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Australia
Australian Rare Earths Ltd
An ASX-listed explorer developing the Koppamurra ionic clay rare earth deposit in South Australia, with a June 2026 pre-feasibility study for a heap-leach operation producing a mixed rare earth oxide.
Points to check
Facts from the sources on this page that a reader should weigh before relying on the company's own figures.
- About 29% of the PFS production target comes from Inferred Mineral Resources; the maiden Ore Reserve (26 Mt) covers roughly 72% of the 36 Mt of feed implied by 3 Mt/yr over 12 years.
- The Neo Performance Materials offtake arrangement (Oct 2022) is a non-binding MoU, and no binding offtake has been announced.
- The first production target moved from 2025/26 (Nov 2022 presentation) to 2029 (Jun 2026 PFS), and the Mining Lease Application moved from a Q4 2022-Q1 2023 target to end of 2026.
- Cash was A$2.345 million at 31 Dec 2025, less than one quarter of runway per the company's Appendix 5B, against a PFS initial capex of A$178 million; no project financing has been announced.
- The PFS price deck (basket US$139/kg TREO, NdPr US$160/kg) averages two commercial analysts' price forecasts rather than prevailing prices.
At a glance
- Founded
- 2021 — Founded by directors Rick Pobjoy and Bryn Jones, who staked the Koppamurra tenements in 2020 after a 2016 PhD study identified rare earth enrichment in the Murray Basin, and began drilling in December 2020. Listed on ASX after an A$12 million IPO at A$0.30 per share (July 2021 per Sprott; a Nov 2022 company presentation timeline shows the IPO in Sep 2020 - see conflicts).
- Headquarters
- South Australia, Australia (registered office address not confirmed from public pages reached; project field office in Naracoorte, SA)
- Ownership
- Listed on ASX (AR3). No controlling holder identified in public sources reached. Raised ~A$6 million via placement of ~32.6 million shares at A$0.185 to institutional, sophisticated and professional investors (30 Jan 2026).
- Stage
- Early stage. No investment decision or project financing; Koppamurra has a PFS (Jun 2026), a maiden Probable Reserve and a 30 t pilot campaign at a third-party (ANSTO) facility, with first production targeted by 2029.
- Listing
- ASX: AR3
- Revenue
- Not publicly disclosed. This company does not publish revenue and no named third party has published an estimate of it.
Capacity
Each date below links to the document the figure came from. A capacity figure with no source is not on this page.
| What | Figure | Status | As of |
|---|---|---|---|
| Koppamurra PFS design: ore feed to heap leach | 3 Mt/yr ore in (dry), 400 t/hr (throughput in, not product) | Announced | Jun 2026 |
| Koppamurra PFS design: product out | 1,860 t/yr TREO contained in mixed rare earth oxide product, including 435 t/yr NdPr oxide and 57 t/yr Dy+Tb oxide (contained in a mixed product, not separated) | Announced | Jun 2026 |
| Pilot campaign at ANSTO pilot facility, Sydney (third-party facility) | ~30 t of Koppamurra bulk sample in; 940 kg of agglomerates produced during commissioning; heap leaching targeted to finish by Dec 2026; first bulk MREO samples expected late Sep 2026 | Pilot scale | Aug 2026 |
Narrative
Koppamurra is an ionic clay deposit about 30 km southeast of Naracoorte, with tenure extending into Victoria; the rare earths are loosely held in clay and are extracted by leaching rather than by milling and flotation. The resource is 243 Mt at 751 ppm TREO, and the June 2026 pre-feasibility study reported a maiden probable reserve of 26 Mt at 920 ppm. The study plans 3 Mt/yr of ore through a heap leach to a mixed rare earth oxide above 98% TREO, producing 1,860 t/yr of TREO containing 435 t/yr of NdPr and 57 t/yr of dysprosium and terbium, for capital of A$178 million, with first production targeted by 2029; about 29% of the production target comes from inferred material. A pilot of about 30 t of ore began at ANSTO in Sydney in August 2026. The company has received most of a A$5 million government grant; its only offtake arrangement found is a non-binding 2022 memorandum with Neo Performance Materials. Earlier targets put first production in 2025 or 2026 and a mining lease application in early 2023; the application is now targeted for the end of 2026.
Where public sources disagree
- Two sources describe the magnet share of Koppamurra's basket differently: Mining Weekly (25 Jun 2026) says heavy and magnet rare earths are about 48% of the rare earth basket, while Listcorp's copy of the PFS release reports MREO at 25.3% of TREO for the global resource. The PFS production figures give NdPr at 435/1,860 = 23.4% and Dy+Tb at 57/1,860 = 3.1% of TREO output (26.5% combined); the two published percentages may use different element sets.
- Listing date differs: Sprott's initiation report (21 Apr 2022) says AR3 listed on ASX in July 2021 raising A$12 million at A$0.30, while the company's 29 Nov 2022 presentation timeline, as extracted, places the 'A$12m IPO and AR3 listing' at Sep 2020. Sprott also says a maiden resource of 39.9 Mt was delineated by April 2021, while the same presentation timeline shows a 'maiden inferred mineral resource' in December 2021.
Latest reports
| Period | Published | Report |
|---|---|---|
| Quarter ended 30 Jun 2026 | 2026-07-31 | Quarterly Activities/Appendix 5B Cash Flow Report (republished copy) |
| Quarter ended 31 Dec 2025 | 2026-01-30 | Quarterly Activities Report / Appendix 5B |
Across these reports
The June 2026 PFS and maiden reserve replaced earlier scoping work; first production moved from 2025/26 to 2029 and the mining lease application from early 2023 to end-2026.
| Measure | What the reports show |
|---|---|
| cash | A$2.345 million at 31 Dec 2025 (0.92 quarters of runway per Appendix 5B); then ~A$6 million placement (Feb 2026) and IPCM grant instalments of A$0.96 million (Feb 2026) and A$2.1 million (Aug 2026). June 2026 quarter-end cash not retrieved. |
| resource | 81.4 Mt @ 785 ppm TREO (Jul 2022) → 236 Mt (Sep 2024) → 243 Mt @ 751 ppm TREO (Jun 2026); maiden Probable Ore Reserve 26 Mt @ 920 ppm TREO (Jun 2026). |
| study | First formal economic study (PFS) released 25 Jun 2026; earlier timeline (2022) targeted production 2025/26 without a published study. |
| capacity | Pilot at ANSTO processing ~30 t of ore (from Aug 2026); moved to mixed rare earth hydroxide precipitation (announced 9-10 Sep 2026) with MREO samples to follow. |
Stated dates
| Target | First stated | Now | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| First production, Koppamurra | 2025/26 (company presentation, 29 Nov 2022) | by 2029 (PFS, 25 Jun 2026) | moved later |
| Mining Lease Application submission | Q4 2022 to Q1 2023 (company presentation, 29 Nov 2022) | by end of 2026 (28 Aug 2026 release) | moved later |
| PFS completion | Q2 2026 (mining.com.au, 23 Feb 2026) | Released 25 Jun 2026 | met |
| ANSTO pilot processing start | Q2 2026 (Dec 2025 quarterly, released 30 Jan 2026); 'June 2026' (AR3 announcement title) | Pilot processing underway announced 10-11 Aug 2026; heap leaching targeted to finish by Dec 2026 | moved later |
| Definitive (bankable) Feasibility Study | DFS targeted for later 2026 (Dec 2025 quarterly, released 30 Jan 2026) | No DFS date given in PFS; pilot data described as supporting a bankable feasibility study | not yet due |
Figures are as the company reported them, linked to each report. This summarizes what changed between reports; it is not a view on the company or its shares.
Sources
- Koppamurra Pre-Feasibility Study (ASX release copy) — Listcorp / Australian Rare Earths (2026-06-25)
- Australian Rare Earths releases compelling PFS, maiden ore reserve on Koppamurra project — Mining Weekly (2026-06-25)
- Australian Rare Earths Confirms Koppamurra Economics And Maiden Ore Reserve with PFS — Small Caps (2026-06)
- Australian Rare Earths starts pilot processing of Koppamurra material for customer evaluation — Mining Weekly (2026-08-11)
- Australian Rare Earths Secures Additional A$2.1 Million IPCM Grant as Koppamurra Pilot Processing Progresses at ANSTO — Kalkine Media (2026-08-28)
- Australian Rare Earths Advances Koppamurra Pilot Plant to Produce Mixed Rare Earth Hydroxide — Kalkine Media (2026-09-10)
- Quarterly Activities Report to 31 December 2025 / Appendix 5B — Australian Rare Earths (via Market Index) (2026-01-30)
- AR3 raises $6 Million to progress Koppamurra — Listcorp / Australian Rare Earths (2026-01-30)
- Australian Rare Earths collects Koppamurra funding — Mining.com.au (2026-02-23)
- Australian Rare Earths Identifies Niobium-Rare Earth Carbonatite System at Overland — Small Caps (2026-07-08)
- KOPPAMURRA Developing an independent source of critical rare earths (company presentation) — Australian Rare Earths via ASX (2022-11-29)
- Koppamurra ionic clay hosted rare earth mineral deposit in Australia — NS Energy (2022-10)
- Australian Rare Earths (AR3 AU) Initiating Coverage — Sprott Capital Partners (2022-04-21)
- Australian Rare Earths (ASX:AR3) announcements list — StockLight (2026-09)
- Is Australian Rare Earths (ASX: AR3) About to Become Australia's Most Important Rare Earth Story? — Kalkine (2026-06-25)
How this page is sourced
Everything here comes from public sources — company filings, annual reports, exchange announcements, government releases and trade press. Every figure is linked to the document it came from and carries the date that document was published, because a capacity number without a date is not a fact, it is a rumor with a decimal point.
What is deliberately absent: material nonpublic information. I have spent more than two decades in this industry and a good deal of what I know about these companies I learned under NDA. Those obligations do not expire and they do not bend for a website. Nothing I have been told in confidence appears here in any form, and nothing on this page — or missing from it — should be read as a signal about what I know privately. I hold NDAs absolutely. It is the reason clients tell me things.
Judgment is the other thing left out on purpose. This page reports what has been published and who published it. Whether a target is credible, whether a ramp will hold, whether a capacity figure survives contact with the plant behind it — that is the work I do for clients, and it does not belong in a free reference page.
Where public sources disagree, I say so rather than picking a winner. Where a figure has not been published, the field says so rather than carrying an estimate. An empty field is information too.
Public filings tell you what a company has said. Whether it holds up is a different question, and the one I get hired to answer.
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