ASX-listed Brazilian Rare Earths spinoff company Alurion Resources has published an independent study that strengthens the Brazil-based Amargosa bauxite project's road-to-port export chain, supporting haulage rates up to 11.5-million tonnes a year.

The independent road-logistics study confirms road haulage as viable at all tested capacities up to 11.5-million wet tonnes, which is twice the project's scoping study base case of 5.75-million tonnes a year.

Alurion commissioned Engimind, a specialist transport-engineering consultancy, to independently assess the Bahia public road network between Amargosa and the Port of Enseada to support a range of potential bauxite export volumes.

The study envisions direct road haulage to the Port of Enseada using the BR-101 federal highway. Alurion's trucks are expected to represent less than 1% of total vehicles at 5.7-million tonnes capacity, which widens to 1.6% in the 11.5-million-tonne-a-year scenario.

Alurion is advancing engineering work to assess options for expanding Enseada’s port capacity up to 13.5-million wet tonnes a year, in collaboration with the port operator.

The Amargosa prefeasibility study (PFS) will integrate this work with the road-haulage findings to assess the technical and commercial feasibility of increased project scale.

The PFS is targeted for publication in mid-2027, with drilling, trenching and metallurgical programmes being ongoing.

"The study provides independent validation for the road-capacity assumptions in Amargosa’s development planning. It gives the PFS a defined route and fleet configuration, with no modelled road-capacity constraints under any of the three haulage scenarios assessed.

"Our base case remains road haulage to Enseada. The PFS will test whether higher volumes and modular port expansion can improve project economics and justify the additional investment," explains Alurion CEO Maurício Noronha.

Noronha cites the independent study as finding that a southern connection can add longer-term opportunity to develop more of Amargosa's resource base, potentially with less dedicated infrastructure. This option depends on completion of the Ferrovia de Integração Oeste-Leste integration railway and the Porto Sul intermodal deep water port complex being developed in Ilhéus - and Alurion gaining commercial access to these developments.