Highlights

  • Lodestar to acquire Arizona-based Virgin Mountain Heavy Rare Earth Project from Globex Nevada Inc.
  • Project hosts all 12 rare earth elements now restricted under China’s export controls.
  • The company announces AUD 3.25M placement supported by Tribeca, S3 Consortium, and John Hancock’s family office.

Lodestar Minerals Ltd (ASX:LSR) has entered into an agreement to acquire Arizona Mountain Passage Heavy Rare Earths Pty Ltd, which holds a binding option to purchase the Virgin Mountain Heavy Rare Earth Project in Arizona, USA, from Globex Nevada Inc., a subsidiary of Globex Mining Enterprises Inc.

Virgin Mountain is prospective for heavy rare earth elements including Dysprosium, Terbium, and Lutetium, as well as other elements such as Yttrium, Ytterbium, Gadolinium, Holmium, Erbium, and Thulium, and light rare earths Neodymium and Praseodymium, which are used in defence, magnet, semiconductor, and clean energy applications.

In October 2025, China added five additional rare earth elements to its export restriction list, bringing the total to twelve—all of which are present in the Virgin Mountain mineralisation.

Location and Regional Context

The Virgin Mountain project is located near the Nevada-Arizona border, within a region supported by developed infrastructure and in proximity to MP Materials’ Mountain Pass Mine (NYSE:MP), a rare earth producer with a market capitalisation of approximately USD 12B.

MP Materials recently received USD 550M funding from the U.S. Department of Defense and entered a USD 500M partnership with Apple to co-develop and manufacture rare earth magnets in the U.S.

Exploration Results and Planned Work

Channel sampling by GME at the Hummingbird Prospect in 2022 reported:

  • AGL-7:26% TREO with 36% HREO and 20% Nd/Pr
  • AGL-13:72% TREO with 30% HREO and 22% Nd/Pr
  • ALG-8:67% TREO with 57% HREO and 14% Nd/Pr
  • AGL-12:61% TREO with 36% HREO and 21% Nd/Pr
  • AGL-10:53% TREO with 38% HREO and 21% Nd/Pr

Capital Raising

Lodestar has received firm commitments for an AUD 3.25M placement from sophisticated and professional investors. The placement is cornerstoned by Tribeca Investment Partners, the S3 Consortium, and John Hancock’s Family Office.

Management Commentary

Lodestar Chairman Ross Taylor stated:

“We’re thrilled to have secured the option to acquire the Virgin Mountain project in the USA. This opportunity allows us to grow our presence in the rapidly evolving critical minerals landscape. The ground is strategically located just two hours by road from MP Materials’ world-class Mountain Pass mine (USD 12B market cap) — the only active rare earth producer in the USA. One of the advantages of the Virgin Mountain project is its high concentration of heavy rare earth elements (HREE). MP Materials’ Mountain Pass Mine contains extremely low concentrations of HREE, providing a unique opportunity to supply feedstock for their planned HREE facility, subject to successful exploration and development of Virgin Mountain. The Board and I look forward to establishing Lodestar in this highly prospective region and realising this significant growth opportunity.”

LSR shares are currently trading at AUD 0.041 and up by 5.13% from its previous close of AUD 0.039.