Announcement • Jul 07
Neoterra Provides an Update on Operational Progress At Its Monte Muambe Project and on Recent Developments in the Global Rare Earths and Gallium Markets
NeoTerra provided an update on operational progress at its Monte Muambe Project and on recent developments in the global rare earths and gallium markets. Maelgwyn metallurgical testing laboratory has so far executed 14 scout flotation tests on blended fluorspar ore samples from Monte Muambe, with products assay results pending the last 5 tests. Tests completed to date have allowed the Company to define a two-stages flotation pathway to reject silicates and oxides (first stage) and subsequently reject carbonates (second stage) in order to produce an acid grade fluorspar concentrate. The 5 tests with pending results are aimed at optimizing the first stage parameters, which already show a very high selectivity against fluorite (with less than 2.1% CaF2 in the scout test no 6 tailings). As initially anticipated, gallium reports to the first stage tailings, resulting in a ~100% gallium concentration increase in these tailings in relation to the run of mine. These results substantially de-risk the proposed process flowsheet by demonstrating that fluorite and gallium-bearing minerals respond differently during flotation. This charts a practical route for integrating gallium pre-concentration into the fluorspar flowsheet. Upon receipt of the pending results, the laboratory will now focus its attention on the second stage of the process, including the separation of carbonates from fluorite, and the recovery of the heavy rare earths concentrate separately from the acid grade fluorspar concentrate. In parallel, specific gallium recovery metallurgical testing is on-going at SGS Lakefields in Canada and at COMEX in Poland. SGS has completed the sample (which contains 184 g/t Ga2O3) characterisation and preparation and is now proceeding with hydrometallurgical extraction, with initial results expected in July. Results from COMEX are expected imminently and will be announced when received. Metallurgical testwork is inherently iterative, and the additional complexity of developing an integrated process capable of recovering three valuable products - commercial-grade fluorspar, a heavy rare earths by-product, and a pre-concentrated feedstock for potential gallium extraction - has extended the optimisation programme. While this has impacted on the timeline, the Company believes the additional work will significantly enhance the overall value and commercial potential of the project. The high level of interest received from leading US engineering and metallurgy groups reflects the strategic importance of Monte Muambe and the growing international focus on establishing independent rare earth supply chains. Received proposals were carefully evaluated, and the Company is in final discussions with shortlisted candidates. Final selection and contract signing are expected to take place within the coming weeks, with initial tasks commencing in due course. In preparation for the metallurgical sampling drilling campaign, the Monte Muambe Mining Lda's operational team was mobilized and has already started required preparation activities on site. In June, NeoTerra's CEO Cedric Simonet, attended the annual Rare Earths Industry Association conference which took place in Frankfurt, Germany. The event was well attended by rare earths industry participants across the entire supply chain, in particular from Europe, America, and Asia (excluding China). Discussions throughout the conference confirmed that the long-term magnet rare earths market fundamentals remain very strong, but also that the decoupling between Chinese and non-Chinese rare earths supply markets is accelerating. This acceleration has largely been driven by increasingly restrictive Chinese export controls covering not just rare earth products, but also technologies and processing know-how. The enforcement of stricter regulations announced from November 2026 is expected to exacerbate the situation durably. As a result, non-Chinese market heavy rare earths prices are significantly higher, and in the case of Yttrium, orders of magnitude higher than those on the Chinese domestic market. Yttrium is a rare earth element used in a multitude of highly strategic high-technology applications, including thermal barriers for jet engines, gas turbines and space propulsion systems, solid oxide fuel cells, defence lasers and semiconductors. European market Yttrium oxide prices have recently reached peak prices of over USD 1,000 per kg on the back of severe shortages, effectively x140 their year-on-year prices. Yttrium is present in the main Monte Muambe rare earths deposit, but it is one of the heavy rare earths showing an enriched level in the fluorspar ore, with individual intercepts grades of up to 4,304 ppm Yttrium oxide, and significant intercepts of up to 9m at 2,355 ppm Yttrium oxide. The rapidly widening price differential significantly enhances the strategic value of heavy rare earth mineralisation identified within the Monte Muambe fluorspar system, the production of which would follow the same timeline as that of the fluorspar. Beside the main Monte Muambe rare earths resource, the potential production of a heavy rare earths by-product of fluorspar, and the progress on the gallium has generated significant commercial interest from European, US and Asian (non-Chinese) specialty critical metals traders, and from a Japanese potential strategic partner, with which the Company is currently advancing follow-up discussions. The Monte Muambe gallium resource estimate, among the first carbonatite-hosted gallium mineral resources to be defined globally, and one of the most advanced in terms of identifying metallurgical recovery routes, has attracted a lot of attention. Challenges affecting the development of non-Chinese rare earths supply chains were also highlighted at the REIA conference. Access to capital has been clearly identified as a major hindrance to the development of upstream and midstream rare earths projects. This highlights the importance of building strong partnerships backed by clear and committed government policies, such as the $1.875 million USTDA funding obtained by the Company and the relationship being strengthened with the US Government.
