Critical Metals to acquire 92% stake in rare earth project billed as one of world’s largest

Critical Metals Corp. (NASDAQ: CRML) has signed an agreement to acquire a 92.5% interest in the Tanbreez project in Greenland, billed as the largest rare earth deposit in the world.

Valued at US$211 million, the deal will see Critical Metals pay Rimbal Pty. Ltd., a company controlled by geologist Gregory Barnes, paid mostly in shares. The two-stage agreement includes an initial cash payment of US$5 million for a 5.6% stake. Payment of US$90 million in shares will follow within 30 days, for another 36.5% interest. Critical Minerals can acquire its full stake after two years, or once it spends US$10 million on exploration, by handing over another US$116 million in shares.

Tanbreez, according to internal company estimates, hosts 28.2 million tonnes of total rare earth oxides (TREO) in 4.7 billion tonnes of material, and is expected to contain more than 27% heavy rare earth elements (HREE). Critical Metals says efforts to convert the internal resource to U.S. SEC standards. Once operational, the mine is anticipated to supply rare earth elements to Europe and North America.

The project is expected to have 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 by 5 km and is about 400 metres thick.

“Tanbreez is a game-changing rare earth mine for the West and a key step in positioning Critical Metals Corp as the leading supplier of critical minerals, with a diversified, multi-asset portfolio spanning multiple geographies,” CEO Tony Sage said in a news release.

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

Construction at Wolfsberg is expected to be completed 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 of Critical Metals rose 4.6% by 12:00 p.m. EDT. The company has a market capitalization of US$877 million.