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Brazil
Brazilian Critical Minerals (Ema)
An ASX-listed explorer developing the Ema ionic clay rare earth project in Amazonas, Brazil, with a June 2026 bankable feasibility study for in-situ recovery to a mixed rare earth carbonate.
Points to check
Facts from the sources on this page that a reader should weigh before relying on the company's own figures.
- No Ore Reserve has been declared; the BFS schedule draws 16% of production from Inferred resources.
- No binding offtake exists; the BFS states 100% of forecast production is uncommitted, and the Southern Alliance agreement (Apr 2026) is non-binding.
- No project financing is committed; Stage 1 capex is US$74M against ~A$14M pro-forma cash after the July 2026 placement.
- The GU trial mining license (applied May 2025) and the IPAAM environmental approval were still under review at the BFS date, and the BFS gives no first production year. In September 2026 the company said INCRA land consent was the last land document IPAAM needed, after a public hearing on 9 Sep.
- BFS economics use LOM average NdPr US$108/kg, Dy US$1,583/kg and Tb US$3,869/kg; the Feb 2025 Scoping Study used a US$74/kg NdPr LOM average.
At a glance
- Founded
- 1999 — Incorporated in 1999 per StockAnalysis company profile. Formerly BBX Minerals Limited (ASX: BBX); renamed Brazilian Critical Minerals Limited (ASX: BCM) on or about 22 Dec 2023 after shareholder approval at the 27 Nov 2023 AGM. Other assets: Apuí ENE REE project and Tres Estados PGM/gold project, both in Brazil.
- Headquarters
- Perth, Western Australia, Australia (AMP Tower per StockAnalysis; the 2026 annual report summary refers to Perth's central business district). Project in Apuí region, Amazonas State, Brazil.
- Ownership
- Listed on ASX (BCM). 2,233,014,104 shares on issue at 22 Sep 2026 (2026 Annual Report). Substantial holders listed in the 2026 Annual Report: Drake Private Investments LLC 12.8% (notice of 15 Oct 2025) and Equity Trustees (Lowell Resources Fund) 6.10%. Ema is described as 100%-owned (BFS release, 30 Jun 2026). Placed about 190.1 million shares at A$0.053 (about A$10 million) in July 2026, with Barrenjoey Markets and Wallabi Group as joint lead managers: Tranche 1 (139.6 million shares) was issued on 14 Jul and Tranche 2 (50.4 million) on 17 Sep 2026, after shareholder approval on 10 Sep 2026.
- Stage
- Early stage. A bankable feasibility study (June 2026) and front-end engineering commissioned, but no ore reserve, investment decision, financing or binding offtake.
- Listing
- ASX: BCM
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ema BFS LOM average production (output, contained in MREC) | ~5,500 t/yr TREO and ~1,900 t/yr MREO contained in ~10,500 t/yr shipped MREC (~52% TREO); LOM totals 109,500 t TREO, 38,020 t MREO, 210,500 t MREC over 20 years | Announced | Jun 2026 |
| Ema process plant nameplate (output) | Stage 1 plant 2,960 t/yr TREO; Stage 2 duplicate plant 2,960 t/yr TREO; nameplate ~6,000 t/yr TREO with both plants running (in MREC). Nominal plant feed 350 m3/h PLS; year-1 wellfield injection target ~8,000 m3/day lixiviant, with half of Wellfield 1 running. | Announced | Jun 2026 |
Narrative
Ema is an ionic clay deposit near Apuí in Amazonas state, where rare earths held on clay surfaces can be leached in place. Brazilian Critical Minerals reports a resource of 1,071 Mt at 732 ppm TREO, of which about a third is Indicated, with magnet rare earths about 25% of the total. Its bankable feasibility study of June 30, 2026 plans in-situ recovery with a magnesium sulfate solution feeding an on-site plant that precipitates a mixed rare earth carbonate of about 52% TREO: about 10,500 t/yr of product containing about 5,500 t/yr of rare earth oxides, of which about 1,900 t/yr are the magnet elements. Capital is US$74 million for a first stage and US$27 million for a second, and the study assumes NdPr at US$108/kg. The study declares no ore reserve, draws 16% of scheduled production from inferred material, gives no first-production date and describes all output as uncommitted; the only named counterparty is Southern Alliance Mining under a non-binding April 2026 agreement. In August 2026 it appointed Altris to lead front-end engineering, expected to take about 24 weeks, while the trial mining license and state environmental approval were still under review.
Where public sources disagree
- Mining Weekly (30 Jun 2026) reports 'mixed rare earth carbonate (MREC) production is estimated at 1 900 t/y' alongside 5,500 t/y TREO. The BFS release itself (30 Jun 2026, Table 1) gives 'Average Annual MREO produced t 1,900' and 'approximately 10,500tpa of shipped MREC over the life-of-mine'; SmallCaps (30 Jun 2026) also gives 1,900 t/yr MREO. Arithmetic from the BFS: 109,500 t TREO / 210,500 t MREC = 52.0% TREO, matching the stated ~52% MREC grade; 5,500 / 0.52 = ~10,580 t/yr MREC; 38,020 t MREO / 109,500 t TREO = 34.7% MREO in product. The 1,900 figure in the BFS is MREO contained in MREC, not MREC.
- Leach recoveries: SmallCaps (5 Jun 2026) reports 48% TREO and 62% MREO average leach recoveries from MgSO4 leach tests on 262 samples from 56 holes; the Scoping Study (26 Feb 2025) had already assumed 48% TREO and 62% MREO recovery from ANSTO testwork; the BFS (30 Jun 2026) reports ISR column-test extractions of 56% TREY-Ce and 62% magnet RE, and uses 55% overall LOM MREO extraction.
- High-case NPV: Mining Weekly (30 Jun 2026) gives US$1.8 billion at US$130/kg NdPr; the BFS gives NPV8 US$1.856B (post-tax) for the +20% price case.
- The Scoping Study (26 Feb 2025) gives 4,800 t/yr TREO in its highlights, but its body gives 2,660 t/yr TREO nameplate, 'approximately 4,800tpa of shipped MREC', and about 5,300 t/yr TREO from year 5. It is the same carbonate-versus-contained-oxide ambiguity as the 1,900 t/yr figure above.
Latest reports
| Period | Published | Report |
|---|---|---|
| FY ended 30 Jun 2026 | 2026-09-28 | 2026 Annual Report |
| Quarter ended 30 Jun 2026 | 2026-07-24 | Quarterly activities and cash flow report |
| Quarter ended 31 Mar 2026 | 2026-04-24 | Quarterly activities and cash flow report |
| n/a | 2026-06-30 | Ema Rare Earth Project - Bankable Feasibility Study (ASX release) |
Across these reports
| Measure | What the reports show |
|---|---|
| study | Scoping (Feb 2025): NPV8 US$498M, IRR 55%, 4,800 t/yr TREO, capex US$55M at NdPr LOM avg US$74/kg. BFS (Jun 2026): NPV8 US$1.47B, IRR 105%, 5,500 t/yr TREO, Stage 1 capex US$74M (like-for-like US$51M vs US$55M) at NdPr US$108/kg. |
| resource | Scoping starter zone 341 Mt @ 746 ppm TREO (Feb 2025); global MRE 1,071 Mt @ 732 ppm TREO with 392 Mt Indicated (released 22 Apr 2026, effective 10 Mar 2026). |
| cash | A$5.5M at 31 Mar 2026 (March quarterly report); ~A$14M pro-forma after the ~A$10M July 2026 placement, before costs (company release). |
| capacity | BFS sets two 2,960 t/yr TREO plants (Stage 1, Stage 2 in Year 2) for ~6,000 t/yr TREO nameplate in MREC. |
Stated dates
| Target | First stated | Now | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feasibility-level study | Scoping Study (26 Feb 2025): next study phase to be completed 'throughout 2025' | BFS released 30 Jun 2026 | moved later |
| First production | No year stated in Scoping Study (Feb 2025) | No year stated in BFS (30 Jun 2026); company targets site construction and early development 'in the near term'; Altris appointed to lead FEED (about 24 weeks) on 31 Aug 2026 | not yet due |
| GU (trial mining license) from ANM | Applications submitted to ANM May 2025 | 'in the final stages of analysis' (BFS, 30 Jun 2026); ANM approved Final Exploration Reports June 2026; PCA with IPAAM under review | not yet due |
| Full mining permit (PAE lodgement) | To be lodged after BFS (30 Jun 2026) | No lodgement found in sources reached | 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
- Ema Rare Earth Project - Bankable Feasibility Study (ASX: BCM) — Brazilian Critical Minerals via Market Index (2026-06-30)
- Brazilian Critical Minerals confirms meaningful economic potential in Ema project BFS — Mining Weekly (2026-06-30)
- Brazilian Critical Minerals Delivers Strong Ema Bankable Feasibility Study — SmallCaps (2026-06-30)
- Ema Rare Earth Project, Brazil — Mining Technology (2026-08-26)
- Brazilian Critical Minerals Confirms Leach Response Across Ema Rare Earth Mineralisation — SmallCaps (2026-06-05)
- Ema Rare Earths Scoping Study (ASX release) — Brazilian Critical Minerals via ASX/Markit Digital (2025-02-26)
- Brazilian Critical Minerals' Ema project advances to FEED stage — Mining Weekly (2026-08-31)
- Brazilian Critical Minerals Ema FEED Study Explained — Rare Earth Exchanges (2026-09-01)
- Brazilian Critical Minerals and Southern Alliance partner on Ema — Mining.com.au (2026-04-20)
- Brazilian Critical Minerals Limited Reports Earnings Results for the Full Year Ended June 30, 2026 — MarketScreener (2026-09)
- Change of Company Name and ASX code — Brazilian Critical Minerals via Listcorp (2023-12-21)
- Brazilian Critical Minerals Initiates Trading Halt Amid Anticipated Capital Raising — Kalkine (2026-07-06)
- Is Brazilian Critical Minerals (ASX:BCM) Worth Watching After Its $10 Million Placement and BFS? — Kalkine (2026-07-07)
- 2026 Annual Report — Brazilian Critical Minerals (ASX) (2026-09-28)
- Quarterly activities report, June 2026 — Brazilian Critical Minerals (ASX) (2026-07-24)
- Quarterly activities report, March 2026 — Brazilian Critical Minerals (ASX) (2026-04-24)
- Placement announcement — Brazilian Critical Minerals (ASX) (2026-07-07)
- Altris appointed for FEED — Brazilian Critical Minerals (ASX) (2026-08-31)
- Land access update — Brazilian Critical Minerals (ASX) (2026-09-14)
- Mineral resource estimate — Brazilian Critical Minerals (ASX) (2026-04-22)
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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