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Critical Metals Corp. (Nasdaq: CRML) has signed an agreement to acquire a controlling interest in the Tanbreez project in Greenland, the largest rare earth deposit in the world.
Tanbreez hosts 28.2 million tonnes of total rare earth oxides (TREO) in 4.7 billion tonnes of material, according to internal company estimates. The asset is expected to contain more than 27% heavy rare earth elements (HREE) and Critical Metals says efforts to convert the internal resource to US SEC standards are being made.
Once operational, the mine is anticipated to supply rare earth elements to Europe and North America. The project is expected to have access to key transportation outlets as the Tanbreez area features year-round direct shipping access through deep-water fjords that lead directly to the North Atlantic ocean. The outcropping orebody, known as Kakortokite, covers an area of 8 km by 5 km and is about 400 metres thick.
Critical Metals acquired the project from Rimbal Pty. Ltd., a company controlled by geologist Gregory Barnes.
“Tanbreez is a game-changing rare earth mine for the West and a key step in positioning Critical Metals Corp as the leading supplier of critical minerals, with a diversified, multi-asset portfolio spanning multiple geographies,” CEO Tony Sage said in a news release.
Critical Metals, which owns Europe’s first fully permitted lithium mine, the Wolfsberg lithium project in Austria, debuted on the Nasdaq in March.
Upon completion of construction at Wolfsberg by 2026, Critical Metals has committed to supplying BMW by 2027. The company has also secured a deal with Obeikan Investment Group to build a lithium hydroxide plant in Saudi Arabia.
Shares of Critical Metals rose 4.6% by 12:00 p.m. EDT. The company has a market capitalization of $877 million.
Comments
Doug Oliver
This is a positive step for Greenland. The Kringlerne deposit is both huge and low in radioactive elements – the neighboring Kvanefjeld deposit was radioactive which led to a ban on mining any deposit with >100 ppm uranium. TANBREEZ has had this deposit for a long time but had made very little progress on developing it. Bringing in a company willing to move it forward could be a huge step forward toward reducing the west’s reliance on rare earths from China.