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 approximately 90%, 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 | $1,687 | |
Royalties | US$ mpa | -$76 | |
Cash Operating Costs | US$ mpa | -$214 | |
EBITDA | US$ mpa | $1,397 | |
Tax | US$ mpa | -$179 | |
Sustaining Capex | US$ mpa | -$10 | |
Operating FCF | US$ mpa | $1,207 | |
Construction Capex | |||
Capex to First Rare Earth Concentrate(2) | US$ m | $91 | |
Capex to First NdPr, HRE+ & U Production(2) | US$ m | $527 | |
Reagent Production Facilities(2) | US$ m | $351 | |
Total Capex to First Production(2) | US$ m | $969 | |
Economics | |||
After-Tax NPV8 | - | US$6.0 billion | |
After-Tax IRR | % | 90% | |
NPV/Capex Ratio | x | 6.2x | |
Operating FCF Margin | % | 72% | |
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 30% contingency. |
Contacts
Bernardo Da Veiga
Managing Director and CEO
investors@brazilianrareearths.com
www.brazilianrareearths.com
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1 Monte Alto's 3.40 Mt primary and residual Mineral Resource grading 11.3% TREO comprises 2.51 Mt of Indicated Mineral Resources grading 12.7% TREO and 0.89 Mt of Inferred Mineral Resources grading 7.1% TREO.
2 HRE+ concentrate production figure represents contained rare earth oxide volumes.