Viridis Mining and Minerals has achieved what it says is a key financing milestone at its giant Colossus rare earths project in Brazil, after converting a high-grade slice of the resource into the measured category needed to support debt funding.
Measured resources carry the highest level of geological confidence under the reporting code and are generally needed before a company can convert early mine plan material into proven ore reserves, a key requirement for project lenders.
Extensive infill drilling has defined a measured mineral resource of 31 million tonnes grading 2858 parts per million (ppm) total rare earth oxides (TREO) and 758ppm magnet rare earth oxides (MREO) at Colossus, an ionic adsorption clay project in Brazil’s Minas Gerais state.
That measured component sits inside an upgraded global mineral resource of 473Mt at 2505ppm TREO and 592ppm MREO. Viridis says the result gives Colossus the world’s highest-grade measured and indicated magnet rare earth oxide resource among ionic adsorption clay rare earth projects.
Importantly for the mine plan, the latest upgrade also outlined 97Mt of premium-grade material running more than 4000ppm TREO and more than 1000ppm MREO, giving the company a strong inventory of high-value feed for its early production years.
The valuable magnet rare earth oxides include neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium, high-value elements used in powerful permanent magnets for electric vehicles, wind turbines, advanced manufacturing and defence applications. Viridis says those magnet rare earths continue to make up 24 per cent of the measured and indicated resource.
Notably, the company’s latest resource update only relates to the Northern Concessions and Tamoyo prospects, leaving the considerable combined area of its Southern Complex, Ribeirão and Capão da Onça estimates unchanged from January.
Viridis says the upgrade will be fed directly into its definitive feasibility study, now in its final stages. An updated ore reserve is being finalised and the DFS is targeted for August, after which the company expects to progress its debt structure and term sheets with prospective lenders during the current quarter.
This Resource update represents another major milestone in the development of the Colossus Project. Our targeted infill drilling has delivered exactly what we set out to achieve, substantially increasing geological confidence while defining an industry-leading Measured Mineral Resource that will underpin the highest-value years of planned production and support project financing. What makes this achievement even more compelling is that the current Mineral Resource covers only ~12% of our landholding.
The upgraded resource numbers have arrived hot on the heels of a busy month at Colossus, during which Viridis signed a strategic offtake and technical partnership letter of intent with rare earths processor Solvay.
Additionally, it hosted European Union Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela as part of an official Brazil mission. The company also locked in a binding agreement with a municipal electricity distributor for dedicated power transmission infrastructure to connect the Colossus project to the national electricity grid.
Viridis is targeting a final investment decision in the second half of this year and first production in the first half of 2028. Its demonstration plant in nearby Poços de Caldas is already producing mixed rare earth carbonate for process optimisation and product qualification under the Solvay framework.
The company says the current resource covers just 12 per cent of its Colossus landholding, leaving plenty of room for future growth. If further drilling can continue to convert ground at a similar quality, the project could underpin Viridis’ development plans for many years and potentially strengthen its position as a generational rare earths play.
With mixed rare earth carbonate production, offtake discussions, secured power supply and European interest already in place, the latest lift in resource confidence gives Colossus another solid shove towards project funding and Viridis’ planned shift from developer to producer.
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