Viridis secures a binding rare earths offtake agreement with Belgium’s Solvay

Australia’s Viridis Mining and Minerals (ASX: VMM) said on Thursday that it had executed a binding long-term offtake agreement with Solvay (EBR: SOLB), a Belgium-based chemical firm, to sell mixed rare earth carbonate (MREC) from its Colossus Rare Earth Project in Brazil.

The MREC agreement includes commitments across seven rare earth elements, including neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and yttrium.

The rare earths miner said the agreement has an initial term commencing with first production, targeted for 2028, and runs through December 2034.

Minimum contracted volumes for the principal magnetic rare earths, neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium, including the ramp-up period, account for nearly 64% of forecast production of these elements over the six-year take-or-pay period.

The minimum contracted volumes support minimum revenue of $915 million, based on contractual price floors and other factors.

“Securing binding offtake with Solvay, alongside our advanced senior debt financing process, puts Viridis in a strong position as we progress towards targeted production in 2028,” said Managing Director Rafael Moreno.

Under a separate agreement, Solvay will also license technology and provide technical support to Viridis to produce higher-value, refined MREC in Brazil, the company added.

(Reporting by Keshav Singh Chundawat in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)