ASX-listed European Lithium on Thursday announced a maiden mineral resource estimate (MRE) of 45-million tonnes at 0.4% rare-earth oxide from the Tanbreez project, in Greenland.

The MRE was initially prepared in 2016 for Rimbal and, following European Lithium’s acquisition of the project in 2022, the company is now reporting the resource estimate in line with its material interest in the asset.

The Tanbreez project consists of rare earth mineral deposits located at Tanbreez Fjord and Tanbreez Hill, both of which are situated within a mineralised kakortokite host unit covering an area of about 5 km by 2.5 km and 270 m thick. The estimated kakortokite host unit encompasses 4.7-billion tonnes, although the host does not yet indicate certainty of mineralisation.

European Lithium first acquired a 5% interest in Tanbreez Mining Greenland (Tanbreez) in October 2022, before increasing its stake to 7.5% with a further 2.5% acquisition in February 2023. At that time, the investment was not considered material, and thus, the MRE was not disclosed. However, in June 2024, Nasdaq-listed Critical Metals Corp (CMC) entered into a heads of agreement with Rimbal, securing up to 92.5% of Tanbreez.

European Lithium and CMC jointly hold 49.5% of Tanbreez, with European Lithium being CMC’s largest shareholder.

The change in ownership has led European Lithium to now regard the Tanbreez project as a material asset, prompting the company to announce the maiden MRE. CMC has completed extensive due diligence, including a recent drilling programme to confirm, extend, and infill the resource, with results expected in the near future.

The Tanbreez project is recognised as a significant critical minerals asset, poised to provide a sustainable and reliable long-term supply of rare earth elements (REEs) to meet growing demand in North America and Europe. Once operational, Tanbreez is expected to supply these critical materials to a wide range of industries, including next-generation commercial products and the defence sector.

“The deposit drilling only covers approximately 5% of the total project area and deeper and extension drilling will commence shortly to deliver an even higher resource,” said executive chairperson Tony Sage.

Sage also highlighted the long-term potential of the project, stating: “We are measuring the real potential for Tanbreez on the significant investment over the past two decades by Rimbal and this major discovery as my team take this amazing deposit into a world-class REE development project.”