Brazilian Critical Minerals Limited (ASX:BCM) has announced a successful pilot field trial at their EMA Project, where they successfully leached, extracted, and precipitated rare earth elements (REEs) using in-situ recovery (ISR) methods.
Magnesium sulfate was used to leach the REEs into a solution through ionic exchange during the in-situ recovery field trials, validating the transition from laboratory to real field conditions. A REE-bearing solution has also been extracted from monitoring wells that are downslope of the injection points, closely simulating the layout and flow dynamics of future operational phases. The extracted PLS underwent initial on-site analysis and was then sent to the laboratory for confirmation of these initial results.
The PLS solution extracted was tested for total rare earth oxides (TREO), as well as for certain individuals magnet elements, including Nd, Pr, Dy, and Tb. These elements represent an expected 90% of future potential revenues for the company.
These early-stage results continue to demonstrate the Ema Project’s technical viability as well as the potential for ISR to provide a low-impact, low-cost pathway for rare earth extraction.
Andrew Reid, Managing Director of Brazilian Critical Minerals commented on the successful trial, “Our field trials have now conclusively demonstrated that rare earth elements can be successfully leached, recovered, and precipitated from solution via in-situ recovery (ISR) at Ema, exceeding our expectations on all fronts. This represents a major technical and operational milestone and a critical step in de-risking the project.
It confirms that ISR can reliably mobilize and extract rare earths under real-world field conditions, positioning the Ema Project as a transformative development in the global rare earth supply chain—delivering high ESG performance and sustainable extraction practices.”
“We now look ahead to completing the current field trial program, initiating the feasibility study, and progressing key workstreams including permitting, financing, and offtake negotiations.
Ema remains uniquely positioned outside Southeast Asia as the only known rare earth project capable of operating via ISR with exceptionally low capital and operating costs. The February 2025 Scoping Study highlighted Capex of just US$55M and Opex of just US$6.15/kg TREO whilst able to produce 4,800tpa of TREO or 1,800tpa of key magnet elements in a mixed rare earth carbonate product.”
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