ASX-listed Meteoric Resources has secured firm commitments to raise A$42.5-million through an oversubscribed share placement, boosting the company’s balance sheet ahead of a final investment decision (FID) on its flagship Caldeira rare earth element (REE) project in Brazil.

The placement was upsized from initial expectations, reflecting strong demand from both existing shareholders and new domestic and international institutional investors, including cornerstone commitments from leading North American funds.

The funds will be used to advance the Caldeira project, including environmental licensing, community engagement, a pilot plant, and further resource development. The project recently reached a key milestone with the release of its prefeasibility study (PFS) and maiden ore reserve.

“This placement is an excellent outcome for Meteoric and our ambitions for the Caldeira project,” said Meteoric MD and CEO Stuart Gale.

“The new funding provides significant capacity to further invest and optimise the PFS released this week. This includes the establishment of a pilot plant at Poços de Caldas to produce bulk samples of mixed rare earth carbonate for metallurgical testwork, customer validation and downstream development.”

The company will issue about 304-million new fully paid ordinary shares at A$0.14 a share, a 3.3% discount to the ten-day volume-weighted average price. Upon completion of the placement, Meteoric will hold a pro-forma cash balance of about A$53.5-million, based on its June 30 cash position.

Gale said the funding would support the company’s strategy to reach FID by 2026. “Outcomes from these programmes will feed into the Caldeira project development and move us towards a FID in 2026,” he said.

“We are very appreciative of the support of new and existing shareholders in this capital raising. We view this support and demand as both an endorsement of the project, the PFS and the unique position which Caldeira will play in supporting developing supply chains in the rare earths sector,” he added.

The Caldeira project, which is 100% owned by Meteoric, now hosts a maiden ore reserve of 103-million tonnes at 4 091 parts per million total rare earth oxides (TREO), within a larger 1.5-billion-tonne resource grading 2 359 ppm TREO. The company plans to continue resource conversion and advance to a definitive feasibility study, supported by the new funding.

Gale said the Caldeira project's combination of scale, technical viability, and economic potential makes it well-positioned to support emerging rare earth supply chains. “The Caldeira project stands out as having the scale and both the technical and economic attributes required to support these new supply chains. This funding provides us with the capacity required to complete all work programmes and development that will take us to FID.”