Critical Metals’ Greenland pilot plant: project economics and design lens for engineers
Reviewed by Joe Ashwell
First reported on MINING.com
30 Second Briefing
Critical Metals has approved a turnkey contract to build a multi-use storage and pilot facility in Qaqortoq, Greenland, engineered for Arctic conditions and scheduled to be operational by May 2026 to support its Tanbreez rare earth project. The Tanbreez deposit hosts at least 45 million tonnes of resources in kakortokite, with a PEA indicating a pre-tax NPV of roughly $2.8–$3.6 billion, an IRR of 180%, and phased output from 85,000 to 425,000 tonnes of rare earth oxides per year. Critical Metals has already secured offtake agreements for about three-quarters of projected concentrate production and is converting a local residential property into a permanent office and operations base.
Technical Brief
- Turnkey EPC scope includes engineering, permitting, logistics, construction and commissioning under a single contract.
- Design for Arctic climate implies structural and M&E systems sized for extreme cold, snow and icing.
- Conversion of a purchased residential property into an office reduces lead time for a permanent operations base.
- Tanbreez resource is hosted in a massive kakortokite unit, reported at a minimum 45 Mt.
- Preliminary economic assessment used discount rates of 15% and 12.5% to derive the $2.8–$3.6 bn NPV range.
- Internal rate of return of 180% indicates very short payback, driving aggressive phased expansion assumptions.
- Multiple offtake agreements already cover about 75% of planned rare earth concentrate output from Tanbreez.
Our Take
Within our 506 Mining stories, Greenland appears far less frequently than other European jurisdictions, so a rare earth project like Tanbreez positions Critical Metals in a comparatively uncongested permitting and competition landscape for REE feedstock.
The 10‑year offtake with Ucore, combined with a pre‑tax NPV range of US$2.8–3.6 billion and a very high stated IRR at Tanbreez, suggests Ucore’s downstream rare earth oxides strategy in the USA could be underpinned by a long‑life, high‑margin concentrate source rather than relying on multiple smaller suppliers.
With 45 Mt of resources in the kakortokite unit and a facility target-ready by 2026, Tanbreez gives Critical Metals a scale and timeline that compares favourably with most of the 38 rare earth keyword‑matched pieces in our database, many of which involve earlier‑stage or smaller REE prospects.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
Related Articles
Related Industries & Products
Mining
Geotechnical software solutions for mining operations including CMRR analysis, hydrogeological testing, and data management.
Construction
Quality control software for construction companies with material testing, batch tracking, and compliance management.
CMRR-io
Streamline coal mine roof stability assessments with our cloud-based CMRR software featuring automated calculations, multi-scenario analysis, and collaborative workflows.
HYDROGEO-io
Comprehensive hydrogeological testing platform for managing, analysing, and reporting on packer tests, lugeon values, and hydraulic conductivity assessments.
GEODB-io
Centralised geotechnical data management solution for storing, accessing, and analysing all your site investigation and material testing data.