お知らせ • Mar 12
Rainbow Rare Earths Limited Announces Economic Assessment for Uberaba Project in Brazil
Rainbow Rare Earths Limited announced an Economic Assessment (EA) confirming Uberaba as a second major opportunity for Rainbow, with the project expected to be a long-life, high-margin and near-term producer of both light and heavy rare earth elements (REE). Using Rainbow's internal 10% discount rate and rare earth pricing reported by Argus Media Limited at March 2026, the Uberaba EA post-tax NPV10 is USD 916 million, with a post-tax IRR of 45%, average EBITDA of USD 217 million per annum over a 30 year life-of-mine, and a pay-back of 1.7 years. Using the 13.5% discount rate applied in the Economic Assessment and rare earth pricing reported by Argus at 5 March 2026, the Uberaba EA post-tax NPV13.5 is USD 609 million. The Uberaba project is similar to Rainbow's flagship Phalaborwa project in that it will entail the processing of phosphogypsum, a 'waste' product that is the residue from phosphoric acid production, and will use Rainbow's intellectual property to economically extract both light and heavy REE. By recovering critical REE from secondary sources, these projects eliminate many of the costs and risks associated with traditional REE mining projects, and as such are situated at the bottom of the industry cost curve. The Uberaba project is located in the Minas Gerais state of Brazil where Mosaic is currently mining phosphate rock and producing phosphoric acid for use in the fertiliser industry. The EA envisages building a processing plant on-site to process the phosphogypsum waste residue at an annual throughput of ca. 2,700,000 tonnes per annum over an initial project life of 30 years. There is excellent potential to extend this life due to the underlying long life of the phosphate feedstock at Uberaba. The flowsheet that has been defined for the EA uses Rainbow's background IP developed for the Phalaborwa project, further supported by collaborative test work between Rainbow and Mosaic. The phosphogypsum from the Uberaba phosphoric acid process facility is treated for REE extraction, with the aim of delivering separated neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr) oxide and a samarium, europium and gadolinium plus (SEG+) product that is rich in medium and heavy REE, each at +99.5% purity. The chemically processed and cleaned phosphogypsum stream is then returned to the Mosaic Uberaba process facility. Rainbow has presented the base case economics on the basis of spot rare earth prices published by Argus on 5 March 2026 assuming 100% payability for a combined NdPr product and 70% payability for the SEG+ product. The NPV is presented at a 10% discount rate, which matches the discount rate used for Rainbow's Phalaborwa project. Key findings of the EA at current rare earth pricing: Base case Basket price USD/kg 128, Post-tax NPV using a 10% discount rate USD 916 million, Post-tax NPV using a 13.5% discount rate USD 609 million, Post-tax IRR 45%, Capital Expenditure USD 279 million, Revenue USD 319 million per annum, Operating Cost USD/kg 38, EBITDA USD 217 million per annum, NdPr oxide Tonnes per annum 21,971, SEG+, including: Dysprosium (Dy) Tonnes per annum 265, Terbium (Tb) Tonnes per annum 96, Yttrium (Y) Tonnes per annum 1,418, Payback Years 1.7. Basket price and operating costs calculated on 100% payability basis for NdPr and SEG+ weighted in-line with the feedstock grade. Revenue and production statistics based on steady state throughput excluding ramp up during commissioning phase. The sensitivity to rare earth prices has been calculated by reference to a 10% increase or decrease to the base case forecast. The key financial metrics of the Uberaba Project under these different scenarios are set out below: Base case -10% +10% Basket price USD/kg 128 115 141, Post-tax NPV10 USD 916 million 757 million 1,075 million, Post-tax NPV13.5 USD 609 million 495 million 723 million, Post-tax IRR 45% 40% 50%, Revenue USD 319 million per annum 287 million per annum 351 million per annum, EBITDA USD 217 million per annum 185 million per annum 248 million per annum, Payback Years 1.7 1.9 1.6, Change in NPV10 USD million -159 159. Basket price calculated on 100% payability basis for NdPr and SEG+ weighted in-line with the feedstock grade. Revenue based on steady state throughput excluding ramp up during commissioning phase. The EA does not meet the standards for a scoping study under the JORC Code as it is not based on a formally designated resource. The EA is based on grade information relating to the phosphogypsum feedstock stream provided by Mosaic incorporating sampling data from the existing operations. A head grade of 0.51% TREO is used in the EA. The EA assumes recovery of 57% based on test work undertaken at Mosaic's laboratory facilities at the Uberaba site. The capital and operating costs for the EA have been developed in-line with the standards adopted for a scoping study under the JORC Code. Rainbow recognises that the assumptions upon which the EA is based and therefore the key findings of the EA may change as a result of the negotiation of the joint venture agreement and shareholders agreement for JVCo with Mosaic. The EA contains confidential information relating to both Rainbow and Mosaic and will not be published as a standalone study.