VIRIDIS MINING AND MINERALS (VMM) - Transforming Rare Earth Supply Chains: CEO Rafael Moreno on Colossus Project Breakthroughs, Strategic Partnerships, and Sustainable Innovations in South America

Discover the cutting-edge advancements in rare earth element development with Rafael Moreno, CEO of Viridis Mining and Minerals, as he returns to ASX Briefs. With industry-leading results from their Colossus project, Rafael shares why this venture is setting new standards in recovery rates and environmental sustainability. Get an insider's look at how the maiden mixed rare earth carbonate results are redefining the value proposition for Viridis and how recent high-grade drilling in the Cuban south promises a significant resource upgrade. Learn how these breakthroughs are not just numbers on paper but are poised to transform the economic outlook for the project, making it a beacon in the rare earth industry.

Join us as Rafael explores the strategic partnership between Viridis and Ionic Rare Earths, highlighting the development of Viridion Rare Earths Technologies. This collaboration is set to revolutionize the rare earth supply chain in South America, bolstering their downstream capabilities with innovative and sustainable practices. Understand the implications of these strategic advancements and how they position Viridis Mining and Minerals at the forefront of the mining and minerals sector. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear firsthand how they plan to shape the future of rare earth supply chains with world-class efficiencies and eco-friendly methodologies.

Transcript

Andrew Musgrave Host

00:05

Welcome back to ASX Briefs, and joining me again is Rafael Moreno, the CEO of Viridis Mining and Minerals, which is an exploration and development company with a portfolio of promising projects across Brazil, Canada and Australia, focusing on rare earth elements, gold and other valuable minerals. Rafael, thanks for joining me again and welcome back to the ASX Briefs podcast. 

Rafael Moreno Guest

00:29

Yeah, thanks, Andrew. Good to be back, especially after the last few important months that we've had here at the company. 

Andrew Musgrave Host

00:34

Yeah, well, we did speak quite a few months ago. There's been plenty going on. So, first of all, the Colossus project has achieved industry leading results with its maiden mixed rare earth carbonate. So, can you share more about the unique aspects of the project and its significance in positioning the company as a leader in rare earths development? 

Rafael Moreno Guest

00:53

Yeah, you know, you're absolutely right. And as of last week, we have now released the results of our maiden mixed with carbonate product from both our northern concessions and also now our southern complex, noting that these two make up the initial development strategy of a colossal project and hence it was important to the company to get a detailed understanding and sort of representative understanding of the metallurgy in both those areas. And so, the testing scope itself and was completed by ANSTO and included a large array of testing conditions and parameters, and it helped to help us optimize basically the flow sheet, really with the ultimate aim of designing a facility of low capex and, for me, probably more importantly, low opex. So it was obviously very pleasing to release the results of our Southern Complex, MREC now to the market last week, which really just replicated the results we got from our northern concessions, and both sets of results have exceeded that of any other Ionic Clay project globally that we're aware of and sort of firmly established us as that quality asset we have on our hands. 

02:03

So, you know, to have overall recoveries, Andrew, from ore to MREC, of 64% from our north and 68% from our south, really to show you the potential high production rate we can get from our mine. And all of this done with such a cheap and sort of benign and environmentally friendly flow sheet is really important to us. And I guess the last part which was really pleasing and shouldn't be overlooked was the very low level of impurities we achieved, which was like 1% from the north and, I believe, 0.7% from the south, both of which are significantly lower than our peers as well and really an important topic for offtake discussions that I'm having. So, yeah, all in all, really pleasing the outcome for the company and highlights the outstanding value proposition of the project. 

Andrew Musgrave Host

02:57

And just touching on the Cupim South, recent drilling has delivered some exceptional, high-grade results. So how do these findings impact the upcoming resource upgrade and the overall economics of the Colossus project? 

Rafael Moreno Guest

03:10

And yeah, so the recent and basically final set of results were fantastic. 

You know we've released four or five sets of drill assays since our maiden resource estimate in June and the results have just gone from strength to strength. 

So, you know we're now busy feeding all that data to our resource estimate consultant B&A, we're busy building the block models and we're obviously very excited to get that resource upgrade to the market early next year. As for the project economics, the market knows were definitely not resource constrained and that's the focus with the resource upgrade and the associated mine planning is to develop a mine plan or that sort of ultra-high magnetic rare earths to feed the production facility for a good couple of decades at least. And with the industry-leading recoveries that we just spoke about and the very low operating costs, we're looking forward to just showing the world-class economics of the Colossus project and, to be honest, it's not with this using an artificial forecast of rare earths, which a lot of our peers seem to need to have to make their project viable. I'm referring to using today's spot prices and hence why I'm excited about what makes the Colossus Project so special. 

Andrew Musgrave Host

04:30

Now, your collaboration with Ionic Rare Earths and the development of the Viridion Rare Earths Technologies represent significant steps in the downstream capabilities. So how do you see this joint venture transforming the rare earth supply chain in South America? 

Rafael Moreno Guest

04:45

Yeah, good question. 

I guess, for me the JV with IXR and the formation of Woodin really is the key to, I guess, unlocking that true potential of the rare supply chain in South America, which is a massive market, by the way, Andrew, and I believe we're probably best placed to support that growth. 

05:07

And, as you know, if I break it down into two parts, you know we're really the only one, firstly as sort of Viridis, with a world-class mining asset able to make robust returns at today's rare earth prices. So having that as a big foundation and tip I think is really important. And then, secondly, having the opportunity, I guess, to leverage IXR's trial and proven technology and sort of create that circular mine to magnet supply chain and capitalise on this real burgeoning supply chain in Brazil and South America is really important. And mentioned the word transforming that's what it is. We really think we're best placed, first on both of those the mine, the MREC that we do with Viridis, and then the fantastic proven technology from IXR. Yeah, we're really excited for that, Andrew, especially you'll see a few things coming out early next year on the progress with Modem. 

Andrew Musgrave Host

06:05

And the low impurity MREC product has sparked offtake discussion. So, could you provide an update on these engagements and how they fit into the strategy to maximise value for the Colossus project? 

Rafael Moreno Guest

06:18

Yes, I guess, as you can appreciate, the value of your product isn't just linked to the magnetic rare earths that we've got in that end product, but the levels of impurities that as you process the MREC into the direct oxides plays an important part. And I guess the low levels of radionuclides that we have in terms of thorium and uranium and the low level of gang elements has been very well received by some of the groups we're talking to. And it's not just because of the training product potential that you can get by adding the low levels of impurities. You just need to be cognizant of the processing risk that these downstream refiners have if they ever have these impurity levels. So, yeah, looking forward to progressing that further and discussions, in particular as we get the scope and study out soon. 

Andrew Musgrave Host

07:15

And just to wrap things up, where do you see the company in, say, 12 to 18 months' time, and what can shareholders look forward to over that period of time? 

Rafael Moreno Guest

07:25

Yeah, I hope we can replicate the fantastic year we've had in 2024, Andrew, to be honest, I guess some of the highlights for next year hopefully is we've already touched on the resource update. The bit that's just as important as the resource update again is that mind planning. We've got a fantastic consultant supporting us there, so I look forward to getting that out to the market in the next couple of months. Once we issue that updated resource estimate, we really look forward to releasing the results of that scoping study to the market, which has been finished for a while now, but we've needed that indicated resource to do that. So, and this will be the first look at our project economics, which is obviously a very important milestone for the company and hopefully the market appreciates all the work and the fantastic asset that we've got. 

I guess, sticking with engineering, we have kicked off the pre-feasibility study a few months back, so looking forward to getting that out to the market, sort of probably back end of Q2 next year, which is a lot of detail, a lot of work going into that to be honest.

The one that's been taking a lot of my time recently and our team in Brazil is what we call our preliminary environmental license Really important. The environmental approvals are the critical part of our project, so we look forward to getting that submitted to the regulator in January next year. And then, I guess the last part is a lot of this stuff culminates in the discussions we're having with various potential strategic partners. You mentioned the offtake of the fall and also financiers and you know a lot of the stuff with the finances and they're all waiting for the PFS to be completed and that's where you get that next level of maturity and with your capex, to make sure you don't have, I guess, cost escalation. So, um, yeah, it's important that PFS in q2 and to start formalising some of the important discussions we're having with those firing scenes. So, as you can imagine, Andrew, a really busy 12 months ahead. 

Andrew Musgrave Host

09:29

All right, Rafael. Well, it's been great to chat again. There's obviously a huge amount going on, so we wish you the best and we look forward to further updates from the company in the upcoming months. 

Rafael Moreno Guest

09:36

Thanks, Andrew from the company in the upcoming months. 

Andrew Musgrave Host

09:38

Thanks, Andrew. That concludes this episode of ASX Briefs. Don't forget to subscribe and we look forward to catching you on our next episode.