Stage I pilot plant successfully commissioned at Camaçari; Stage II hydrometallurgical plant co-funding and technical support secured, commissioning planned for Q2 2027
SYDNEY, Sept. 08, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Brazilian Rare Earths Limited (ASX: BRE / OTCQX: BRELY) (‘BRE’) is advancing its pre-feasibility study (PFS) with the successful commissioning of its Stage I metallurgical pilot plant at Camaçari, Bahia, and additional partner co-funding secured to progress the Stage II hydrometallurgical pilot plant.
Stage I has produced its first rare earth mineral concentrate. BRE will now advance the next phase of piloting, with SENAI CIMATEC and its partner organisations contributing R$6.4 million (approximately A$1.7 million), covering approximately 59% of Stage II’s expected capital and operating costs.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Stage I pilot plant commissioned: First rare earth mineral concentrate production demonstrates operation of the full Stage I beneficiation circuit, moving BRE into a bulk-scale metallurgical test work program for feasibility studies
- PFS test work program advancing: Pilot plant metallurgical bulk test work programs progressing, providing operating data to refine processing design, equipment selection and cost estimates
- Integrated ore-to-oxide testing: Stage II piloting will extend the metallurgical program through hydrometallurgical extraction and separation to produce NdPr oxide, heavy rare earth HRE+ concentrate and uranium yellowcake
- Monte Alto fast-track pathway: Stage I pilot results support the assessment of the potential opportunity to fast-track a development pathway for Monte Alto upgraded mineral concentrate exports, subject to further engineering and technical studies
- Leading development partnership: SENAI CIMATEC, a leading Brazilian technology & research institution, will partner on the Stage II hydrometallurgical pilot plant, with key equipment deliveries planned in 2026 ahead of planned commissioning in Q2 2027
- Partner funding secured for Stage II: SENAI CIMATEC and partners will contribute R$6.4 million (~A$1.7 million) to fund the Stage II hydrometallurgical plant, which is approximately 59% of the expected total capex and opex.1 The Stage II award brings total co-funding support for the Camaçari pilot plant to R$14.6 million (~A$3.9 million).
- Specialist separation and execution support: Carester, the French rare earth separation specialist, and BRE’s heavy rare earth HRE+ offtake partner, will lead the separation workstream across the program and support engineering, design, and commissioning for BRE’s planned Camaçari rare earth refinery
- BRE investing in Bahia: SENAI CIMATEC, Carester and BRE bring complementary technical expertise to the feasibility study program, and the advanced metallurgical pilot plant will support new skilled technical jobs and domestic rare earth and critical mineral processing capabilities in Bahia, Brazil
- Strategic co-product upside: Stage II piloting will test and validate uranium, scandium, niobium, titanium and tantalum recovery and commercialisation pathways, assessing the potential to lower net unit costs beyond the Scoping Study case forecast of US$21/kg NdPr equivalent and deepen the cost advantage
CEO COMMENTARY
“With the Stage I pilot plant successfully commissioned, we are now advancing our bulk metallurgical test work program that will underpin our feasibility studies. First rare earth mineral concentrate production at the pilot plant gives us a platform to test processing options at larger scale and generate the data needed for engineering decisions.
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.
The August 2026 Scoping Study includes the cost of recovering uranium but no uranium revenue, and the potential to include scandium and other strategic co-product revenues provides further potential upside. Successful commercialisation could create additional cost credits and deepen our cost advantage on the global cost curve.
With SENAI CIMATEC’s continued co-funding and Carester’s rare earth separation expertise, we are enhancing the technical data to advance our integrated rare earth hub-and-spoke processing platform in Brazil.”
— Bernardo da Veiga, CEO & Managing Director
A WORKING METALLURGICAL PILOT PLANT AT CAMAÇARI
The Stage I pilot plant uses physical processing, or beneficiation, to concentrate rare earth minerals from ore. Its configurable circuits have allowed BRE to test different feedstocks from across the Rocha da Rocha Province and optimise processing performance.
Systematic processing campaigns will optimise concentrate grade and recovery, and prepare material for downstream testing. These results will refine the processing flowsheet and engineering assumptions used in the PFS.
PARTNER CO-FUNDING ADVANCES HYDROMET PILOT PLANT
BRE and SENAI CIMATEC have renewed their development partnership to advance the Stage II hydrometallurgical pilot plant. Detailed design is underway, with equipment expected to arrive on-site in Q4 2026 and commissioning planned for Q2 2027.
Stage II will add hydrometallurgical extraction and separation to establish an integrated ore-to-oxide pilot capability at Camaçari. In partnership with Carester, the plant will produce NdPr oxide, heavy rare earth HRE+ concentrate and uranium yellowcake, consistent with planned Camaçari refinery product suite.
The combined program will test process integration and product-quality data to inform engineering and process design for the Camaçari refinery development. Product samples will support customer test work, qualification and offtake discussions.
| STAGE I – BENEFICIATION
Upgrades Rocha da Rocha mineral feedstocks into mineral concentrate for downstream pilot testing and PFS engineering |
STAGE II – HYDROMETALLURGY
Converts mineral concentrate into value-add products, optimising extraction and separation flowsheets, and generating data for a Camaçari rare earth refinery |
TECHNICAL PARTNERS SUPPORT EXECUTION
SENAI CIMATEC combines applied research, industrial technology and technical education. The partnership will build pilot plant processing and analytical capability at Camaçari, supporting technical jobs and specialist skills development in Bahia, Brazil.
Carester, the French rare earth separation specialist, will lead the separation workstream across the pilot program and PFS, and support engineering, design and commissioning for the planned Camaçari refinery.
Carester is also BRE’s heavy rare earth HRE+ concentrate offtake partner under a binding sales agreement with an initial 10-year term, covering product containing up to 150 tonnes per annum of dysprosium and terbium. Carester’s HRE+ concentrate offtake will be processed at their Caremag facility in France into separated heavy rare earths including dysprosium, terbium and yttrium oxides.2
Figure 1: BRE Metallurgical Pilot Plant Team.
STRATEGIC CO-PRODUCT VALUE STREAMS
BRE’s co-product program will advance metallurgical test work using leach solutions and residues generated during piloting to optimise recovery of uranium, scandium, niobium, titanium and tantalum.
The August 2026 Scoping Study places Monte Alto + Camaçari in the first quartile of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence’s forecast global rare earth cost curve at approximately US$21/kg NdPr equivalent.3 That cost position excludes the potential credits from uranium, scandium and Nb-Ta-Ti strategic co-products.
The economic opportunity is to recover additional payable products from material scheduled to be mined and processed for rare earths. Commercial receipts, after additional recovery and selling costs, could offset a greater proportion of the operation’s costs and reduce net NdPr-equivalent unit costs below the Scoping Study benchmarks.
The Scoping Study includes all forecast uranium recovery and yellowcake capital and operating costs while assigning no uranium revenue. Subject to a commercial framework, value realised from this uranium co-product could provide a significant source of cost credits. Uranium value realisation remains subject to applicable Brazilian requirements and agreed commercial arrangements with INB.
Successful development of these pathways could strengthen BRE’s position among the world’s lowest-cost rare earth development projects. The PFS program will assess the technical and commercial parameters to quantify the economic potential.
| Co-product | Published basis | Focus of further work |
| Uranium | 540 tpa U₃O₈ in the first five run-rate years; 466 tpa LOM average. Capex and recovery costs included; revenue excluded. | Yellowcake product, integrated performance and commercial value retained by BRE. |
| Scandium | Study-estimated annual feed inventory of ~43 tonnes Sc₂O₃ LOM average, before metallurgical recovery; no production or revenue included. | Extraction from solution, purification, product quality, incremental costs and customer partnerships. |
| Tantalum, niobium, titanium | Potential recovery from enriched leach residues; no production or revenue included. | Residue upgrading, critical element recoveries, saleable products and buyer payability. |
Source: 18 August 2026 Scoping Study update, pages 4, 15, 19–20. Average annual scandium content is a feed-inventory estimate before metallurgical recovery, not saleable scandium production. No annual niobium, tantalum or titanium production estimate is presented.
NEXT STEPS
- Optimise Stage I: Systematic variability test work to optimise processing routes, refine mineral concentrate grade and recovery, and generate feedstock for downstream metallurgical programs
- Deliver Stage II: Complete and commission the hydrometallurgical pilot plant in Q2 2027, for planned integrated extraction and rare earth separation programs
- Expand analytical capability: Install dedicated laboratory equipment for rapid multi-element analysis to support process optimisation and product-quality testing
- Monte Alto fast-track pathway: Pilot results will support the assessment of the potential fast-track Monte Alto ungraded mineral concentrate development pathway, subject to further engineering and technical studies
- Strategic co-product development: Metallurgical test work programs, flowsheet design and product samples for potential uranium, scandium, niobium, titanium and tantalum co-products
- Apply the results: Incorporate pilot plant data into the PFS engineering, flowsheet design, equipment selection and product samples for customer evaluation and offtake discussions
A link to the complete announcement can be found: here
Contacts
Bernardo Da Veiga
Managing Director and CEO
investors@brazilianrareearths.com
www.brazilianrareearths.com
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1 SENAI CIMATEC has partnered with EMBRAPII (Brazilian public-private partnership focused on fostering technological research and industrial innovation) to provide the R$6.4m (~A$1.7m) in funding.
Note: References to the Scoping Study mean the standalone Integrated Monte Alto + Camaçari Case released on 18 August 2026. Co-product benefits remain subject to recovery, product quality, costs and commercials. No revised cost forecast or global cost ranking is reported.
2 Refer to BRE’s ASX announcement dated 9 October 2025, “BRE Signs Rare Earths Offtake & Partnership with Carester”.
3 BRE confirms that the material assumptions supporting the production targets and associated financial forecasts in its 18 August 2026 announcement remain applicable and have not materially changed.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e25033f0-6c14-4422-ba5d-08dab21d0214
