Critica Kicks Off Intensive Drilling at Jupiter Rare Earths Project
Critica Limited has initiated a substantial resource upgrade aircore drilling campaign at its flagship Jupiter rare earths project, located in the Mid West region of Western Australia. This strategic program is designed to provide critical data for the ongoing scoping study, positioning Jupiter as a potential cornerstone for future Western rare earths supply chains. The Jupiter project is recognized as Australia's largest clay-hosted rare earth deposit, making this development highly significant for the mining sector.
Drilling Program Details and Objectives
The two-pronged drilling program aims to upgrade the inferred resource at Jupiter to a higher indicated classification, thereby strengthening the company's inventory ahead of mine planning and study inputs. Currently, Critica's inferred Jupiter resource stands at an impressive 1.8 billion tonnes with a total rare earths (TREO) concentration of 1700 parts per million (ppm). To build confidence in this resource, the campaign will involve drilling 143 air-core holes, covering an estimated 7,000 to 10,000 metres. This drilling will be conducted at a 125m x 125m spacing across a 3km x 1km footprint of the optimised resource area.
SRK Consulting has been engaged to update the mineral resource model as new drilling data becomes available, ensuring that the resource classification is accurately refined. The commencement of this drilling program marks a crucial step in advancing Jupiter through the Scoping Study phase, with results expected to directly feed into the study's outcomes.
Regional Exploration and Additional Targets
Once the infill drilling at Jupiter is completed, the rigs will move to test priority regional exploration targets at the Juno and Aurora deposits within the broader Brothers project. The Juno prospect, located south of Jupiter, is a high-priority target featuring a higher proportion of magnet rare earth oxides (MREO), which could lead to higher-value rare earths product streams. Plans include drilling 30 aircore holes along a 2km x 500m corridor to assess mineralisation continuity and scale.
Similarly, the Aurora prospect, situated northwest of Jupiter, will see 28 aircore holes drilled to follow up on 2024 regional drilling results. This will test for clay-hosted rare earths mineralisation along a 2km x 500m corridor, potentially revealing deposits similar to Jupiter. The entire regional program is supported by the Western Australian Government's exploration incentive scheme (EIS), which offers up to 50 per cent reimbursement on eligible drilling and mobilisation costs, reducing financial burdens for the company.
Metallurgical Studies and Future Plans
In parallel with the drilling efforts, Critica is advancing its metallurgical studies to optimise rare earths extraction processes. Following the previous production of commercial-quality 58 per cent TREO mixed rare earth carbonate (MREC), the company has entered a new phase of metallurgical optimisation. This involves testwork and investigations at Australia's Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) and specialist consultancy Minutech, with additional support from Phenikaa University in Hanoi and Sedgman, a CIMIC Group company providing engineering expertise.
These studies focus on key areas such as reagent consumption, enhancing recoveries, managing impurities, and exploring alternative process pathways to improve capital and operational efficiency. The scoping study is scheduled for the first half of the year, with a pre-feasibility study set to begin in the second half and continue through to the second half of next year. All ongoing drilling, resource modelling, upgrades, and metallurgical programs will directly contribute to these studies, underscoring Critica's momentum in de-risking and advancing one of the world's standout clay-hosted rare earths mineral systems.
