BRE Drill Results Expand Monte Alto Heavy Rare Earth District

Drilling at Brazilian Rare Earths' Monte Alto project returned a peak interval of 1.3 meters grading 10.9% total rare earth oxides, the company said Tuesday. The interval included 58,249 ppm yttrium oxide and 4,623 ppm dysprosium and terbium. The company said the results confirm the heavy rare earth mineralisation extends into fresh bedrock.

The six diamond drill holes, totaling 604 meters, were sunk about 2.5 kilometers south of the flagship Monte Alto Deposit in Bahia, Brazil. The results match the high-grade surface sampling the company reported in October 2024. The mineralisation runs through the weathered profile and into the fresh rock below, the company said.

"The defining feature of these results is not simply the 10.9% total rare earth grade. It is the exceptional heavy rare earth composition," CEO Bernardo Da Veiga said. Yttrium alone accounted for more than half the total rare earth oxides in the peak interval, he said.

Yttrium is a heavy rare earth used in high-temperature ceramics and LEDs. Dysprosium and terbium are critical inputs for permanent magnets in electric vehicles and wind turbines. China controls roughly 90% of heavy rare earth processing, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Western governments and defense contractors have made non-Chinese discoveries a priority. The dynamics of critical mineral supply chains are a recurring subject in our commodities analysis.

Da Veiga said the results complete the case for a unified Monte Alto District. The flagship Monte Alto Deposit is the project's anchor. The HREE+Y Discovery adds a concentration of yttrium and dysprosium. Velhinhas adds multiple large-scale exploration corridors. The company will group them under the Monte Alto District name.

The drilling was supervised by Leon McGarry, the company's chief of geology and a qualified person under the JORC Code. BRE shares rose after the announcement. The company said it plans further drilling to define the extent of the mineralisation across the district.

"We will bring these mineralised centres together under the Monte Alto District name, while retaining their individual deposit, discovery and corridor identities," Da Veiga said.