Highlights

• Core Energy Minerals secures 100% of Rio Tinto's Itambe Rare Earth Project in Brazil's emerging Bahia district.
• The acquisition cost is just US$200k cash plus a 1.75% Net Smelter Return (NSR).
• Core Energy gains 327 km² with coherent Rare Earth Element (REE) anomalies, including a 5km x 2km zone grading >1,500ppm Total Rare Earth Oxides (TREO).
• CR3 is positioned in a tier-1 REE territory alongside Brazilian Rare Earths' Sulista discovery.
• The project has potential for ionic-clay style mineralization that could serve Western supply chains.
• Only 7% of tenements have been explored.
• Core Energy has a market cap of approximately A$5 million and just A$430k in cash.
• There is a significant dilution risk for Core Energy to fund systematic exploration across its multi-country portfolio.
• Core Energy's portfolio spans Brazilian REE/uranium, Australian uranium, and Namibian projects.

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Core Energy Minerals (opens in a new tab) (ASX: CR3) has moved decisively into Brazil’s hottest rare earth postcode, signing a binding deal with Rio Tinto to acquire (opens in a new tab) 100% of the Itambe Rare Earth Project in Bahia State. For just US$200,000 in cash plus a 1.75% net smelter return (NSR) royalty, Core picks up a 32,791 ha (327 km²) land package in the Rocha da Rocha rare earth province—the same emerging district that hosts Brazilian Rare Earths’ high-profile Sulista discovery. The acquisition gives CR3 a second Brazilian REE foothold alongside its Tunas project in Paraná.

Rio originally chased lithium in the area, but its work—conceptual targeting, regional soil sampling, and four test auger holes—outlined three coherent rare earth anomalies, including a 5 km x 2 km zone graded at >1,500 ppm TREO with a peak soil result of 5,123 ppm TREO. Only about 7% of the tenement package has seen first-pass work, meaning this is still very early-stage, “big blue-sky, little drilling.”

District Potential—or Just a Cheap Flip?

The positives for investors are obvious:

• Tier-1 neighbourhood: Bahia is fast becoming Brazil’s second major rare earth province, with both hard-rock and ionic-clay style targets.
• Low entry price: US$200k for a Rio-generated dataset, coherent anomalies and a district-scale position is unusually modest.
• Clay-saprolite upside: The geological description points to weathered, clay-rich saprolites that could host ionic-adsorption style REEs—exactly what magnet makers and refiners are chasing for lower-cost processing.

But the news leaves several important questions unanswered:

• Why did Rio sell now, and at this price? Portfolio rationalization or early technical red flags?
• What is the true mineralization style—ionic clay, hard rock, or mixed? Metallurgy will make or break project economics.
• Can a A$5m microcap fund systematically conduct airborne surveys, auger grids, and eventual RC/diamond drilling without heavy dilution?

For U.S. and allied supply chains searching for non-Chinese NdPr, Itambe is intriguing: Brazil is a politically complex but resource-friendly democracy. If a deposit is ultimately defined, it could become part of a Western-aligned ex-China magnet feedstock corridor—but that outcome is years and many drillholes away.

Core Energy in Focus: Tiny Platform, Big Map

Core Energy describes itself as a critical minerals and uranium explorer with projects in Brazil, Australia, and Namibia, targeting uranium plus REE-bearing intrusive and saprolite systems.

According to its October 2025 investor deck, CR3 has:

• 419.1 million shares on issue and a market cap of ~A$5.0m at ~A$0.012 per share.
• Cash and available funding of just A$430k as at 30 September 2025—meaning this Itambe move must be followed by fresh capital or joint-venture funding if meaningful work is to proceed.

The portfolio is broad for such a small company:

• Brazil: Tunas and Campo Largo REE projects plus multiple uranium prospects (Amorinópolis, Grande, São José).
• Australia: Cummins and Harris Greenstone uranium projects in South Australia, where first-pass drilling at Cummins has already intersected anomalous U₃O₈ in paleochannel settings.
• Namibia: Early-stage uranium applications near major deposits in the Erongo region.

Stock View: Optionality with High Dilution Risk

Fundamentally, CR3 offers pure exploration leverage with district-scale optionality in both uranium and rare earths—but zero defined resources and a thin balance sheet. A tight budget and multi-country footprint create execution risk and almost guarantee further equity raisings.

Technically, this is an illiquid microcap where small volumes can move the price significantly. Traders should assume high volatility and wide spreads; long-term investors should treat any position as speculative capital only.

From a U.S. strategic lens, Core Energy’s Itambe deal is directionally positive—shifting yet another potential NdPr source into Western-aligned hands. But until metallurgy, resources, and funding are de-risked, this is a story to watch, not one to bank on.

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