Viridis bumps up massive Brazilian rare earths resource by 140pc

Viridis Mining and Minerals has bumped up its massive, rare earths mineral resource by 140 per cent at the company’s Colossus project, which sits in the southeastern State of Minas Gerais in Brazil.

The resource comprises 493 million tonnes grading a stunning 2508 parts per million (ppm) total rare earth oxides and 601ppm magnet rare earth oxides, making it one of the highest-grade ionic-adsorption-clay (IAC) projects globally.

The resource upgrade comes primarily from the company’s Southern Complex, due to substantial recent results from its Cupim South and Centro Sul deposits.

The total resource includes all data from its Northern Concessions area and the Southern Complex. Results from Viridis’ Tamoyo prospect were also included, as it has the highest magnet rare earth oxides among all the project’s deposits.

Tamoyo contains magnet rare earths grading 770ppm, within a total inferred resource of 18mt at 2896ppm total rare earths.

Management says Colossus sets a new benchmark for IAC projects with both the largest and highest-grade resource from measured and indicated categories. A 329mt resource going 2680ppm total rare earth oxides and 659ppm magnet rare earth oxides is equivalent to a 25 per cent magnet rare earths to total rare earths mix and presents the company with substantial further expansion potential.

Viridis says the key factor in determining profitability for a rare earth operation is high-value magnet rare earths, such as neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium. Management believes it has these elements in abundance, with the only publicly known magnet rare earth resource greater than 600ppm. This positions Colossus as a premier project relative to its peers.

Viridis expects significant further growth at the project with more exploration to take place across the Southern Complex. Less than 38 per cent of the Centro Sul deposit has been drilled.

Having now proven up an industry-leading measured and indicated resource of 327mt at 659ppm magnet rare earth oxides from the Northern Concessions and Southern Complex, which forms the basis of our development plan, and the exceptional ore to mixed rare earth carbonate recoveries from the metallurgical testing program from ANSTO, it’s easy to see why Colossus has the potential to reset the cost curve considering its cheap and benign flowsheet.

The company says a high-grade component has been outlined featuring 106mt grading more than 4000ppm total rare earth oxides and greater than 1000ppm magnet rare earth oxides, which will ensure an ongoing high-value supply of ore to support the economics of the project. This is considered vital in the early days of production.

The overall large resource has been derived from exploration works over a mere 11 per cent of the total project area, providing potentially tremendous upside to Colossus’ future resource.

Without doubt, the Southern Complex has returned consistent stellar results at the site, proving to be the premier mineralised area at Colossus.

Its measured and indicated resource totals 157mt at an eye-opening 2947ppm total rare earth oxides and 708ppm magnet rare earths, both considered to be high grades averaged across a large project area with multiple deposit areas.

Viridis says substantial discoveries have also been made outside the resource zones, providing the company with the confidence that it can expand the resource further in the future and have Colossus continue to stand head and shoulders above its competitors’ projects.

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