Brazilian Rare Earths Ltd. is advancing its pre-feasibility study at Camaçari, Bahia with the commissioning of its Stage I metallurgical pilot plant and securing additional co-funding for its upcoming Stage II hydrometallurgical plant.
The Stage I facility has produced its first rare earth mineral concentrate, launching a bulk-scale metallurgical test work program to underpin the company’s ongoing PFS.
The configurable beneficiation circuits will process various feedstocks from the Rocha da Rocha Province, generating operational data to refine flowsheet design, equipment selection, and capital cost estimates.
Building on this progress, leading Brazilian technology institution SENAI CIMATEC and its partners will contribute R$6.4 million (AU$1.7 million) to co-fund the Stage II hydrometallurgical pilot plant.
The grant covers roughly 59 per cent of Stage II’s expected capital and operating costs, bringing total co-funding support for the Camaçari facility to R$14.6 million.
Detailed design for Stage II is underway, with major equipment deliveries scheduled for late 2026 ahead of planned commissioning in the second quarter of 2027.
Once operational, Stage II will establish an end-to-end ore-to-oxide testing capability, producing neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) oxide, heavy rare earth (HRE+) concentrate, and uranium yellowcake.
French rare earths separation specialist Carester, which holds a binding 10-year HRE+ offtake agreement with BRE, will lead the separation workstream and support engineering for the planned full-scale Camaçari refinery.
BRE CEO Bernardo da Veiga said the pilot operations provide a crucial foundation for commercial scaling and strategic co-product recovery.
“With the Stage I pilot plant successfully commissioned, we are now advancing our bulk metallurgical test work program that will underpin our feasibility studies,” da Veiga said.
“The Stage II hydrometallurgical pilot plant program will extend our systematic metallurgical evaluation through hydrometallurgical extraction and separation to produce NdPr oxide, heavy rare earth HRE+ concentrate and uranium yellowcake. It will also test a significant opportunity to capture more value from the same high-grade Monte Alto feedstock.”
