May 2 (Reuters) - Australia's Meteoric Resources

will supply 3,000 metric tonnes of rare earth oxide per

year to Toronto-listed Neo Performance Materials ( NOPMF ) under

a preliminary agreement, the companies said on Thursday.

Neo's rare earth separation factory in Estonia is expected

to purchase the rare earth oxide from the initial output of

Meteoric's Caldeira project in Brazil.

Additionally, Neo will have the first right of refusal to

buy additional rare earth oxide if the project's annual output

exceeds 6,000 metric tonnes.

The exact value of the offtake agreement remains subject to

final negotiations between Meteoric and Neo, the companies said

in a joint statement.

Meteoric expects to obtain a construction permit for

Caldeira by the fourth quarter of 2025 and aims to commence

mixed rare earth carbonate production in the second half of

2027.

(Reporting by Adwitiya Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil

D'Silva and Subhranshu Sahu)