ASX-listed Critica (ASX: CRI) has nailed a 67m drill hit going a significant 3,074 parts per million total rare earth oxides (TREO) at its Jupiter rare earths project in WA’s Mid West region. Notably, the intersection, Critica’s best yet, ended in mineralisation, now begging the question; how big could it be ?
The hole was stopped prematurely at 99m due to a lack of additional drill rods, suggesting strong potential for even deeper mineralisation.
With the 200 air core and diamond hole program - designed for infill purposes - now complete, the drilling density of holes has now increased to a 250m-by-250m grid. Once the assay results from the remaining 163 holes are in, the data will be sufficient to hand over to independent geologists in for preparation of a maiden resource estimate due by year’s end that will no doubt be highly anticipated by the market.
It’s also incredible to see our flagship project delivering another record-breaking drill intersection, this time being 67m @ 3,074 ppm TREO. We chose to increase drilling density in the high-grade zones of Jupiter to further improve confidence in the continuity of this mineralisation, ahead of our maiden resource estimate for the Brothers Project. This set of assay results have readily demonstrated this continuity. It’s an exciting phase of the project.
Critica Managing Director Philippa Leggat
Management says it is confident the latest results show Jupiter has consistent, high-grade rare earths mineralisation stretching across tens of kilometres, backing up the idea the Jupiter deposit, along with the broader Brothers project, could turn out to be one of Australia’s biggest clay-hosted rare earths discoveries.
In addition to completing the resource drilling campaign, the company also has several laboratories working on metallurgical studies to unlock a suitable beneficiation process which will be critical to the success of the project going forward.
Fellow ASX-listed rare earths player, Lynas Rare Earths, highlighted in a recent quarterly report the NdPr price received for its product across the previous three months had averaged US$48 per kilogram. While still comparatively modest and quite a drop from the almost $200/kg peak witnessed in early 2021, Critica says the price has started to show some life more recently with a meaningful uptick, providing some optimism for solid long-term potential in the rare earths market.
Jupiter covers 40 square kilometres and was only discovered 18 months ago, but has already had more than 38,000m drilled on it. Apart from being consistently low in thorium and uranium levels, the deposit also benefits from easy access to major infrastructure, including highways, gas pipelines and nearby facilities like Lynas Rare Earths’ concentrator and Iluka Resources’ planned refinery.
The deposit itself is typified by broad, high-grade clay zones between 20m and 30m wide, often grading more than 2000 ppm TREO. These zones often sit within 80m stretches which average above 1000 ppm in grade. Notably, the more lucrative “magnet” rare earths used in electric vehicles and other new energy applications make up roughly 23 per cent of the high-grade material.
While Jupiter is the main game right now for Critica, it lies within the much bigger Brothers project area, which spans a massive 1,350 square kilometres in the Mt. Magnet and Yalgoo mining region. Consequently, management believes the area provides plenty of opportunity for repeat discoveries in the future.
The company remains well funded with $8.5 million in the coffers and a plan to sell its Mount Lindsay tungsten-tin project in Tasmania, which hosts one of the biggest undeveloped tin deposits in the world. With a resource of more than 80,000 tonnes in contained tin metal and a significant 13,000-tonne tungsten resource, the sale could attract some early attention – particularly if tungsten prices were to run.
With a vast number of assays currently pending and the all-important metallurgical tests still in train, the next few months will be crucial for Critica in determining whether it actually does have a world-class rare-earth deposit on its hands. Time will tell.
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