AUS
NZ
UK
CA
USA
IND
Viridis Mining and Minerals Limited (VMM) has reported that its advanced Demonstration Plant is outperforming metallurgical recovery benchmarks set in its Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS), achieving average recoveries in July 2026 of 79% for Magnetic Rare Earth Oxides (MREO) and 64% for Total Rare Earth Oxides (TREO), exceeding PFS estimates of 76% and 57%, respectively. The plant’s continuous 24-hour automated operation has validated the Colossus Project’s flowsheet and uncovered optimisation opportunities that could significantly enhance project economics as the company progresses toward its Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) and Final Investment Decision (FID). These milestones bolster investor confidence in the rare earth processing facility’s commercial viability.
Key Highlights
- Australian rare earth minerals firm Viridis Mining and Minerals Limited (VMM) is developing the Colossus Project, a mixed rare earth carbonate processing plant.
- The Demonstration Plant achieved July 2026 MREO recoveries of 79% and TREO recoveries of 64%, significantly surpassing PFS assumptions of 76% and 57%, respectively.
- Operating continuously on a fully automated 24-hour basis since May 2026, the plant processes 100kg/hr of clay feed, generating commercial-scale operational data.
- Viridis is advancing product qualification with strategic offtake partner Solvay, shipping high-grade MREC samples to Solvay’s La Rochelle facility in France.
- Run-of-mine feed from the Northern Concessions provides representative recovery data for integration into the DFS and project financial modeling.
- The company anticipates moving toward Final Investment Decision in the coming months, with financing, permitting, and commercial negotiations progressing concurrently.
Recovery Rates Significantly Outperform Pre-Feasibility Study Projections
Viridis Mining and Minerals Limited announced that its Demonstration Plant achieved an average MREO recovery rate of 79% in July 2026, with peak values reaching 80.9%. These results notably exceed the 76% MREO recovery assumption in the company’s Pre-Feasibility Study. Similarly, the plant recorded an average TREO recovery of 64%, outperforming the PFS benchmark of 57%. Median recovery rates for July 2026 were 80.3% for MREO and 65.1% for TREO, demonstrating consistent elevated recovery performance.
These enhanced recoveries have significant implications for project economics, as each percentage point increase in metallurgical recovery directly boosts rare earth output from the same ore volume, potentially improving the financial returns of the Colossus Project. Recovery data was obtained using run-of-mine feed from the Northern Concessions, which form the basis of the early mine plan years, providing commercially relevant and representative performance metrics. Incorporating these improved recoveries into the DFS is expected to materially revise production forecasts and financial models.
24/7 Automated Operation Confirms Flowsheet Robustness at Commercial Scale
Since its startup in May 2026, the Demonstration Plant has reliably operated continuously on a fully automated 24-hour basis, employing Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) systems to manage complex processing without human intervention. This achievement marks a significant operational milestone. The plant integrates water and reagent recycling circuits alongside an on-site laboratory that optimises feed blends, ore types, pH ranges, and other critical parameters affecting rare earth recoveries. This setup confirms the technical feasibility of automating rare earth processing at commercial scale.
Validation of the flowsheet under continuous commercial-style operation confirms the robustness and repeatability of Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate (MREC) production. This de-risking is vital for lenders, strategic partners, and offtake customers seeking reliable, high-quality product output. The Demonstration Plant mirrors the proposed commercial facility’s flowsheet and processes 100kg/hr of clay feed, ranking it among the largest semi-industrial continuous rare earth operations outside China. This scale delivers operational data that substantially reduces technical execution risks ahead of full commercial production.
Ongoing Optimisation Efforts Aim to Boost Recoveries Further
Viridis continues optimisation efforts at the Demonstration Plant, with several process improvements and operational initiatives planned to enhance metallurgical recoveries beyond the July 2026 baseline. This phased approach enables the company to validate incremental recovery gains in a controlled semi-commercial environment before integrating them into the final commercial plant design. Managing Director Rafael Moreno highlighted the plant’s value as a platform for refining key operating parameters at commercial scale, with additional initiatives identified to further improve recoveries ahead of DFS completion.
Beyond recovery enhancements, the Demonstration Plant has validated critical process equipment, refined operating parameters, and finalised capital and operating cost decisions. Counter Current Decantation (CCD) circuits met target underflow solids and overflow clarity specifications. Residue and MREC precipitation filters produced filter cakes at target moisture levels, mitigating risks in residue backfill and product packaging. Water treatment trials demonstrated zero liquid discharge, water recycling, and Ammonium Sulphate reagent recovery. Coupon testing confirmed materials of construction, reducing procurement risks. These technical validations reduce execution risk and capital cost uncertainty for the commercial facility.
Product Qualification with Solvay Advances Toward Commercial Offtake Agreements
Viridis is progressing product qualification with strategic offtake partner Solvay, a global specialty chemicals and minerals processor. High-grade MREC samples produced by the Demonstration Plant have been shipped to Solvay’s La Rochelle, France facility for evaluation and commercial qualification. This process is crucial for securing binding offtake agreements and confirming the commercial viability of Viridis’s production pathway. Solvay’s involvement provides technical expertise and marketing channels, reducing market risk for the Colossus Project.
Having a qualified strategic offtake partner is a key de-risking factor for project financing and investment decisions, as lenders and investors often require binding or near-binding commitments before funding rare earth projects. The ongoing product qualification with Solvay indicates the commercial pathway is advancing alongside technical and financial workstreams supporting the DFS and FID. This alignment strengthens Viridis’s position in securing project financing and commencing commercial facility construction.
Rare Earth Research and Processing Centre Facilitates Due Diligence and Institutional Engagement
The Rare Earth Research and Processing Centre (CPTR), housing the Demonstration Plant, plays a strategic role beyond pilot production. It has hosted independent lenders’ engineers conducting technical due diligence for project financing, providing direct operational performance verification. This independent review marks progress in financing negotiations, moving toward detailed loan structuring.
The CPTR has also welcomed high-level government and institutional delegations, including EU Commissioner Jozef Síkela, underscoring the Colossus Project’s strategic importance within EU rare earth security and supply chain diversification policies. Such engagement can facilitate permitting, reduce regulatory risks, and open pathways to strategic financing. Hosting these delegations at an operational Demonstration Plant evidences commercial progress and strengthens Viridis’s role in rare earth supply chain initiatives and geopolitical discussions.
Northern Concessions Feed Ensures Representative Early Production Metrics
The Demonstration Plant processes run-of-mine feed sourced from the Northern Concessions, which underpin early production years in the mine plan. Using representative feed is critical for generating metallurgical recovery data that reflects commercial production conditions accurately. This approach allows recovery metrics to be directly applied to the project financial model without adjustment factors.
This methodology reduces financial modeling risk and enhances DFS recovery assumption credibility with lenders, investors, and offtake partners. The July 2026 recovery data thus represents commercially relevant performance rather than laboratory test results, which may not capture operational realities. This validation supports project financing discussions and de-risks technical assumptions within the DFS financial model.
Advancing Toward Final Investment Decision with Concurrent Financing, Permitting, and Commercial Negotiations
Viridis expects to reach Final Investment Decision in the coming months, with financing, permitting, and commercial negotiations progressing simultaneously. The superior recovery performance relative to PFS assumptions provides a strong foundation for these efforts. Independent lenders’ engineers are conducting technical due diligence at the CPTR facility, while commercial discussions with strategic partners like Solvay advance through product qualification. Permitting benefits from demonstrated environmental performance, including zero liquid discharge and water recycling.
Achieving FID marks a pivotal transition from pre-development to development-stage execution, signaling board commitment to commercial plant construction and financing partners’ readiness to finalize loan agreements. Although the company has not specified an exact FID date, the parallel progress across workstreams indicates management’s intent to consolidate approvals and agreements ahead of this milestone.
Commercial-Scale Validation De-Risks Capital and Operating Cost Estimates
Operational data from the Demonstration Plant enables Viridis to finalize capital and operating cost assumptions for the DFS and commercial plant design. Technical scopes replicating commercial plant elements have yielded key outcomes: CCD circuits met solids and clarity targets, precipitation filters produced competent filter cakes, water treatment demonstrated zero liquid discharge and reagent recovery, and coupon testing confirmed construction materials. These results reduce procurement risks and support accurate CAPEX and OPEX estimates.
Using Demonstration Plant data rather than vendor or laboratory assumptions enhances the credibility of cost estimates, which is crucial for rare earth projects that face cost uncertainty in Western economies. This methodical validation reduces the risk of cost overruns during construction and increases financial modeling confidence for lenders and investors.
Enhanced Recoveries Offer Significant Upside to Project Financial Performance
The reported July 2026 average recoveries of 79% MREO and 64% TREO represent improvements of 3 and 7 percentage points, respectively, over PFS assumptions. These gains translate directly into increased rare earth oxide production from the same ore feed, potentially boosting annual output without proportional cost increases in mining or processing.
The financial benefits of these recovery improvements will be integrated into the DFS and updated financial models, providing substantial upside to previously published economic metrics. Ongoing optimisation work indicates that the July 2026 recovery rates may serve as a baseline, with further enhancements possible before finalising the DFS. However, the magnitude of financial gains will depend on rare earth oxide pricing and the final recovery assumptions incorporated into the DFS, which were not disclosed.
