow for further extensions to known high-grade mineralised bodies

 

Special report: Viridis Mining and Minerals has increased its footprint in the southern cluster of tenements at the Colossus rare earth project in Brazil.

After its scorching debut in 2022, Viridis Mining and Minerals’ (ASX:VMM) leadership team landed on a winner when it set out on a project hunt to capitalise on the world’s high-speed drive into green energy.

The Colossus rare earths project, acquired in August 2023, sits within the Pocos de Caldas complex of Brazil’s pro-mining state, Minas Gerais, where some of the world’s highest-grade ionic adsorption clay (‘IAC’) assets can be found.

IAC projects are very highly sought due to their potential to deliver low-cost, high-margin operations despite their lower grades compared to their hard rock counterparts.

These operations are characterised by simple processing methodology, non-radioactive waste and attractive mineralogy which are weighted towards magnet REEs such as neodymium-praseodymium and dysprosium-terbium.

VMM has taken on an aggressive approach to exploration at Colossus, with a 201Mt maiden resource at 2590ppm total rare earth oxide (TREO) delivered on the asset only a short ten months after project acquisition.

 

Tenements included in next resource upgrade

The company has now acquired a total of seven new tenements adjoining the Centro Sul and Cupim South prospects.

Tenement 300.728/2018 was acquired at a low cost of $83,000 and connects to the eastern border of Centro Sul, taking the Cento Sul landholding to 700.34 hectares.

The other six tenements total 91 hectares in size, offering strong potential for future exploration.

VMM says these southern tenements will now be undergoing systematic exploration and are expected to be included in the next resource upgrade for Colossus.

 

New concessions are highlighted in the purple border. Source: VMM

 

Strategic tenements ‘very valuable’

“With the remarkable results we are seeing from the drilling at our Cupim South Extension, we are thrilled to have increased our landholdings in this critical part of the complex at such a low cost,” VMM CEO Rafael Moreno says.

“More importantly, it takes our contiguous cluster of tenements in the south to an imposing 1,732 hectares (17.32km2) and could potentially support decades of high-grade production.

“Having completed the bulk of the scoping study and understanding the impact our superior basket value and low OPEX flowsheet design has on project economics compared to all our peers globally, makes these strategic acquisitions of this incredible ore body very valuable to the Colossus project development.”

 

What’s coming up?

VMM is continuing its targeted exploration efforts, and the low-cost acquisition of these concessions allows for further extensions to known high-grade mineralised bodies.

The company has recently completed 75 auger holes for the Centro Sul area, totalling 826 samples, with assays pending.

 

 

This article was developed in collaboration with Viridis Mining and Minerals, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

 

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

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