Australia's BRE Pays $1 for Rare Earth Assets Worth $12 Million, and Brazilians Take Case to Court - Folha de S.Paulo

Australian mining company Brazilian Rare Earths (BRE) is facing a multimillion-dollar legal dispute with the former owners of rare earth mining rights in Bahia, in northeastern Brazil. They accuse the company of using a contractual clause to buy back, for one Australian dollar, 4 million shares that were worth R$61.6 million ($12 Million).

In January 2024, BRE purchased 11 mining rights covering an area of about 108 km² in the southeastern part of the state for R$5 million ($900,000) in cash and 8 million ($1.5 million) shares. The contract stipulated that two final exploration reports submitted to the National Mining Agency (ANM) had to be approved within two years. Otherwise, the company could buy back half of the shares for one Australian dollar. The deadline expired in March 2026 without the agency reviewing the reports.

The Brazilians took the case to federal court and say that, when BRE took over the areas, it became responsible for meeting the agency’s deadlines. The company rejects the allegations, and ANM declined to comment.