Brazilian Critical Minerals appoints Altris to advance Ema Rare Earth Project towards development
Brazilian Critical Minerals Ltd (ASX:BCM, FRA:FZ70) has appointed Altris Engineering as lead design engineer for the front-end engineering and design (FEED) phase of its flagship Ema Rare Earth Project in Brazil, marking the project’s next major step towards financing, procurement and a final investment decision.
The FEED program is expected to take around 24 weeks and will build on engineering completed during Ema’s Bankable Feasibility Study (BFS), which was also led by Altris.
The work will further develop the process plant and associated infrastructure, refine capital costs and the implementation schedule, and advance major equipment packages to the point where technically compliant vendor quotations can be obtained.
FEED to improve procurement and cost certainty
Retaining Altris provides continuity between the BFS and FEED stages, allowing Brazilian Critical Minerals to carry forward the engineering knowledge already developed around Ema’s process design, infrastructure, capital requirements and execution strategy.
During FEED, Altris will confirm major equipment selections, optimise the process plant and infrastructure design and prepare procurement packages while further refining project costs and scheduling.
The completed package is intended to provide a more advanced engineering basis for financing, regulatory approvals, procurement and a final investment decision before Ema progresses into detailed design and construction.
Managing director Andrew Reid described the appointment as an important step in moving Ema from feasibility towards execution, with the focus increasingly shifting towards final engineering decisions, vendor quotations, procurement readiness and reducing technical and execution risk.
Ema moves closer to development
The FEED scope covers processing infrastructure from the receipt of pregnant leach solution generated by Ema’s in-situ recovery (ISR) wellfield through impurity removal, Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate precipitation, dewatering and product load-out.
Altris will also prepare equipment specifications and tender documentation, coordinate requests for quotation and assess vendor proposals, giving BCM greater visibility over equipment pricing, selection and delivery schedules before project execution.
Once FEED is completed, detailed engineering and construction documentation are expected to be undertaken by a qualified Brazilian contractor, with Altris assisting in the technical handover to maintain design continuity.
About Brazilian Critical Minerals
Brazilian Critical Minerals is developing the Ema Rare Earth Project near Apuí in Amazonas State, Brazil.
Ema is an ionic adsorption clay rare earth project planned around ISR, using a magnesium sulphate solution to recover rare earth elements from mineralised clay. The recovered material would then be processed into a Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate suitable for export and downstream refining.
The move into FEED forms part of BCM’s strategy to progressively de-risk Ema and advance the project towards development.