source：Pasadena Now
Pasadena-based Brazil Minerals announced Thursday it now has rare earths areas comprising three mineral rights totaling 12,528 acres in Brazil.
Brazil Minerals is headquartered on East Washington Blvd. in north Pasadena.
Two mineral rights are in the state of Goiás and one mineral right is in the state of Tocantins, the company said. Brazil is one of only very few countries where rare earth elements are known to occur in concentrations that allow economic recovery.
“This is a highly promising situation for Brazil Minerals,” Areli Nogueira, geological engineer of the project, said in a company statement. “Of particular importance is the fact that we have strong indications that our rare earths project contains the more sought-after heavy rare earths elements which are less commonly found.”
The term “rare earths” denotes a group of seventeen minerals which are needed in small amounts but essential in several high-technology applications including electric vehicles and military hardware.
Rare earth elements are metals and alloys that contain them are also used in many devices that people use every day: computer memory, DVDs, rechargeable batteries, cell phones, catalytic converters, magnets, fluorescent lighting and much more.
Brazil Minerals said its rare earths project claims and areas nearby have had prior studies performed by researchers from both the Brazilian Geological Service and a private university.
“This news is extremely relevant,” Marc Fogassa, Brazil Minerals CEO, said. “Due to an aggressive push that we implemented throughout this year, Brazil Minerals now has projects in both lithium and rare earths. These are all highly strategic minerals, and each of these projects alone is transformational and could catapult us to a new level.”