Name of the Project
Colossus rare earths project.

Location
The project comprises 228.62 km² of licences within and around the Poços de Caldas Alkaline Complex, in Brazil.

Project Owner/s
Resource exploration and development company Virdis Mining & Minerals acquired 100% of the rare-earth element rights to Colossus in August 2023.

Project Description
A prefeasibility study (PFS) has outlined a technically robust, low-risk development pathway for one of the most compelling rare earth projects currently in the world. The PFS mine plan is conservatively based on just 20% of the total resource and limited to two project areas. The study outlines a well-engineered mining and processing operation designed for five-million tonnes a year of rare-earth ionic clay, supporting long-term scalability. 

The expected average production over the current 20-year life-of-mine (LoM) is estimated at 9 500 t/y of total rare-earth oxide (TREO) and 3 500 t/y of magnetic rare-earth oxide, with a high-value mix comprising 36% neodymium/praseodymium oxides and 2% dysprosium/terbium oxides.

Total LoM production is estimated at 188 954 t TREO and 70 364 t.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The PFS estimates a pretax net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of about $1.41-billion, based on a conservative long-term average forecast price assumption of $90/kg neodymium/praseodymium for its base case. The project has a pretax internal rate of return of 43%. Payback is estimated at two years.

Capital Expenditure
Capital expenditure, including contingency, is estimated at $358-million.

Planned Start/End Date
Production is targeted for 2028, with a clear timeline towards construction and commissioning. The DFS and project financial model are due for completion in August 2026, with a final investment decision targeted thereafter.

Latest Developments
Viridis Mining & Minerals' rare-earth carbonate (MREC) demonstration plant has achieved steady-state continuous production following its initial startup in May 2026. Average recoveries in July were 78.8% for magnetic rare-earth oxides (MREO) and 64.0% for TREO, compared with the PFS assumptions of 76% and 57% respectively. Median MREO recovery reached 80.3%, with a maximum of 80.9%.

The plant has operated reliably on a continuous 24-hour basis, validating the proposed commercial flowsheet and generating data to refine process design and capital and operating cost assumptions for the DFS.

Further process and equipment optimisation is continuing.

Run-of-mine feed is being sourced from the Northern Concessions' CW-01 and CW-02 pits, which are expected to provide the first 18 to 24 months of commercial plant feed. High-grade MREC samples produced to specification have been shipped to strategic offtake partner Solvay's La Rochelle facility, in France, for product qualification.

The demonstration programme has also validated countercurrent decantation, residue and MREC filtration, and water treatment for zero liquid discharge, water recycling and ammonium sulphate recovery. The facility is supporting technical due diligence by lenders' engineers and commercial-equipment design optimisation.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Hatch (PFS); Solvay (strategic offtake partner and product qualification); and SGS (independent laboratory analysis).

Contact Details for Project Information
Viridis Mining & Minerals, tel +61 3 9071 1847 or email info@viridismining.com.au.