NeoTerra plc has produced premium acid-grade fluorspar while separating heavy rare earths and gallium-bearing materials in a “metallurgical breakthrough” for its Monte Muambe project in Mozambique.
STAGES
The metallurgical testwork, at Cardiff-based Maelgwyn Mineral Services’ laboratory, has so far involved 14 scout flotation tests on blended fluorspar ore samples.
NeoTerra, formerly Altona Rare Earths*, said that a two-stage flotation process first rejected silicates and oxides and then carbonates in order to produce an acid-grade fluorspar concentrate.
The company has also upgraded its gallium resource by some 100% from the tests which showed a “potential low-cost pathway towards pre-concentrating the metal”.
“These results substantially de-risk the proposed process flowsheet by demonstrating that fluorite and gallium-bearing minerals respond differently during flotation,” added NeoTerra.
“This charts a practical route for integrating gallium pre-concentration into the fluorspar flowsheet.”
Laboratory tests will next focus on the second stage of the process, which separates carbonates from fluorite, and recover heavy rare earths concentrate from the acid-grade fluorspar concentrate.
The company noted that Yttrium is one of Muambe’s heavy rare earths but showed an “enriched” level in the fluorspar ore.
Additionally metallurgical testing on gallium continues at SGS Lakefields in Canada and at COMEX in Poland.
DE-RISK
NeoTerra also expects to award soon a contract for an engineering company to carry out a prefeasibility study.
Site preparations have already started for metallurgical sampling drilling.
The company also reported “growing” commercial talks with strategic partners and critical metals traders from Europe, North America and Asia and a “high level” of interest from American engineering and metallurgy groups.
Chief executive officer Cedric Simonet said: “Our latest metallurgical results are an important milestone for NeoTerra.
“They materially de-risk the development of the Monte Muambe fluorspar mine and reinforce the potential to generate value from three strategically important commodities within a single project.
“Alongside this technical progress, market conditions continue to strengthen.
“Global supply chains are rapidly shifting as governments and industry seek secure supplies of critical minerals outside China.”
*Altona Rare Earths plc changed its name to NeoTerra Group plc on 22 June 2026