The Caldeira Project has a high-grade 1.5 billion tonne Mineral Resource, giving the project scale, optionality and the capacity to produce specialty rare earths products at a very low operating cost and capital intensity.
The Caldeira Project comprises 77 licenses (with total landholdings over 193km2) located in the southwest region of the Minas Gerais State of Brazil, close to the city of Poços de Caldas.
Caldeira boasts a large, high-grade Mineral Resource Estimate with characteristics which enable selective mining of ultra high-grade areas to drive attractive economic returns throughout the commodity price cycle
The project also has superior sustainability credentials from its low energy intensity and no need for tailings storage facility.
The Caldeira Project
- Caldeira is the most significant and advanced rare earths ionic absorption clay project outside of China
- Caldeira enables Brazil’s objective to foster downstream processing and advanced manufacturing
- Also ideally located for the North American market
The Caldeira Project
The Poços de Caldas Alkaline Intrusive Complex is among Brazil’s most significant geological terrains.
As well as rare earths, the area hosts deposits of bauxite, clay, uranium, zirconium and leucite (used as a fertiliser). This intrusive complex covers an area of approximately 800km2, constituting the largest occurrence of alkaline rocks in South America.
With most licence areas still unexplored, the potential resource upside and future expansion potential of the Caldeira Project remains enormous.
Caldeira REE Project Map
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Caldeira Project Flythrough Video
Multi-generational rare earths
One of the largest and highest grade true ionic absorption clay deposits in the world.
Caldeira is already one of the largest and highest-grade ionic absorption clay deposits globally, instilling confidence in its transformation into a world-class, multi-generational rare earths district
The ionic absorption rare earth mineralisation can have a simple ammonium processing wash applied to separate the rare earths minerals into a refined mixed rare earths carbonate (MREC) product. The Caldeira Project’s favourable metallurgy allows Meteoric to produce this refined MREC product at a significantly lower cost, capital intensity and energy intensity than other hard rock rare earths deposits.
Soft, clay-hosted mineralisation
No need for drill and blast mining practices or tailings dams.
The Caldeira Project mineralisation is hosted in ionic clays, a soft material which can be excavated without the need for traditional drill and blast mining practices. This has significant advantages when it comes to reducing carbon emissions intensity, environmental impact and operating costs.
After extracting the rare earths from the ore, the unmineralised clays will be dewatered and are suitable for dry restacking back into mining areas to rehabilitate the landscape. This eliminates the needs for any tailings storage facility and significantly enhances the sustainability credentials of the Caldeira Project.
Renewable energy
Strategically adjacent to long-established, high-quality transport infrastructure.
The project area has access to renewable energy from an electricity grid that is entirely powered by renewable hydro, solar and wind sources from the Energy Company of Minas Gerais (Companhia Energetica de Minas Gerais S.S CEMIG).
Environmental Approvals
Environmental approvals are progressing to plan.
Environmental approvals are progressing to plan with an Environmental Impact Statement lodged and a public hearing having been completed in Pocos de Caldas. Project studies are also being rapidly advanced and have demonstrated very strong financial outcomes in terms of net present value, internal rate of return and paycheck period.
