Madagascar Approves Rare Earth Mining Project

Mark Chalmers, President and CEO of Energy Fuels, stated, “The lifting of the ban by the Madagascar government is a critical step in advancing the Toliara rare earth, titanium, and zircon project. The company can now resume on-site development and other technical activities, which are expected to include rebuilding social programs, further mine planning and engineering, expanding key mineral resource bases, and pursuing any other necessary legal actions to move the Toliara project forward and achieve a positive financial investment decision.”

Energy Fuels, headquartered in Lakewood, Colorado, is a leading uranium producer that also manages a heavy mineral sands business in Perth, Australia. Beyond uranium, the company produces vanadium and medical isotopes at its White Mesa Mill in Utah, the only conventional uranium processing facility in the U.S. Energy Fuels is now expanding into rare earth minerals at the Toliara site.

With the suspension on Toliara lifted by Madagascar’s Council of Ministers, presided over by the President of Madagascar, the company can restart the development of this world-class critical minerals project. This includes reestablishing community programs and advancing the necessary technical, environmental, and social activities to reach a final investment decision by 2026.

Chalmers remarked, “We look forward to strengthening our partnership with the Madagascar government. We are now formally working to establish fiscal and other terms applicable to this project, advance development activities, and quickly progress the Toliara project to operations for the benefit of our host communities, the nation of Madagascar, and our shareholders.”

In addition to acquiring Australia-based rare earth miner Base Resources in 2024—which includes Toliara’s mining rights—Energy Fuels also acquired the Bahia rare earth project in Brazil in 2022 and is co-developing the Donald rare earth and mineral sands project in collaboration with Australia-based Astron.

The Toliara mining license, which allows for the extraction of titanium and zircon minerals such as ilmenite, rutile, and zircon, had been suspended since 2019 pending negotiations on terms.

Through mechanisms such as memorandums of understanding, investment agreements, or amendments to existing laws, Energy Fuels can now work with the government to incorporate rare earth element production into the existing mining license.

Chalmers referenced the principles and practices established during Base Resources’ 11 years of titanium and zircon operations in Kenya. He expressed confidence in Toliara’s potential, stating, “We believe the Toliara project has the strong potential to become the ‘crown jewel’ of Madagascar’s future economy, a leader in the global clean energy transition, and a model for sustainable mining in Africa.”

With 45 years of experience in evaluating mining projects globally, Chalmers described Toliara as “a generational mining project with the potential to supply significant volumes of critical minerals for decades, including rare earth elements we plan to process at our existing facilities in the United States.”