By: OrePulse

NeoTerra Group, a London Stock Exchange-listed critical minerals explorer, said on October 26, 2026, that it has raised its ownership stake in the Monte Muambe rare earths, fluorspar and gallium project in Mozambique to 70 percent, up from 51 percent, after completing the third phase of a farm-out agreement covering the asset.

The company said the increase was triggered automatically once it met the minimum spending requirement attached to Phase 3 of the farm-out arrangement. The additional equity applies to NeoTerra's subsidiary, Monte Muambe Mining, which holds the project. NeoTerra said it has begun the formal process of transferring the corresponding shares and would issue a further update once that transfer is complete.

NeoTerra CEO Cedric Simonet said, "We are very pleased with the progress achieved during Phase 3." He identified several milestones the company reached during the phase, including the award of a 25-year mining licence covering rare earths and fluorspar at Monte Muambe, and the securing of a $1.8 million grant from the United States government.

Simonet said the licence and the US government grant supported continued technical work at the project, including further exploration, resource drilling and technical studies aimed at advancing the fluorspar component of Monte Muambe toward development.

The company also reported new exploration results from Phase 3 work: the discovery of gallium at the project, together with evidence of heavy rare earth element enrichment associated with the fluorspar mineralization. Simonet called the gallium discovery and the heavy rare earth findings significant achievements that add further potential value to the project, alongside the existing rare earths and fluorspar resource.

Monte Muambe is being advanced as a multi-commodity project in Mozambique spanning rare earths, fluorspar and gallium. The 25-year mining licence referenced by Simonet covers the rare earths and fluorspar elements of the project, while NeoTerra's statement did not specify a separate licensing status for the newly identified gallium.

With its stake in Monte Muambe Mining now at 70 percent, NeoTerra holds a larger majority position in the subsidiary that controls the project, once the pending share transfer formalities are finalized. NeoTerra has not disclosed a specific date for completing that transfer, nor did it set out a timeline for subsequent development decisions at the project beyond the exploration, drilling and technical studies already under way on the fluorspar opportunity.

The company did not provide additional financial details relating to the farm-out agreement, including the total expenditure required to complete Phase 3, in the information it released.

Rare earths, fluorspar and gallium are each used across a range of industrial applications, including magnets, metallurgy, chemical processing and electronics, and have drawn wider international interest as governments look to diversify sources of critical minerals. NeoTerra's statement did not elaborate on potential buyers or offtake arrangements for output from Monte Muambe, and the project remains at the exploration and development stage rather than production.

NeoTerra framed the Phase 3 completion as a step that both increases its ownership position and expands the scope of the project beyond its original rare earths and fluorspar focus, following the newly reported gallium and heavy rare earth findings. The company said work on the fluorspar opportunity, including further drilling and technical studies, is continuing.