en.Wedoany.com Reported - Axel REE Limited (ASX: AXL), an Australian-listed rare earth exploration company, announced on June 22, 2026, positive results from column leach testing at the Woolrich Deposit within the Caladão REE and Gallium Project in Minas Gerais, Brazil. The tests successfully recovered soluble rare earth oxides for the first time under dynamic, simulated In-Situ Recovery (ISR) flow conditions using a mild magnesium sulfate solution. The results validate the technical feasibility of developing this ionic clay rare earth deposit using a low-cost, low-acid, environmentally friendly in-situ recovery process.

Axel REE is a company focused on the exploration and development of ionic clay rare earth and gallium resources. Its flagship asset, the Caladão Project, located in Minas Gerais, Brazil, is 100% owned by the company. The project currently has an inferred mineral resource of 572 million tonnes at a total rare earth oxide (TREO) grade of 1,506 ppm across Zones A and B, along with 439 million tonnes of gallium resources at a grade of 38 ppm. The Woolrich Deposit, a key deposit within Zone B, has a resource of 128 million tonnes at a TREO grade of 1,013 ppm.

Column leach test results showed a soluble TREO recovery of 560 ppm under dynamic ISR simulation conditions using a magnesium sulfate solution, with magnet rare earth oxides (MREO) accounting for 39%, and containing a high proportion of heavy rare earths such as dysprosium and terbium. Impurity levels were extremely low, including aluminum (below 2 ppm), iron (below 0.5 ppm), thorium (below 5.5 ppm), and uranium (below 4 ppm). This result also surpassed the best results from static diagnostic leach tests obtained by the company in April 2026. Dr. Patience Mpofu, Managing Director of Axel REE, stated: "The column leach tests demonstrate that under real flow conditions, the Woolrich Deposit behaves as a true ionic clay system, capable of recovering high-grade, magnet rare earth-rich elements while maintaining extremely low impurity levels."

The hydrodynamic, kinetic, and solution chemistry data generated from the column leach tests will inform the design of an exploratory in-situ recovery field test program planned for the fourth quarter of 2026. If successful, Axel REE could become the first company in Minas Gerais, Brazil, to achieve commercial-scale in-situ recovery rare earth mining. The company plans to initiate a second round of column leach tests after reviewing the initial leaching performance.

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