Brazilian Rare Earths Hits 13.3% TREO as New Find Extends District to 3km
Key Takeaways
- Brazilian Rare Earths has confirmed a new high-grade discovery at Sulista South, with 13 diamond drill holes intersecting multiple stacked mineralised seams across approximately 500 m of strike and to 200 m depth, with grades regularly exceeding 4% TREO and a peak subinterval of 1.0 m at 13.3% TREO.
- The Sulista South discovery sits 800 m south of the existing Sulista East deposit, and combined with a 350 m northern strike extension at Sulista East, BRE has now defined mineralisation across approximately 3 km of total strike.
- Sulista South grades materially exceed the existing Sulista East MRE benchmark of 8.2 Mt at 2.1% TREO, signalling potential quality uplift in any future resource update that incorporates the new discovery.
- Infill drilling at Sulista East has brought most of the existing MRE model within 40 m of a drill hole — a technical threshold that directly supports conversion of Inferred material to the higher-confidence Indicated classification.
- An updated JORC Mineral Resource Estimate for the Sulista District is targeted for the end of 2026, with more than 4.5 km of the southern corridor still untested by diamond drilling and a +10,000 m follow-up programme underway.
New discovery expands BRE’s Sulista rare earth district
Brazilian Rare Earths has confirmed a new high-grade rare earth discovery at Sulista South, intersecting multiple stacked mineralised seams across approximately 500 m of strike and to approximately 200 m below surface. Stage 1 diamond drilling comprised 13 holes totalling 1,674 m, with mineralisation reaching interpreted true thicknesses of approximately 4 m to 18 m and remaining open along strike and at depth.
The discovery sits 800 m south of the existing Sulista East deposit. Combined with a 350 m northern strike extension defined by step-out drilling at Sulista East, BRE has now intersected mineralisation along approximately 3 km of total strike. The Sulista South discovery extends the broader mineralised footprint by more than 1.5 km to the south, with drilling underway to test the intervening ground between the two systems.
Sulista South — headline drill intercepts
Assays have been received for 8 of the 13 Sulista South holes, with results from 5 remaining pending. Headline intercepts from the returned holes include:
- VR3DD0034: 6.8 m at 4.7% TREO from 63.3 m, including 4.1 m at 6.0% TREO from 66.0 m
- VR3DD0035: 9.0 m at 4.6% TREO from 99.7 m
- VR3DD0033: 8.0 m at 4.4% TREO from 44.5 m, including 6.0 m at 5.1% TREO from 45.5 m
- VR3DD0036: 5.5 m at 4.3% TREO from 106.3 m; also 4.3 m at 4.1% TREO from 89.1 m
- VR3DD0034: 8.5 m at 3.5% TREO from 50.0 m
One notable subinterval from hole VR3DD0036 returned 1.0 m at 13.3% TREO from 110.8 m, representing an exceptionally high-grade result within an already strong discovery package.
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What is TREO and why does grade matter for rare earth investors?
TREO stands for Total Rare Earth Oxide, and it is the primary measure of quality for a rare earth deposit. It represents the sum of all individual rare earth oxide percentages measured within a rock sample, providing a single number that captures how rich or lean that rock is in rare earth content.
Not all rare earths carry equal commercial weight. Within any TREO figure, the magnet rare earths — principally neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr), plus dysprosium (Dy) and terbium (Tb) — are the most commercially valuable. These elements are the key ingredients in the permanent magnets used in electric vehicles and wind turbines, making them central to global clean energy supply chains.
Understanding “stacked seams” matters here too. The geology at Sulista South consists of multiple mineralised horizons sitting one above the other within the same host rock sequence, suggesting repeated pulses of mineral-bearing material moved through the rock over time. From a resource perspective, stacked seams mean greater volume potential because more than one horizon contributes tonnes to any future estimate.
Grade, thickness, and strike length collectively drive resource scale. A deposit with high grades, multiple seams, and several kilometres of strike has the building blocks for a significant resource. The existing Sulista East Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) stands at 8.2 Mt at 2.1% TREO, with the deposit comprising 2.1 Mt of Indicated Mineral Resources at 2.6% TREO and 6.1 Mt of Inferred Mineral Resources at 2.0% TREO. The Sulista South results — with intercepts regularly exceeding 4% TREO and peak subintervals above 13% TREO — materially exceed that existing benchmark, signalling potential quality uplift in any future resource update incorporating the new discovery.
Sulista East grows — strike extended and resource confidence builds
Parallel to the Sulista South work, BRE has been advancing two complementary workstreams at Sulista East: extending the resource footprint with step-out drilling, and building geological confidence through infill drilling. Both programmes are targeting the year-end MRE update.
Step-out drilling has extended drill-defined mineralisation approximately 350 m north and 80 m south of the current Sulista East MRE footprint, a combined extension of approximately 430 m. Key step-out intercepts from the hangingwall horizon include:
| Hole ID | From (m) | True Width (m) | TREO (%) | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JITDD0076 | 102.0 | 9.0 | 2.8% incl. 5.5 m at 3.5% | Northern step-out extension |
| JITDD0083 | 159.0 | 8.6 | 2.2% incl. 5.9 m at 3.3% | Confirms down-dip continuity |
| JITDD0085 | 126.0 | 21.8 | 1.7% incl. 8.7 m at 3.4% | Broad intersection, northern step-out |
| JITDD0086 | 149.4 | 17.9 | 1.5% incl. 3.2 m at 4.1% | Southern extension of MRE footprint |
The infill programme has confirmed two main mineralised horizons across Sulista East: a broad, laterally continuous upper hangingwall zone and a significant underlying footwall zone. Drill hole JITDD0075 returned a substantial footwall intercept of 43.4 m at 1.4% TREO from 170.5 m (true width approximately 35.0 m), which the company notes highlights the footwall zone’s potential to add meaningful mineralised volume at Sulista East.
Drill coverage has also increased substantially, with most of the existing MRE model now lying within 40 m of a drill hole. That drill density is a meaningful technical threshold: it directly supports the potential conversion of Inferred material to the higher-confidence Indicated classification, which is a significant de-risking step for any future feasibility work.
CEO’s view — discovery, scale and the path forward
Bernardo da Veiga, CEO & Managing Director
“The Sulista South discovery gives us a new high-grade mineralised system to delineate, while successful drilling just at Sulista East is extending known mineralisation and strengthening the geological model. With more than 4.5 km of the southern corridor still untested by diamond drilling, significant exploration opportunity remains ahead of us. Our next objective is an updated Mineral Resource by the end of 2026. Alongside that work, we will assess how Sulista could underpin additional high-grade feed to our planned Camaçari processing hub and support long-term province-scale growth around shared infrastructure. That potential currently remains outside the published Scoping Study.”
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What comes next — the path to a larger Sulista resource
BRE has outlined a clear near-term work programme, with an updated JORC MRE targeted for the end of 2026 as the key milestone. It is important to note that Sulista is currently excluded from the published Monte Alto + Camaçari Scoping Study and contributes no production, revenue, or economic value to that published development case. Any future integration of Sulista will be subject to the outcomes of resource estimation and feasibility studies.
The priority work programme includes:
- Complete 2,000 m of follow-up drilling at Sulista South
- Advance Stage 2 and Stage 3 of the +10,000 m diamond drilling programme, targeting the remaining approximately 4.5 km of untested southern corridor
- Complete a further 5,000 m of infill and step-out diamond drilling at Sulista East, targeting conversion of a substantial majority of the Mineral Resource to Indicated classification
- Deliver an updated JORC MRE for Sulista, targeted for the end of 2026
The updated MRE will form the basis for subsequent technical studies assessing Sulista’s potential contribution as additional high-grade feed to the planned Camaçari processing hub. For investors watching BRE’s Sulista District development, the combination of a new high-grade discovery, an expanding resource footprint across approximately 3 km of strike, and a defined year-end MRE milestone creates a structured pipeline of near-term catalysts.
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