Viridis Mining Draws Fund Backing on Its Brazil Rare Earths Project

Fund managers say sovereign export credit support and a run of de-risking milestones are closing the valuation gap at Colossus

31 May 2026 · 4 min read

Rare earths developer Viridis Mining and Minerals has drawn growing fund manager interest in 2026 as its Colossus project in Brazil clears de-risking milestones and attracts sovereign export credit backing from Australia, Canada and France.

A Western-aligned alternative to Chinese rare earth supply

Cerutty Macro Fund's December 2025 thesis framed Viridis within the broader geopolitics of critical minerals: even as US-China trade tensions cooled from their late-2025 peak, the fund argued the strategic push to de-risk Western reliance on Chinese rare earth supply chains was far from over, particularly given China's dominance in ionic adsorption clay and battery-grade materials. Against that backdrop, Cerutty saw Viridis' Colossus Rare Earths Project as a promising way to gain exposure to the theme, citing a Pre-Feasibility Study NPV8 of approximately A$1.17 billion against a market capitalisation near A$160 million at the time.

This support fills a key tranche of anticipated project debt and enhances lender confidence ahead of formal syndication. This Australian government backing complements broader export credit engagement, including letters of interest from Export Development Canada (up to US$100 million) and Bpifrance, plus a joint Brazilian BNDES/FINEP support plan, collectively creating four sovereign-aligned pillars to Colossus' anticipated debt package.

— Cerutty Macro Fund, Monthly Report, December 2025

De-risking milestones through the first half of 2026

Antares Capital's holding period captured a rapid re-rate: shares surged almost 50 per cent in April 2026 to reach all-time highs as the company advanced its seven rare earth projects across three countries, with most of the value seen in the Colossus ionic adsorption clay project, which Antares described as one of the highest-grade and largest ionic clay deposits globally. By May, Antares pointed to a run of de-risking catalysts, including first production of mixed rare earth carbonate from the demonstration plant, the opening of a rare earth processing centre, progressing offtake discussions with Western buyers, and lodgement of the Installation Licence ahead of a targeted second-half 2026 final investment decision.

SG Hiscock & Company's May 2026 commentary echoed the same milestones and reiterated conviction in Viridis' exposure to heavy rare earths, dysprosium, terbium and yttrium, as a Western-aligned alternative to Chinese supply, framing the Installation Licence submission, a drilling milestone and the mixed rare earth carbonate production as together materially de-risking the path to final investment decision.

A valuation gap fund managers are watching to close

Cerutty's original valuation case remains the reference point most managers keep returning to: a sub-A$200 million market capitalisation compared with peer Meteoric Resources at around A$490 million, despite Viridis holding what Cerutty and others describe as comparable or superior grade quality at Colossus. With strategic equity backing from Brazilian partners, export credit letters of support from three countries, and a final investment decision targeted for the second half of 2026, fund managers are watching whether execution on financing and development can close that gap.