Critical Metals Gets Approval for Majority Stake in Tanbreez Project

Published: 2026-04-17 09:43:37 ET CRML

Published on 04/17/2026 at 09:43 am EDT

By Connor Hart

Critical Metals said Friday that the Government of Greenland approved the transfer of a 50.5% interest in the Tanbreez rare-earth project, increasing the company's ownership to 92.5%.

Shares of Critical Metals jumped 22%, to $11.34, in premarket trading.

The mining-development company said the remaining 7.5% stake in Tanbreez will continue to be held by European Lithium, which also owns a 37.5% interest in Critical Metals.

The Tanbreez project, located in southern Greenland, is widely regarded to be one of the largest known resources of heavy rare-earth elements, used for defense systems, clean energy and advanced technology applications, Critical Metals said.

Critical Metals said the approval gives it full operational and strategic control of the project, removing a key structural hurdle to development and reducing execution risk.

"We are now progressing with momentum, supported by advancing technical programs, strong metallurgical results, and engagement with our offtake partners," Chairman Tony Sage said.

Critical Metals said it is targeting first ore production in late 2028 to early 2029. The company has been advancing technical work at Tanbreez, including metallurgical testing. It has outlined a $30 million program to accelerate activities at the site, and has also received a nonbinding letter of interest from the Export-Import Bank of the United States for up to $120 million in potential financing, it said.

The approval comes as Western governments and industries seek to diversify rare-earth supply chains away from China, which dominates global production and processing in the industry.

Write to Connor Hart at [email protected]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-17-26 0942ET