Technical Cooperation Agreement
Summary by AI BETAClose X
Harvest Minerals Limited / Index: LSE / Epic: HMI / Sector: Mining
14 September 2026
Harvest Minerals Limited
("Harvest" or the "Company")
Technical Cooperation Agreement with Brazilian Geological Survey
for Strategic Minerals and Rare Earths
Harvest Minerals Limited ("Harvest" or the "Company") the AIM listed resource company, has entered into a Technical-Scientific Cooperation Agreement with Serviço Geológico do Brasil ("SGB"), the Brazilian Geological Survey and the country's leading geoscience institution, to research the potential occurrence of mineral commodities considered critical or strategic for Brazil (the "Agreement").
Overview:
· Harvest has a portfolio of highly prospective ionic adsorption clay ("IAC") rare earth element ("REE") projects across Brazil, one of the world's most prospective jurisdictions for clay-hosted rare earth mineralisation.
· SGB has a strategic mandate to advance Brazil's geological knowledge of critical and strategic minerals, including rare earth elements, and to identify prospective areas capable of supporting future mineral investment and development.
· The Agreement, signed with Harvest's subsidiary Scanty Mineração Ltda ("Scanty"), will focus primarily on the REE potential of the Capão Bonito, Carambeí, Cerro Azul and Sguário Granite project areas, located within the Ribeira Belt in the states of São Paulo and Paraná.
· Previous work, including extensive geological evaluation and technical studies, has demonstrated the potential of the project areas, with results including a peak grade of 5,662 ppm TREO and mineralised intercepts of up to 17 m in thickness, providing a strong technical foundation now recognised by both parties.
· Partnership formally positions Harvest, through Scanty, within Brazil's national critical minerals agenda and provides institutional validation by the federal geological agency of its exploration targets and REE mineralisation model hosted within the alkaline granites of the Ribeira Belt.
· 24 months agreement, which starts immediately and has a robust technical scope including advanced chemical and mineralogical characterisation, laboratory-scale REE extraction and recovery test work.
o For work requested by SGB, Harvest shall incur no cost and will have access to the data/results.
Brian McMaster, Chairman of Harvest, said: "We are extremely excited to be partnering with the Brazilian Geological Survey at a time when securing domestic supplies of critical minerals, particularly REEs, is becoming an increasingly important strategic priority for Brazil. Importantly, SGB's decision to work with Harvest reflects its recognition of the geological potential of our licences and brings the country's leading geoscience institution alongside us to evaluate what we believe is a highly prospective portfolio of REE projects in the Ribeira Belt.
"Brazil has the geological potential to become an important source of the critical minerals required by modern industries, and we are delighted that Harvest can play a role in that ambition. With encouraging results already generated across our licences, including grades of up to 5,662 ppm TREO and mineralised intercepts of up to 17 metres, we believe there is a compelling foundation for this work. This 24-month programme will allow us to build on that potential alongside a federal government partner, advance our geological and metallurgical understanding, and contribute to Brazil's objective of developing secure domestic sources of strategically important Rare Earth Elements."
Project Scope:
The project, entitled "Study of the Rare Earth Elements (REE) potential in the Ribeira Belt - SP, PR, SC", will cover the following areas of Scanty's active portfolio also known as the Southeast Hub (RNS 1.09.26):
● Capão Bonito Granite (SP): Scanty's main project up to date. Features 76 auger holes completed (839 m), with a peak of 5,662 ppm TREO and intercepts of up to 17 m in thickness. The ionic adsorption clay (IAC) character was supported by ammonium sulphate leaching testwork (AMSUL leach).
● Sguário Granite (SP): Reports a historical peak of 2,796 ppm TREO and mineralisation open at depth. A first-pass reconnaissance campaign of 13 holes (152 m) was completed during 2025, with assay results pending.
● Carambeí Granite (PR): Comprising four exploration licences. A first-pass reconnaissance drilling programme of 13 auger holes (138 m) was completed in 2025, with assay results pending.
● Cerro Azul Granite (PR): Comprising five exploration licences. Following initial desktop review, a first-pass reconnaissance programme of 6 auger holes (99 m) was completed in 2025, with assay results pending.
The activities planned under the 24-month joint work programme comprise multiple workstreams designed to significantly enhance the understanding of the REE potential across the project areas, including:
● Detailed studies of weathering alteration profiles and correlation with mineralising processes related to REE enrichment.
● Chemical and mineralogical characterisation of rock, saprolite and soil samples using X-ray fluorescence (XRF), inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), reflectance spectroscopy (RS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and automated mineralogy.
● Laboratory-scale REE extraction and recovery testwork using different leach solutions (acidic, saline and complexing), including optimisation of parameters such as pH, temperature, particle size and contact time.
● Mutual sharing of surface and drill core samples belonging to the participating institutions for academic and industrial research purposes.
Strategic Significance:
The partnership with the SGB positions Harvest, via Scanty, in line with the national critical minerals policy and provides independent validation of the REE mineralisation model hosted by the alkaline granites of the Ribeira Belt. This is the same ionic adsorption clay model underpinning the advancement of the Capão Bonito project. The characterisation studies and leaching test work will provide crucial scientific input to the geological and metallurgical understanding of the targets, with potential for high-impact publications in the mineral sector.
Brazil has identified critical and strategic minerals, including rare earth elements, as an important national priority, with a focus on strengthening domestic supply chains, expanding geological knowledge and supporting the development of mineral resources essential to advanced technologies, the energy transition and industrial development. Harvest's cooperation with SGB aligns the Company directly with this national agenda and provides an opportunity for its REE projects to benefit from the technical expertise and institutional involvement of Brazil's federal geological agency, while contributing to the country's broader objective of identifying and developing secure domestic sources of strategically important minerals.
Next Steps:
Execution of the 24 month work programme will commence immediately with the exchange of samples between the parties, followed by laboratory characterisation campaigns. The Company will keep the market duly informed of the results of the activities and any discoveries arising from this technical cooperation.
Qualified Persons Statement:
The technical information in this announcement is based on data compiled and reviewed by Celeste Queiroz, consulting geologist for Harvest Minerals Limited. Celeste Queiroz is a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM) and a Registered Qualified Professional at CBRR (Comissão Brasileira de Recursos e Reservas) and has sufficient experience relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the "Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves" (JORC).
**ENDS**
For further information, please visit www.harvestminerals.net or contact:
|
Harvest Minerals Limited |
Brian McMaster (Chairman)
|
Tel: +44 (0) 203 940 6625 |
|
Strand Hanson Limited Nominated & Financial Adviser |
Ritchie Balmer James Spinney
|
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7409 3494 |
|
Tavira Securities Broker |
Jonathan Evans |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3192 1733 |
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