BRE Unveils +9 km Ultra-High-Grade Rare Earth Corridor at Velhinhas

District-Scale Rare Earth Corridor Emerges at Velhinhas

Brazilian Rare Earths Limited (ASX:BRE) has dramatically expanded the rare earth story at its Monte Alto District with the discovery of a +9 km mineralised corridor at Velhinhas, located immediately south of the ultra-high-grade Monte Alto Deposit in Bahia, Brazil. High-resolution airborne magnetic and radiometric surveys have delineated four parallel north-northeast trending corridors, transforming isolated surface sample anomalies into a district-scale exploration model comparable to BRE’s Sulista project.

Surface samples from Velhinhas have delivered exceptional grades, with assays reaching a staggering 39.6% total rare earth oxides (TREO). These ultra-high-grade values, including 20.9% and 13.5% TREO in other samples, underscore the robust surface expression of a far-reaching mineralised system.

Drilling Confirms High-Grade Mineralisation from Surface to Bedrock

Reconnaissance diamond drilling of 18 holes totaling 2,812 metres has substantiated the geophysical targets, with 11 holes intersecting significant mineralisation. Highlights include grades up to 19.6% TREO, accompanied by critical rare earth elements and associated minerals such as neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr), dysprosium-terbium (DyTb), yttrium, niobium, scandium, tantalum, and uranium. These elements are consistent with BRE’s high-value REE-Nb-Sc-Ta-U systems previously identified at Monte Alto and Sulista.

Notably, drillholes VLHDD0009 and SDD0016 on the Eastern Target Trend returned high-grade mineralisation both near surface and at depth, confirming lateral continuity over hundreds of metres. Meanwhile, the Central Target Trend boasts surface samples with TREO grades as high as 39.6%, backed by drilling intercepts revealing multiple stacked mineralised horizons.

Velhinhas Extends Monte Alto’s Rare Earth Footprint Within Rocha da Rocha Province

Velhinhas sits within the expansive Rocha da Rocha Province, a prolific rare earth and critical minerals belt extending over 180 km and hosting more than 50 mineralised discoveries. BRE’s hub-and-spoke development strategy aims to integrate these high-grade deposits with a rare earth refinery hub planned near Salvador at Camaçari.

The Velhinhas discovery significantly enlarges the Monte Alto District’s footprint, with mineralisation confirmed from approximately 5 km south of Monte Alto to beyond 8 km along strike. The mineralised corridors align with regional-scale magnetic domain boundaries, suggesting a structurally controlled and repeatable system analogous to the Sulista District, where BRE has demonstrated the scalability of these deposits.

Accelerated Drilling Campaign Targets District-Scale Potential

Building on these promising results, BRE has mobilised a sixth diamond drill rig to Velhinhas, advancing a +5,000 metre drilling campaign to test priority geophysical anomalies and expand bedrock mineralisation. The program will also include close-spaced auger drilling to delineate shallow monazite mineralisation in the regolith.

BRE’s Managing Director Bernardo da Veiga emphasised the repeatability and scale of the system, noting the company’s clear objective to extend high-grade mineralisation at depth and continue defining what is emerging as a major rare earth and critical minerals district.

With Velhinhas forming part of a growing pipeline of high-grade targets extending southward from Monte Alto, including the recently drill-tested Heavy Rare Earth Outcrop, BRE is steadily assembling a district-scale rare earth system that could underpin its hub-and-spoke development model.