Brazilian Rare Earths Scoping Study Results
Rhea-AI Summary
Brazilian Rare Earths (ASX: BRE, OTCQX: BRELY) released scoping study results for its integrated Monte Alto mine and Camaçari refinery, targeting first production in 2031 and a 9‑year life of mine under an Argus EU/US rare earth price deck.
The study forecasts average annual production over the first five run‑rate years of about 6,351 tpa NdPr oxide and 2,502 tpa HRE+ concentrate, including heavy rare earth oxides such as 229 tpa dysprosium, 45 tpa terbium and 1,060 tpa yttrium. Long‑term average annual revenue is estimated at US$1.687 billion, EBITDA at US$1.397 billion, and operating free cash flow at US$1.207 billion with a 72% margin.
Total pre‑production capex is estimated at US$969 million, delivering an after‑tax NPV8 of US$6.0 billion, IRR of 90% and a payback period of about 1.1 years. The project is positioned in the first quartile of a global rare earth cost curve at roughly US$21/kg NdPr equivalent, and excludes potential uranium and other critical mineral revenues from current economics.
Positive
- After-tax NPV8 US$6.0 billion on US$969m pre-production capex
- High forecast IRR of 90% and 1.1-year payback period
- Average annual EBITDA of US$1.397b and FCF of US$1.207b
- First-quartile cost position at ~US$21/kg NdPr equivalent
- High-grade resource of 11.3% TREO across 3.40 Mt
- Strong NdPr and HRE output: 6,351 tpa NdPr, 2,502 tpa HRE+ first 5 years
Negative
- Total capex to first production of US$969m including contingencies
- Relatively short life of mine at 9 years in current scoping case
News Explained
The key new commitment is a binding 10-year European sales pathway for HRE+ product, alongside technical support for planned downstream execution.
The disclosure adds a binding 10-year European offtake pathway for BRE’s HRE+ product, while the Monte Alto–Camaçari project remains at the scoping-study stage and targets first production in
Carester is described as a technical partner supporting process design, equipment selection, commissioning and ramp-up planning. The partnership therefore covers planned downstream execution activities rather than demonstrating that the mine or refinery is operating.
News Market Reaction – BRELY
In the Aug 19 session, BRELY declined 3.99%, reflecting a moderate negative market reaction.
Data tracked by StockTitan Argus on the day of publication.
AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
SYDNEY, Aug. 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Brazilian Rare Earths Limited (ASX: BRE / OTCQX: BRELY) ('BRE') is pleased to report the exceptional results of the Monte Alto + Camacerai scoping study.
HIGHLIGHTS
- World-leading rare earth grade advantage: Monte Alto is endowed with a Mineral Resource Estimate grade of approximately
11.3% TREO, more than 2x the reported resource grades of the two established large-scale Western rare earth producers, giving BRE a structural advantage across mining intensity, processing scale, capital efficiency and unit operating costs.1 - Simple, two-product rare earth suite: Initial development is centred on a simplified product pathway of separated NdPr oxide and a mixed HRE+ concentrate containing dysprosium, terbium, gadolinium, samarium and yttrium.
- Globally significant magnet rare earth production: Monte Alto is forecast to deliver average annual production of approximately 6,351 tpa NdPr oxide and 2,502 tpa HRE+ concentrate over its first five years of run-rate production, supplying critical inputs for high-performance permanent magnets, robotics, defence systems, electric mobility, aerospace and advanced manufacturing.2
- Major new global source of heavy rare earths: Monte Alto’s HRE+ concentrate is forecast to contain approximately 274 tpa DyTb, 360 tpa gadolinium and 1,060 tpa yttrium over its first five run-rate years, representing multiples of many Western producer volumes and positioning BRE as a potential leading global source of supply-constrained heavy rare earth feedstock.
- Strategic uranium and critical mineral co-product revenue excluded from study economics: Monte Alto is forecast to produce approximately 466 tpa U₃O₈ on a LOM average basis, providing a strategic global scale nuclear fuel co-product and future value pathway. Uranium revenue has not been included in the Monte Alto economics and will be evaluated in future studies alongside scandium, niobium and tantalum.
- Low-capex mine development: Monte Alto is designed as a compact, simple mine-site operation using conventional mining, crushing, screening and sensor-based ore sorting, with no chemical processing at the mine site, quarry-scale initial throughput and upgraded high-grade feed transported to Camaçari for downstream processing.
- Strategically located refinery: High-grade feed from Monte Alto is planned to be processed at a refinery at the Camaçari Petrochemical Complex, leveraging established industrial infrastructure, utilities, chemical feedstock supply chains, logistics, skilled labour and an existing industrial regulatory setting.
- Low-temperature, high-yield integrated process flowsheet: The process flowsheet combines high-recovery beneficiation with low-temperature hydrometallurgy and rare earth separation engineering, reducing costs and supporting strong mine-to-product recoveries.
- First-quartile global cost position: Monte Alto’s ultra-high grade, simple ore sorting, high yields, efficient logistics to Camaçari, established industrial infrastructure and low-temperature hydrometallurgical route position the project in the first quartile of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence’s global rare earth cost curve at approximately US
$21 /kg NdPr equivalent. - Exceptional Scoping Study economics: Under Argus long-term EU/US price forecasts, Monte Alto is forecast to deliver after-tax NPV8 of approximately US
$6 billion , after-tax IRR of approximately90% , payback of approximately 1.1 years, average annual Operating FCF of approximately US$1.2 billion and an NPV/capex ratio of approximately 6.2x. - Carester technical partnership and European HRE+ offtake: BRE’s partnership with Carester strengthens downstream separation execution, supports process design, equipment selection, commissioning and ramp-up planning, and provides a binding 10-year European offtake pathway for BRE’s heavy rare earth product, linking the Project to Western supply chains.
- Province-scale exploration growth platform: Monte Alto remains open along strike and at depth, with recently announced drilling completed after the 22 February 2026 Mineral Resource cut-off date already returning significant additional high-grade mineralisation. There is significant exploration prospectivity across Sulista, Pelé and the large-scale Rocha da Rocha province.
A link to the full scoping study document can be found here.
A link to the scoping study presentation can be found here.
APPENDIX: KEY SCOPING STUDY RESULTS
| INTEGRATED MONTE ALTO + CAMAÇARI CASE | |||
| Price Deck & Timing | Units | ||
| REE Price Deck | - | Argus EU/US Forecast | |
| First Production | yr | 2031 | |
| Life of Mine | yr | 9 | |
| Average Annual Production | First 5 Years | LOM Avg. | |
| NdPr Oxide Avg. Annual Production | tpa | 6,351 | 5,661 |
| HRE+ Con. Avg. Annual Production(1) | tpa | 2,502 | 2,233 |
| U₃O₈ Avg. Annual Production | tpa | 540 | 466 |
| Oxides Contained in HRE+ Production | |||
| Dysprosium Avg. Annual Production | tpa | 229 | 205 |
| Terbium Avg. Annual Production | tpa | 45 | 40 |
| Samarium Avg. Annual Production | tpa | 565 | 504 |
| Gadolinium Avg. Annual Production | tpa | 360 | 321 |
| Yttrium Avg. Annual Production | tpa | 1,060 | 947 |
| Average Annual Financials | |||
| Revenue | US$ mpa | ||
| Royalties | US$ mpa | - | |
| Cash Operating Costs | US$ mpa | - | |
| EBITDA | US$ mpa | ||
| Tax | US$ mpa | - | |
| Sustaining Capex | US$ mpa | - | |
| Operating FCF | US$ mpa | ||
| Construction Capex | |||
| Capex to First Rare Earth Concentrate(2) | US$ m | ||
| Capex to First NdPr, HRE+ & U Production(2) | US$ m | ||
| Reagent Production Facilities(2) | US$ m | ||
| Total Capex to First Production(2) | US$ m | ||
| Economics | |||
| After-Tax NPV8 | - | US | |
| After-Tax IRR | % | ||
| NPV/Capex Ratio | x | 6.2x | |
| Operating FCF Margin | % | ||
| Payback Period | yrs | 1.1 | |
| Note: First 5 years represents first 5 years of run-rate production. Cash Operating Costs, EBITDA, Operating FCF, NPV, IRR and Payback Period are Non-IFRS financial measures. Refer to Appendix F for the definition, calculation basis and reconciliation. (1) Heavy rare earth concentrate product. Production figure represents volume of contained rare earth oxides. (2) Includes | |||
Contacts
Bernardo Da Veiga
Managing Director and CEO
investors@brazilianrareearths.com
www.brazilianrareearths.com
_________________
1 Monte Alto’s 3.40 Mt primary and residual Mineral Resource grading
2 HRE+ concentrate production figure represents contained rare earth oxide volumes.
