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Uberaba|Mosaic|Rainbow Rare Earths|SRK Consulting|Brazil|South Africa|Uberaba Rare Earth Elements Project|Critical Minerals|Mining|Rare Earths|Cathy Malins|Minas Gerais|Phosphogypsum
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uberaba|mosaic|rainbow-rare-earths|srk-consulting|brazil|south-africa|uberaba-rare-earth-elements-project|critical-minerals|mining|rare-earths|cathy-malins|minas-gerais|phosphogypsum

Uberaba rare earth elements project, Brazil – update

Mounds of rare earth elements

11th September 2026

By: Sheila Barradas

Creamer Media Research Coordinator & Senior Deputy Editor

     

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Name of the Project
Uberaba rare earth elements project.

Location
Uberaba, in Minas Gerais state, Brazil, at phosphate and potash producer Mosaic Company’s existing phosphate and phosphoric acid operations.

Project Owner/s
The project is expected to be held through a joint venture (JV) company, with Mosaic owning 51% and rare earth development company Rainbow Rare Earths  49%. This is subject to a positive prefeasibility study (PFS), a decision to proceed to a definitive feasibility study (DFS) and final agreements being concluded.

Project Description
The Uberaba project entails the processing of phosphogypsum, a waste product from phosphoric acid production, to recover light and heavy rare-earth elements using Rainbow’s proprietary process.

The preliminary economic assessment, published in March 2026, envisages the construction of an on-site processing plant with a throughput of about 2.7-million tonnes a year over an initial 30-year mine life.

The process is designed to produce separated neodymium and praseodymium oxide, as well as a samarium, europium and gadolinium plus, or SEG+, a product rich in medium and heavy rare earths that both contain purities above 99.5%.

The cleaned phosphogypsum stream is intended to be returned to Mosaic’s Uberaba process facility.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Using Rainbow’s base case and a 10% discount rate, the project has an after-tax net present value (NPV) of $916-million and an after-tax internal rate of return of 45%. Using a 13.5% discount rate, the after-tax NPV is $609-million. Payback is estimated at 1.7 years.

Capital Expenditure
Capital expenditure is estimated at $279-million.

Planned Start/End Date
Rainbow and Mosaic are targeting initial production in 2030, subject to further studies, regulatory approvals, financing arrangements, investment decisions and successful project execution.

Latest Developments
Rainbow and Mosaic have started the PFS under their joint project development agreement. The study is expected to be completed in the second half of 2027.

SRK Consulting Ltd has been appointed to prepare a maiden Joint Ore Reserves Committee- (Jorc-) compliant mineral resource estimate – the first of several technical consultants expected to be engaged for the study.

Mosaic is shipping about 6 t of phosphogypsum feedstock to Rainbow's laboratory and pilot plant in South Africa for further testwork and piloting.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
SRK Consulting (maiden Jorc-compliant mineral resource estimate).

Contact Details for Project Information
Rainbow Rare Earths investor relations contact Cathy Malins, tel +44 7876 796 629 or email cathym@rainbowrareearths.com.

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

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