Critica's Jupiter Rare Earths Project Achieves 81% Magnet Recovery in WA Pilot
Critica Limited has made significant strides with its Jupiter rare earths project in Western Australia's Mid West region, reporting an impressive 81 per cent recovery of magnet rare earth oxides (MREO) from its latest pilot plant optimisation efforts. This marks a crucial advancement as the company moves closer to establishing a bankable development framework for the massive resource.
Enhanced Metallurgical Performance and Project Scale
The pilot plant program also delivered a 71 per cent recovery of total rare earth oxides (TREO), representing an approximate 45 per cent improvement from previously reported results. These stronger numbers are particularly vital for the high-value MREO component, which is essential for the global electric motor supply chain. The Jupiter project, part of Critica's Brothers project, boasts a global resource of 1.8 billion tonnes, positioning it as potentially Australia's largest and highest-grade clay-hosted rare earths resource.
Notably, the deposit is rich in magnet rare earths such as neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium. It features continuous mineralisation across a 40-square-kilometre footprint, with exceptionally low levels of deleterious elements like uranium and thorium, enhancing its economic viability.
Ongoing Development and Strategic Initiatives
In January, Critica initiated a scoping study led by engineering group Sedgman to integrate mining, processing, and infrastructure concepts into a capital-efficient pathway. More recently, the company commenced a 143-hole aircore drilling program across a 3km by 1km optimised resource footprint, with up to 10,000 metres of drilling aimed at supporting a resource upgrade and mine-feed planning for the scoping study.
Additionally, Critica has followed up with 58 regional aircore holes, co-funded under the WA Government's Exploration Incentive Scheme, targeting the Juno and Aurora prospects south and northwest of Jupiter. This expansion effort seeks to uncover additional upside across the broader Brothers system.
Pilot Plant Optimisation and Downstream Work
Critica's chief executive officer, Jacob Deysel, highlighted the progress, stating that the pilot beneficiation programme is delivering materially improved performance. The intermediate concentrate continues to achieve an upgrade factor of 7.5 times that of the proposed feed material. Pilot-scale operations have now been relocated to a larger facility in Hai Phong, Vietnam, where they have resumed following the Lunar New Year break. The upgraded setup is expected to drive higher throughput, supported by additional cells and improved circuit configurations.
The company has shipped 8.5 tonnes of mineralised sample material from Jupiter to feed the pilot plant, with another 10 to 20 tonnes slated to follow in the coming weeks. This incoming material will support production of additional intermediate concentrate for downstream mixed rare earth product work, aiding in product quality validation and ongoing offtake discussions.
Collaborative Metallurgical Programs and Future Outlook
Parallel metallurgical programs are continuing with partners such as the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), Minutech, and Phenikaa University. These initiatives focus on optimising the mixed rare earth carbonate (MREC) pathway and developing alternative hydrometallurgical options, including the possibility of heap-leaching the intermediate concentrate as a supplementary processing route.
With the Jupiter scoping study on track for completion in June, Critica now has a growing set of real-world recovery figures and scale-up data to inform engineering decisions. This steady de-risking is well-received by the market. If metallurgists can continue to lift recoveries while establishing a clean, scalable flowsheet, Jupiter's potentially giant "mine-to-magnet" story could become a significant development in the rare earths sector.
