The whole world has been talking about "rare earths" recently, mostly due to the Chinese government placing restrictions on their export, and threatening to cut off the United States from the supply of magnets and other essential materials necessary to build modern tech, from smartphonesAnalyst’s Disclosure:I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of CRML, LYSDY, USAR, UURAF, APAAF, METC, UUUU, SRHYY either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it ...

Project Overview - Caldeira project has a large ionic clay resource globally at 1.5 billion tonnes @ 2,359 ppm TREO, including 526 ppm MREO[17] - The project's initial mine life is estimated to be 20 years based on the Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS)[23] - Drilling has been limited to approximately 15% of the total license area, indicating significant exploration upside[23] Financial Highlights - The project boasts a compelling post-tax NPV8 of US$1.3 billion, indicating strong potential for extending mine life and processing capacity[17,41] - The development capex is estimated at US$443 million, inclusive of contingency[41] - The average annual Total Rare Earth Oxide (TREO) production is projected to be 13,584 tonnes, representing approximately 8% of the global REO market[38] - Average annual Neodymium-Praseodymium (NdPr) Oxide production is estimated at 4,228 tonnes, representing about 7% of the global NdPr market[38] Operational Summary - The project plans for a 6Mtpa plant throughput, optimized for greater return on capital[38] - The Maiden Probable Ore Reserve is 103 million tonnes @ 4,091 ppm TREO, based on a minimum 100m x 100m drilling[38] - The Life of Mine (LOM) strip ratio is low at 0.38 (waste:ore)[50]