Critical Metals gets licence extension for Greenland rare earths deposit

Europe-focused Critical Metals Corp. (NASDAQ: CRML) said on Tuesday the Greenland government has extended the exploitation licence of its majority-owned Tanbreez project in Greenland, the world’s largest rare earth deposit.

The company must now submit exploitation and closure plans by the end of 2025, provide financial security and a company guarantee by June 30th, 2026, and begin mining by the end of 2028.

“The extension is a significant milestone, demonstrating strong local support for our project, which is expected to create numerous local jobs,” chairman and CEO Tony Sage said in the statement.

With the drilling program announced in September concluded, all rare earth material extracted has been secured in storage. A portion of it has been sent to be analyzed by ALS laboratory in Ireland. Critical Metals said it expects to receive the test results over the next months.

Located in southern Greenland, the Tanbreez project is expected to contain over 27% heavy rare earth elements, which carry higher value than light rare earth elements.

Once operational, the mine is anticipated to supply rare earths to Europe and North America. The project is expected to have access to key transportation outlets as the Tanbreez area features year-round direct shipping access through deep-water fjords that lead directly to the North Atlantic ocean. The outcropping orebody, known as Kakortokite, covers an area of 8 km by 5 km and is about 400 metres thick.

Critical Metals, which owns Europe’s first fully permitted lithium mine, the Wolfsberg lithium project in Austria, debuted on the NASDAQ in March.

Upon completion of construction at Wolfsberg by 2026, Critical Metals has committed to supplying BMW by 2027. The company has also secured a deal with Obeikan Investment Group to build a lithium hydroxide plant in Saudi Arabia.

Shares in Critical Metals jumped over 2.8% to US$6.90 apiece on the NASDAQ on Tuesday, before settling to US$6.70 each. The company has a $532.7 million market capitalization. Its shares traded in a 52-week range of US$6.13 to US$17.77.