Member Info for BenBaccon

The standout part of this RNS is the Xenotime.

Xenotime is key because it is the main host mineral for heavy rare earth elements, so its presence in the fluorite zone directly explains why that zone shows concentrated HREE enrichment. It also matters metallurgically because xenotime is a discrete mineral phase, which makes physical separation and recovery of HREEs as a potential concentrate more technically viable.

So what we have now is a Lofdal-style xenotime-hosted HREE resource but with better economics because we are already mining the fluorite zone for fluorspar.

Altona HREE / Lofdal comparison:

Fluorite zone JORC resource: 3.48 million tonnes of ore

-> Using average grade ~2,500 ppm HREO (0.25%): 3.48 Mt × 0.25% = ~8,700 tonnes HREO (contained)

-> If only 20% drilled and full system = 5× larger: 17.4 Mt ore 17.4 Mt × 0.25% = ~43,500 tonnes HREO (contained)

-> Lofdal: ~20,000–40,000 tonnes HREO (defined resource)

-> Monte Muambe (5× scenario): ~43,500 tonnes HREO (theoretical)

(In 2024, when the lofdal resource was at the post-MRE, pre-PFS stage, they received over $13million dollars in funding from the Japanese government agency JOGMEC to secure early access to a rare non-Chinese HREE source by funding development before it becomes fully de-risked or competitively valued. Lofdal is currently valued at roughly US$275M–$750M on an NPV basis depending on price assumptions.)

DYOR

In Aug 2025, the SP was at 1.3p. News of the USTDA approach then drove the price to double that by Oct 2025.

Despite the imminent promise of US funding the share price had fallen by more than 50%, to below 1.2p by Dec 2025.

When US funding was confirmed, this along with other news drove the SP to 4p in Feb and higher still in Apr

Now it's 50% down again from the peak

So we're just seeing a repeat of the December lull with the market behaving irrationally in the short term.

Government interest in and funding for rare earths and strategic minerals like gallium and fluorspar has never been stronger and will continue to be strong for the foreseeable future.

More government funding will be coming this year

MRZ used SGS Lakefield in Canada and Altona have used them before for the REEs, so that's probably correct.

As for Poland, it could be Łukasiewicz Research Network – Institute of Non‑Ferrous Metals, which is:

A major Polish state-backed metallurgical R&D institute

Specialised in non-ferrous extraction + hydrometallurgy

One of the most credible Polish candidates for:

gallium extraction testwork

solvent extraction development

complex critical metal flowsheet design

From the 15th April Stockbox interview with Cedric:

https://stockboxmedia.com/video/altona-rare-earths-new-heavy-rare-earth-enrichment-identified-at-monte-muambe

From 9:50 min mark:

"Heavy rare earths production is over 90% controlled by China, and is even more strategic to the US than light rare earths. So we expect to have additional engagement, as we work along these workstreams and publish the results, with the US government, and potentially even more support for that angle of the project"

From 5:30 min mark:

"We've asked the laboratory to run the full rare earth spectrum on the 3400 fluorspar samples ... and we will report to shareholders as we get results on the progress"

So the lab has been working on this for at least the last 5 weeks. Hopefully we will start receiving the results soon. If they match the initial sample results of 60/40 TREO/HREO ratio, then we are on course for another USTDA grant, which will be more urgent and possibly larger due to the higher strategic value of HREO compare to TREO.

The competition for sourcing rare earths and critical minerals outside of China is getting hotter, with both the French and German finance ministers publicly stating the urgency of finding non-Chinese sources.

Following section taken from a news report from the Paris G7 finance meeting yesterday:

https://www.reuters.com/world/china/g7-finance-chiefs-seek-tackle-imbalances-trade-strains-unity-2026-05-18/

CRITICAL MINERAL DEPENDENCE

Another priority will be critical minerals and rare earths, where ​G7 governments are ⁠trying to coordinate efforts to reduce reliance on China, which dominates supply chains vital for technologies such as electric vehicles, renewable energy and defence systems.

French Finance Minister Roland Lescure said the G7 would push for stronger coordination to monitor markets, anticipate disruptions and develop alternative supplies, including through joint projects spanning allied economies.

"The proposals are all on the table and ⁠we have ​no time to lose," German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil told reporters.

He said G7 countries should coordinate procurement and expand non-Chinese production of critical minerals

Https://x.com/i/status/2054930203244110024

Altona Rare Earths is pleased to share an update on the @USTDA-funded Monte Muambe metallurgy and process engineering RFP.

The extended deadline for proposal submissions expired on Monday, 11 May 2026.

The Company received 11 proposals from U.S.-based consultancy and engineering firms working in tandem with Southern African firms.

The evaluation process is now underway, with the objective of finalising the selection process and commencing field work as soon as practicable.

What excites me about this company is that they now have potentially four development opportunities, all for minerals on the US critical minerals list and eligible for government grants (from the USA or other countries)

1/ TREOs - We already have USTDA support for this

2/ Gallium - 99% is produced in China and they are blocking export for defense purposes - From the Department of Energy’s TRACE-Ga program, the U.S. government has awarded roughly $5.4 million across five companies to develop gallium recovery technologies from industrial feedstocks

3/ HREOs - Japan’s state-backed JOGMEC has committed roughly C$20 million+ to fund development of the Lofdal Heavy Rare Earths Project in Namibia in exchange for a major ownership stake, aiming to secure non-Chinese supplies of critical heavy rare earths such as dysprosium and terbium for Japanese industry.

4/ Fluorspar - Ares Strategic Mining Inc. has received significant U.S. government support through a five-year Defense Logistics Agency fluorspar supply contract worth up to US$250 million, alongside Massachusetts state support for evaluating gallium and other critical mineral extraction technologies.

Something spooked the market after the MRE was published and now retail investors are being cautious as the drop was unexpected. As soon as we receive positive news on one of the following, I'm expecting a large correction:

TREO progress

HREO assay results and MRE

Gallium and fluorspar metallurgy / extraction economics

Further government grants

Offtake agreements

According to Trading Economics gallium price tracker, gallium was quoted at 2,250 CNY/kg on May 12, 2026, which is up 3.45% from yesterday

(This is the Chinese domestic price)

Yesterday also saw a rise of 4.82%, with the year-on-year rise at 26.8%

There’s also evidence of sharp price divergence between Chinese industrial pricing and Western investment-grade material, with some retail/investment gallium quotes above $2,200/kg.

Altona has 641 tonnes of gallium oxide in the inferred status, with a potential upside to over 3,200 tonnes

At $2,200 per kilo of pure gallium, 3200 tonnes of gallium oxide equates to over $5.2 billion

(Gallium oxide is ~74.4% gallium by weight, so the calculation is 3200000 × 2200 × 0.74)

According to Trading Economics, gallium rose to about 2,175 CNY/kg on May 11, 2026, which was up 4.82% from the previous day.

There’s also a broader upward trend underway:

Gallium is reportedly up roughly 22.5% year-on-year.

Several market reports say prices have been climbing because of:

- AI/data-centre demand for gallium arsenide and gallium nitride chips

- Tight supply outside China continuing export restrictions from China.

The link is to the official Portuguese government legal publication portal. It was published by the "Environment and Energy - Office of the Assistant Secretary of State and Energy" this morning.

I'm no expert so I asked AI to summarise it for me

Https://diariodarepublica.pt/dr/detalhe/despacho/5823-2026-1110001657

AI Summary:

The order grants Savannah Resources’ Portuguese subsidiary a temporary administrative easement over 24 land parcels in Boticas for one year, allowing access to private land to install drilling platforms and carry out geotechnical drilling and related exploration work for the Barroso Lithium Project. In practical terms, it gives the company legal permission to enter and use the land to complete the detailed technical fieldwork needed for final engineering studies and financing, while requiring compensation to landowners and full restoration of the sites afterwards.

Trust your instincts Daltry and sell them all

My guess is Tue 28th April

Cédric likes to publish news on a Tuesday then follow up with an interview later in the week.

The heavy rare earth news was published on Tue 14th Apr

The assay results were on published Tue 24 Mar

Only a couple of trading days to go

Three potential bidders are currently in discussions for Deltic Energy, which is what has triggered the sharp re-rating and takeover speculation. The situation has the ingredients for competitive tension, but it is still early-stage with no firm offers yet.

Capricorn Energy PLC — a listed UK upstream energy company with the financial capacity and strategic rationale to pursue acquisitions in the North Sea sector.

Petrogas International E&P Coöperatief U.A. — a privately held but potentially well-capitalised international energy investor, backed by a larger industrial energy group.

Blue Concept Hld AS — a smaller, less transparent private company, likely the weakest of the three in terms of financial firepower.

The potential for a bidding war exists because at least one bidder is a credible listed acquirer and another has substantial private backing, which could support higher offers if both remain engaged

Please sell Daltry, I'm buying the dips before the MRE comes out

I find Chat is usually very conservative with its estimates.

From the MRE estimate:

Total in-situ: $2.5B – $4.0B

Apply typical early-stage discounts:

👉 Market usually values at:

~2% – 10% of in-situ value (pre-PFS)

Implied market cap range

Low case (2%): $50M

Mid case (5%): $125M

High case (10%): $250M–$400M

This is what I got from chat:

A reasonable expectation for the upcoming MRE at Monte Muambe is a resource of ~20–30 Mt @ ~28–32% CaF₂, containing approximately 6–10 Mt of fluorspar, together with a consistent gallium component of ~50–70 g/t Ga₂O₃, equating to roughly 800–1,500 tonnes of contained gallium metal. Using indicative prices of ~$350/t for fluorspar and ~$400/kg for gallium, this implies an in-situ value of ~$2.1B–$3.5B for fluorspar and ~$320M–$600M for gallium, for a combined conceptual total of ~$2.5B–$4.0B, with fluorspar as the primary value driver and gallium providing potentially significant high-margin upside, subject to recovery.

V o x markets

https://www.**********.com/articles/rome-hits-more-high-grade-tin-at-kalayi-0ba4566