Name of the Project
Monte Muambe rare earths, fluorspar and gallium project.

Location
Tete province, north-western Mozambique.

Project Owner/s
Altona Rare Earths changed its name to NeoTerra Group, effective June 22, 2026, to reflect its evolution from a rare earth-focused exploration company to a broader critical minerals development platform with multiple commodity exposures, near-term production opportunities and a growing pipeline of strategic growth initiatives.

Investment in the project for Phase 3 of the earn-in agreement is close to reaching the minimum expenditure commitment for this phase, which will result in the company’s holding in the project increase from 51% to 70%.

Project Description
Monte Muambe hosts rare earths, fluorspar, gallium and heavy rare-earth element (HREE) mineralisation. The project is held under a 25-year mining licence granted in December 2024.

A scoping study on the rare earths component has proposed the openpit mining of Target 1 and Target 4 over a life-of-mine of 18 years.

An estimated 750 000 t/y of ore is planned to be extracted and processed through a beneficiation plant to produce a rare-earth concentrate. The beneficiation process will include crushing, milling and flotation.

The concentrate will be processed through a hydrometallurgical plant to produce an average of 15 000 t/y of mixed rare-earth carbonate. The hydrometallurgical process will involve a weak acid gangue leach, followed by rare earths leaching and purification.

The mixed rare earth carbonate product will be packaged and transported using existing road infrastructure to the Port of Beira, in Mozambique, for export.

Monte Muambe hosts a Joint Ore Reserves Committee- (Jorc-) compliant rare earths mineral resource estimate of 13.6-million tonnes at 2.42% total rare-earth oxides (TREO). Published Jorc estimates for the broader project also include 3.48-million tonnes of fluorspar at 20.6% calcium fluoride (CaF₂) for 716 000 t of contained CaF₂, and 11.73-million tonnes at 54.7 g/t gallium oxide (Ga₂O₃) for 641 t of contained Ga₂O₃.

The fluorspar estimate supports an initial base case of 50 000 t/y of acid-grade fluorspar concentrate for 9.5 years, assuming a metallurgical recovery of 65% and a concentrate grade of 97.5% CaF₂. The gallium mineral resource estimate confirms mineralisation beyond the fluorspar ore envelope and into adjacent fenite zones, but commercial viability remains subject to ongoing extraction testwork.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The rare earths scoping study estimates an after-tax net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of $283.3-million and an internal rate of return of 25%, with a payback of 2.5 years.

Capital Expenditure
Initial capital expenditure for the rare earths project is estimated at $276.3-million.

Planned Start/End Date
The fluorspar metallurgy and scoping study are expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2026.

Latest Developments
NeoTerra has reported metallurgical breakthroughs, which have significantly derisked the development of the project’s multicommodity flowsheet, confirming a practical route to produce premium acid-grade fluorspar while separating heavy rare earths and gallium-bearing materials.

In a July 7 statement on operational progress and recent developments in the global rare earths and gallium markets, the company highlighted that gallium had been successfully upgraded by about 100% during initial flotation testing, demonstrating a potential low-cost pathway towards preconcentrating this critical metal.

The company has noted that metallurgical testwork is inherently iterative, and the additional complexity of developing an integrated process capable of recovering three products of commercial-grade fluorspar, a heavy rare earths by-product and a preconcentrated feedstock for potential gallium extraction, has extended the optimisation programme.

While this has impacted on the timeline, NeoTerra believes that the additional work will significantly enhance the overall value and commercial potential of the project.

The US-government-funded $1.88-million rare earths prefeasibility programme is advancing towards execution, with international engineering groups shortlisted and a contract award expected shortly.

NeoTerra has outlined growing commercial engagement with strategic partners and critical metals traders from Europe, North America and Asia, reflecting increasing demand for secure non-Chinese supplies of heavy rare earths and gallium.

The company has indicated that the rapidly widening price premium for non-Chinese heavy rare earths further has enhanced Monte Muambe’s strategic value, with tightening export restrictions reinforcing the importance of independent supply chains.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Rock and Stock Investments (Jorc-compliant fluorspar and gallium mineral resource estimates); and US Trade and Development Agency (grant funding for the metallurgy and process engineering components of the rare earths PFS). 

Contact Details for Project Information
NeoTerra Group CEO Cédric Simonet, tel +44 7769 555 757 or email Cedric.Simonet@neoterra-group.com; or CFO Louise Adrian, tel +44 7721 492 922 or email Louise.Adrian@neoterra-group.com.