REG - Harena Rare Earths - Exclusivity Agreement to Acquire U.S. Permits

Harena Rare EarthsAnnouncement

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RNS Number : 6545W  Harena Rare Earths PLC  16 March 2026

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16 March 2026

Harena Rare Earths Plc

("Harena" or the "Company")

 

Exclusivity Agreement to Acquire U.S. Rare Earth and Uranium Permits

 

Harena Rare Earths Plc (LSE: HREE) (OTCQB: CRMNF), the rare earths company
currently progressing the Ampasindava ionic clay rare earth project in
Madagascar (the "Ampasindava Project"), is pleased to announce that it has
entered into an Exclusivity Agreement (the "Agreement") to evaluate the
potential acquisition of a 100% interest in Paradigm Critical Minerals Limited
("Paradigm"), the owner of heavy rare earth and uranium exploration assets
(the "Assets") located in San Bernardino County (the "County"), California,
United States of America (the "U.S.").

 

The Agreement represents a potential opportunity, along with its Ampasindava
Project in Madagascar, to further Harena's ambition to be part of the solution
to the U.S. Government's critical minerals strategy.

 

Under the terms of the Exclusivity Agreement, Harena will conduct detailed
technical, legal, and commercial due diligence on the Assets, with a view to
progressing toward a definitive transaction should the results meet the
Company's strategic and investment criteria.

 

There can be no certainty that the Exclusivity Agreement will result in Harena
entering into a definitive agreement or completing a transaction, and any such
transaction remains subject to the satisfactory completion of due diligence,
internal approvals and the negotiation and execution of definitive
documentation.

 

Project Location and Infrastructure

 

The Assets are located within a well-established and highly regarded mining
district in the County, an area known for its favourable geology, established
mining infrastructure, and supportive regulatory framework.

 

The County actively supports the fast-tracking of drilling approvals and
benefits from a significant skilled workforce base and established mining
infrastructure. The County currently contains over 3,000 mines and over 8,000
active mining claims, the most of any county in California.

 

The Assets are strategically located in close proximity (c100 miles) to MP
Material's Mountain Pass Mine, the only operating rare earth mine in North
America. MP Materials has recently received substantial U.S. Government
funding to expand domestic rare earth processing capabilities, highlighting
the strategic importance of securing reliable sources of heavy rare earth
feedstock in the U.S.. Harena believes that the Assets offer a significant
opportunity for the Company to contribute to this critical feedstock.

 

Originally developed as a gold and silver operation, the Assets were later
drilled for uranium, with rare earths more recently identified at the site.
Based upon highly encouraging historical drilling results, these Assets have
the potential to be one of the highest-grade REE exploration projects in the
U.S., with clear scope for rapid advancement through modern mapping, sampling,
trenching, geophysics, and drilling.

 

Strong Geological Potential

 

Historical exploration, including over 4,200m of drilling, has demonstrated
encouraging geological indicators, highlighting the Assets' potential to host
economically significant rare earth mineralisation and uranium deposits.

 

The initial exploration work identified strong geological analogies with
established intrusive-related uranium deposits, including the Bancroft
district in Canada, the Midnite Mine in the U.S., and the Rössing and Husab
mines in Namibia. These similarities place the Assets within the class of
intrusion-related alaskite and pegmatite-hosted uranium systems, which are
typically associated with large-tonnage potential, moderate average grades,
and continuity at depth and along strike, rather than narrow vein-style
mineralisation.

 

Uranium mineralisation occurs primarily as uraninite, with reported historical
drill intercepts including 30.3 metres at 0.37% U₃O₈e and internal
higher-grade zones of up to 10% U₃O₈e, hosted within leucogranitic to
pegmatitic intrusive bodies.

 

More recent surface exploration has identified REE mineralisation associated
with late-stage pegmatites, porphyritic felsic dykes and possible
carbonatite-style intrusions. Both light and heavy REEs are present with an
approximate 50:50 LREE:HREE ratio.

 

Grab samples have returned assays of up to approximately 2.0% TREO, with pXRF
readings of 0.5% to 7.2% total REE across multiple locations. Elevated heavy
rare earth values, including yttrium, dysprosium, and gadolinium, with pXRF
grades of approximately 0.5-1.0%, are notable in a global context.

 

The area remains largely underexplored and has never been exposed to a modern
systematic exploration program. Harena believes substantial upside exists as
further technical work is undertaken.

 

Allan Mulligan, Executive Technical Director of Harena, said:

 

"These Assets represent an exciting opportunity for Harena to broaden its
exposure to the international critical minerals exploration and development
story. There are so many under-explored and under-realised deposits that need
to be properly assessed and evaluated, and few are better located than these
permits. In addition to the elevated ratios of rare earths within these
deposits, the uranium grades are in the order of 10 times some of those
currently being mined around the world."

 

Ivan Murphy, Executive Chairman of Harena, said:

 

"We are pleased to be entering into an exclusive period to consider these
critical mineral permits in the United States. The Assets have already
delivered strong results for heavy rare earths and uranium and are located
within one of California's most established and prospective mining districts.

 

"The U.S. is at the forefront of addressing global critical mineral and rare
earth supply bottlenecks, and these permits represent another opportunity for
us to support that effort."

 

For further information please contact:

 

 Harena Rare Earths Plc

 Ivan Murphy, Executive Chairman                                +44 (0)20 7770 6424

 Allan Mulligan, Executive Technical Director

 SP Angel - Broker                                              +44 (0)20 3470 0470

 Ewan Leggat / Josh Ray (Corporate Finance)

 Marex Financial - Corporate Advisor                            +44 (0)20 7655 6000

 Angelo Sofocleous / Keith Swann / Matt Bailey (Broking)        corporate@marex.com

 Muriel Siebert & Co. - US Financial Adviser & Broker           +1 (917) 902 7823 aasija@siebert.com

 Ajay Asija, Co-Head of Investment Banking

 Celicourt Communications - Public Relations                    +44 (0)20 7770 6424

 Mark Antelme / Charles Denley-Myerson                          harena@celicourt.uk

 

 

Notes to editors

 

Harena (www.harenaresources.com (http://www.harenaresources.com.au) ) is a
rare earths exploration and development company focused on the Ampasindava
Ionic Clay Rare Earth Project in Madagascar (Harena's interest is 100%). The
project hosts one of the largest ionic clay rare earth deposits outside of
China, with significant concentrations of high-value magnet metals,
specifically heavy rare earths, including neodymium (Nd), dysprosium (Dy), and
praseodymium (Pr), which are critical for the composition of neodymium magnets
(NdFeB). Harena is committed to low-impact, high recovery mining, providing a
sustainable supply of critical minerals for the global energy transition and
military defence industries as well as meeting the ever-growing demand for
NdFeB from the robotics sector.

 

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