Critica (ASX:CRI) has established its Jupiter Project as what it says is Australia’s “premier” clay-hosted rare earth element resource after conducting a maiden resource estimate.
The inferred resource, prepared for SRK Consulting, totals 1.8 billion tonnes @ 1,700 parts per million (ppm) total rare earth oxide (TREO), including 500 million tonnes @ 2,200ppm TREO at a 1,800ppm cut-off grade.
Critica, which has a market capitalisation of $48.39 million, says this resource has exceeded the company’s expectations in terms of tonnes and grade and marks a major milestone for the project.
Managing Director Philippa Leggat says the maiden resource represents a major milestone the company has delivered in just over a year from announcing the discovery in November 2023.
“It is incredibly exciting to be able to unveil Australia’s premier clay-hosted rare earth deposit — the numbers speak for themselves,” Leggat says.
“The size and grade in the clay-hosted Jupiter deposit is unmatched in Australia, and globally significant. The development potential is boosted by its exceptional location in a well-established, West Australian mining district that benefits from robust existing infrastructure.
“Moreover, the near-surface and highly consistent nature of the deposit affords us optionality when it comes to considering future processing and development scenarios.”
Leggat adds that the company is funded to continue advancing testwork and drill test its satellite discoveries to assess the true potential of the opportunity at the broader Brothers Project.
“Our initial metallurgy has demonstrated the potential to beneficiate our grade by 830% while simultaneously reducing the overall mass by an extraordinary 95%,” she says.
The Jupiter Project is part of the broader Brothers project which spans 1,353km2 in Western Australia.
Critica is focused on exploring and developing critical mineral deposits to feed global demand for the minerals that are vital to modern technology and the green energy transition.
Demand for REEs is soaring with the International Energy Agency’s Global Critical Minerals Outlook 2024 report showing global demand for magnet REEs nearly doubled between 2015 and 2023. It has the potential to double again by 2050, in large part driven by the growth of clean energy technologies.
Australia has at least 4% of global rare earth element reserves and is positioned to capitalise on this growing market, according to the CSIRO.
Rare earths are a group of 16 metallic elements that occur together in the periodic table. They include the 15 lanthanides plus yttrium.
Despite their name, rare earth elements are relatively plentiful in the Earth’s crust. They are typically quite dispersed and usually not found in high concentrations and are considered a specific subcategory of critical minerals.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Critica
