Critica Produces Jupiter High-Purity Rare Earth Oxide Samples, Advances Offtake Negotiations
en.Wedoany.com Reported - Australia's Critica announced that its Jupiter rare earth project in Western Australia has produced representative high-purity mixed rare earth oxide (MREO) and iron concentrate samples, which have been used for product evaluation with potential offtake partners and strategic collaborators. The latest MREO sample achieved a total rare earth oxide (TREO) grade of 98.2%, of which magnetic rare earth oxides accounted for 28.4%. The relevant negotiations remain at the stage of product verification and commercial engagement, and no formal offtake agreement has yet been formed.
In the latest MREO sample, neodymium oxide content was 21.2%, praseodymium oxide 5.70%, dysprosium oxide 0.80%, and terbium oxide 0.23%, with an additional 3.07% yttrium oxide. Meanwhile, the project flowsheet also produced a batch of iron concentrate as a potential by-product, with an iron grade of 64.1%. Critica is continuing to prepare mixed rare earth carbonate (MREC) samples, after the project previously repeatedly produced MREC product at approximately 58% TREO.
The samples were derived from bulk samples obtained from 35 air-core drill holes and 8 reverse circulation drill holes within the Jupiter inferred resource area, representing approximately 178 meters of drilling material. Over the past year, Critica has continued to optimize beneficiation and hydrometallurgical processes. The magnetic rare earth oxide beneficiation recovery rate is currently approximately 81%. After beneficiation, the feed can achieve approximately a 14-fold grade upgrade to an intermediate concentrate of approximately 3% TREO, while rejecting approximately 95% of the feed mass. Sulfuric acid consumption in the hydrometallurgical processing stage has decreased by approximately 30% compared with the previous scheme.
The Jupiter project is located in the Yalgoo region of Western Australia and is the core asset of Critica's wholly owned Brothers rare earth project. The project currently has an inferred resource of approximately 1.8 billion tonnes at an average grade of 1,700 ppm TREO, including approximately 500 million tonnes of high-grade resource at an average grade of 2,200 ppm TREO. The mineralized area covers approximately 40 square kilometers and mainly contains magnetic rare earths such as neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium, along with associated yttrium and gallium.
Critica has previously shifted the Jupiter development path from simple resource expansion to beneficiation, product preparation, and commercial verification. Pilot optimization results in April this year showed that the magnetic rare earth oxide recovery rate from representative feed had increased to approximately 81%, with a total rare earth oxide recovery rate of approximately 71%; following further optimization, intermediate concentrate grade and mass rejection rate continued to improve. The relevant intermediate products are currently being used for subsequent MREO and MREC preparation as well as potential customer qualification.
The company's next steps will continue to advance evaluation of MREO and iron concentrate samples, complete MREC sample production, and continue negotiations with potential offtake partners and strategic collaborators. The Jupiter project Scoping Study is currently planned for completion in the fourth quarter of 2026, and the study will further determine project scale, processing flowsheet, development plan, and preliminary economic parameters.
