Critica (ASX:CRI) is advancing an underground mining concept for its Mt Lindsay Tin‑Tungsten Project in Tasmania as part of a Scoping Study targeting completion in Q3 2026.
The company has appointed DRA Global to lead the study, which takes a first‑principles approach to developing one of Australia’s largest undeveloped tin‑tungsten resources.
Ammonium paratungstate was quoted at US$3,075 ($4,325) per metric tonne unit and LME tin at US$56,050 per tonne in August.
CEO Jacob Deysel says the changing market provides a compelling backdrop to reassess Mt Lindsay while meeting today’s mining and environmental expectations.
“Mt Lindsay has long been recognised as one of Australia’s largest undeveloped tin-tungsten resources. The resource hasn’t changed — but the world around it has,” Deysel observes.
“Tin and tungsten markets have strengthened materially, tungsten has become increasingly strategic to global technology, manufacturing, and defence supply chains, and the importance of secure and diversified supply has never been clearer.”
The underground concept represents a departure from historical open‑pit studies, with portal access within an existing disturbed area from historical stone quarrying, aiming to substantially reduce surface disturbance.
The Scoping Study is evaluating underground development across the Main Skarn and No. 2 Skarn systems. Previous studies identified long‑hole open stoping with backfill as the preferred method, which the current program is reassessing using updated engineering assumptions and a new mineral resource estimate (MRE).
Critica is considering underground backfill as part of an integrated tailings management strategy, potentially reducing permanent surface storage requirements. The company is also evaluating by‑product potential including copper, boron, and fluorspar.
Surface infrastructure will centre around the underground mine, utilising existing roads and corridors. Access to established hydroelectric power provides opportunities for electrification and lower‑emission materials handling.
Mt Lindsay forms part of Critica’s Australian critical minerals platform alongside the Jupiter Project in Western Australia, which hosts rare earths, yttrium, and gallium. Parallel Scoping Studies across both projects are targeted for completion in Q3.
DRA Global is progressing integrated engineering workstreams including mine design, infrastructure, processing, tailings management, and project optimisation. The study is being undertaken alongside an updated MRE.
Critica is an Australian critical minerals developer advancing a diversified platform that includes the Jupiter Rare Earths Project in Western Australia and the Mt Lindsay Tin-Tungsten Project in Tasmania.
Write to JC Villarba at Mining.com.au
Images: Critica
