Critica (ASX:CRI) has achieved a recovery of 63% gallium oxide when using leach solution from metallurgical testwork and geochemical analysis undertaken at its Jupiter Project in Western Australia.
The Jupiter Project hosts a resource of 1.8 billion tonnes @ 1,700 parts per million (ppm) total rare earth oxide (TREO) at a 1,000ppm cut-off, averaging 39ppm gallium oxide and containing 70,000 tonnes of gallium.
CEO Jacob Deysel says the results paint a clear line-of-sight to byproduct gallium recovery, using its mixed rare earth product processing circuit.
“Achieving 63% gallium extraction into solution marks an important step in demonstrating coproduct potential from within our existing process, without changing scope or strategy,” Deysel says.
“This is not a pivot — it is a logical progression of Critica’s systematic flowsheet de-risking program.
“The strategic imperative for the West remains unchanged: it is no longer enough to access critical minerals — we must secure custody of supply.”
Critica is now looking to refine processes used to define product pathways, focusing on germanium, scandium, and iron byproducts in the near future.
As Mining.com.au reported last month, the company has transitioned from an explorer to a developer on the return of metallurgical results uncovered from Jupiter.
Critica is focused on advancing the Jupiter Project in Western Australia using its mine-to-magnet plan to produce elements needed for the artificial intelligence, electric vehicles, renewables, and defence sectors.
Write to Maddison Elliott at Mining.com.au
Images: Critica
