Serra Verde enters commercial production in Brazil
Brazil rare earth elements (REE) developer Serra Verde announced on Thursday that it has commenced commercial production of Mixed Rare Earth Concentrate (MREC) from Phase I of its Pela Ema deposit in Minaçu, Goiás State.
Once it has ramped up to full production, Serra Verde is expected to produce at least 5,000 tonnes per year of rare earth oxide.
MREC samples from Serra Verde have already been accepted by major customers, and offtakes for a large proportion of planned production are in place with established processing companies, Serra Verde said.
The company has begun work to increase Phase I capacity at Pela Ema through plant optimization and is assessing the potential for a Phase II expansion which could double run-of-mine production before 2030.
Pela Ema is a large, long-life ionic clay deposit that contains an elevated proportion of high value heavy and light REEs, primarily neodymium (Nd), praseodymium (Pr), terbium (Tb) and dysprosium (Dy).
“The start of commercial production is a critical milestone in our development and means we are now the only company outside Asia to produce at scale all four critical rare earths used in the production of permanent magnets,” said Serra Verde CEO Thras Moraitis.
China currently has a near monopoly on many of these materials, supplying close to 90% of processed rare-earths.