In a strategic move for its downstream ambitions, Perth-based Mt Ridley Mines has formalised a key agreement with a premier United States national laboratory to evaluate ore from its West Australian project.
Securing Allied Expertise for Processing
The company announced it has entered into a six-month Material Transfer Agreement (MTA) with Lawrence Livermore National Security, the contractor managing the renowned Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) for the US Department of Energy. The deal was secured through Mt Ridley's wholly-owned US subsidiary, Mulsanne Critical Minerals.
Under the terms, representative ore samples from the namesake Mt Ridley project in Western Australia will be shipped to the US facility for initial technical evaluation. The work is slated to begin early in the new year, with sample preparation currently underway.
"Executing this agreement with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is a meaningful step for Mount Ridley," said Chief Executive Officer Allister Caird. "It provides access to world-class technical capability and allows us to advance our understanding of how our rich critical mineral portfolio may be processed."
Focus on Leaching and Rare Earth Separation
The initial evaluation at LLNL will concentrate on laboratory-scale leaching trials and techniques for extracting and separating rare earth elements (REE). This collaboration, while preliminary, could pave the way for a deeper partnership in the future.
This initiative underscores Mt Ridley's deliberate strategy to assess processing pathways within secure, allied nations. It comes at a time when Western countries are actively seeking to diversify their critical mineral supply chains away from dominant producers.
The Scale of the Mt Ridley Project
The Mt Ridley project is located just 25 kilometres north of the deep-water port of Esperance. It covers a substantial 70-kilometre trend within the Grass Patch geological complex.
Historical exploration, including extensive air-core drilling totalling approximately 70,000 metres, has already outlined significant rare earth and gallium mineralisation. The company notes that only about 20 per cent of the tenure has been systematically explored to date.
Key resource details include:
- A maiden inferred resource at the central Mia prospect of 168 million tonnes grading 1201 parts per million (ppm) total rare earth oxides (TREO).
- A higher-grade core within that of 84 million tonnes at 1558ppm TREO.
- Notably, about 25 per cent of the rare earths are valuable magnet rare earth oxides (MREO), including neodymium and praseodymium.
- A separate inferred gallium resource estimate of 839 million tonnes at 29.3ppm gallium, containing over 24,500 tonnes of gallium metal.
The company has identified separate zones enriched in heavier rare earths, accompanied by scandium. With most drilling remaining shallow, Mt Ridley believes there is considerable scope for resource expansion, particularly in these higher-value components.
Carving a Niche in Western Supply Chains
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory brings advanced expertise in materials science, chemistry, and separation technologies to the table, and is a participant in the US Critical Materials Institute. For Mt Ridley, this tie-up represents a low-commitment pathway to accessing top-tier US research capabilities.
The agreement allows the company to sharpen its understanding of how best to process its large-scale, ionic-adsorption-style mineralisation. With ongoing resource work in WA and now early-stage processing studies underway in a key allied jurisdiction, Mt Ridley is positioning itself within the fast-evolving landscape of Western critical mineral supply chains.
