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Drilling Campaign with 10,000 Meters Expanded Mineralization in Multiple Directions, but New Results Still Need to Be Incorporated into the Official Resource Estimate
Brazilian Rare Earths has identified new high-grade mineralization extensions at the Monte Alto deposit in Bahia. The results stemmed from a campaign totaling approximately 10,000 meters of drilling and have expanded the geological potential of the project to the south, east, and north.
Released on August 26, 2026, the data shows significant concentrations of rare earth elements, along with niobium, scandium, tantalum, and uranium.
The results, however, do not yet represent new mineral reserves: they will need to be incorporated into an updated resource estimate expected by the end of 2026.
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At 2,000 meters in the Andes, a city without streets for cars welcomed 15,000 residents, transformed a staircase into the main avenue, spread colorful houses across the hillside, and operated next to the largest underground copper mine in the world.
According to the technical document submitted by Brazilian Rare Earths to the Australian Securities Exchange, the campaign consisted of 39 new drill holes totaling approximately 8,510 meters, along with the deepening of ten previous holes adding another 1,495 meters.
Drillings Expanded Deposit in Different Directions
The company reported that the work aimed to achieve three main objectives: verify possible lateral and depth extensions, increase hole density within the deposit, and advance on a mineralized corridor identified to the north.
One of the main results was recorded in hole MADD0230 in the southern portion. The drilling encountered 25.6 meters with an average grade of 17.4% Total Rare Earth Oxides (TREO) starting from a depth of 174 meters.
Within this section, eight meters exhibited 28.1% TREO. A single one-meter sample reached 32.8%, accompanied by 10,986 parts per million of niobium oxide.
On the eastern front and in-depth, the extension of hole MADD0093 identified 9.4 meters with 21.8% TREO starting from 161.7 meters. The interval included 6.2 meters with a grade of 25.4%.
Other holes also found high-grade intervals at different boundaries of the geological model. The company believes that the repeatability of results indicates that the expansion does not rely on a single isolated occurrence.
The updated three-dimensional interpretation identified new mineralized areas extending approximately 100 meters in depth and distributing around 250 meters along the already known direction of the deposit.
Central Area Showed Up to 32% Rare Earths
Internal drillings, conducted to fill gaps between existing holes, also reinforced the continuity of mineralization. In hole MADD0246, 12.3 meters were found with 16.5% TREO, including 4.9 meters with 32%.
Samples from this hole also showed up to 610 parts per million of tantalum oxide and 4,443 parts per million of uranium oxide. The combined concentration of neodymium and praseodymium reached 66,640 parts per million, equivalent to approximately 6.7%.
In the various analyzed holes, the company also reported up to 2,853 parts per million of dysprosium oxide, 471 of terbium oxide, 3,348 of gadolinium oxide, and 27,077 of yttrium oxide.
This set of drillings increased the number of completed diamond drill holes at Monte Alto to 255, totaling 43,974 meters. According to the company, the new data increased the interpreted volume of the primary geological envelope by approximately 50% compared to the February 2026 model.
This increase, however, describes the interpreted geological model and does not necessarily mean that the mineral resource has grown in the same proportion.
North Emerges as a New Exploration Front
To the north, drill hole MADD0231 encountered a 0.9-meter interval with 25.9% Total Rare Earth Oxides (TREO). The sample also showed niobium, scandium, tantalum, and uranium, repeating the multi-element signature found at the main deposit.
The company also identified a zone of approximately 400 meters with few drillings between the main area and the occurrence to the north. A campaign of 1,400 meters is planned to investigate whether there is continuity between the two zones.
Brazilian Rare Earths itself acknowledges that the available drill data is still insufficient to establish the full extent of the northern mineralization or confirm its connection to the main deposit.
In addition to this work, the company is conducting a more than 5,000-meter drilling campaign in the northern, southern, and eastern fronts of Monte Alto. Another program of similar scale is underway in Velhinhas, about five kilometers to the south, where 1,250 meters have already been drilled.
The five-kilometer distance refers to Velhinhas’ location in relation to the main deposit. Therefore, it does not mean that the company has confirmed a single new mineralized area within a “radius of over five kilometers.”
Current Results Cannot Be Called Reserves
The current resource estimate for Monte Alto totals 3.4 million tons with an average grade of 11.26% TREO. This was calculated based on 216 drill holes available as of February 22, 2026, covering approximately 730 meters in length.
None of the new results are included in this estimate, the mining plan, the production target, or the financial projections of the integrated Monte Alto–Camaçari conceptual study.
As highlighted by Mining Weekly, the potential extension of the lifespan or annual production depends on converting the new mineralization into resources and subsequent studies.
The company intends to update the estimate according to the Australian JORC code by the end of 2026. After that, the data will still need to undergo mine optimization and a pre-feasibility study.
Until these steps are completed, the correct term is new mineralization or potential resource expansion — and not the discovery of new economically proven reserves.
The official statement from Brazilian Rare Earths also conditions any future economic gain on the conversion of the results into mineral resources.
Sources Consulted
The information was verified in the technical report from Brazilian Rare Earths submitted to the ASX, in the official company announcement, and in the report from the specialized portal Mining Weekly.
