In combination, the two programs will outline the chemistry and operating conditions feeding into Critica’s flowsheet optimisation, future pilot work and three stages of feasibility studies.
The work from the two test streams aims to produce the company’s first mixed rare earths carbonate product from the compelling WA project.
The rare earths material initially undergoes beneficiation, which has produced outstanding results from the bench-scale testing. The program’s huge upgrade in TREO produced a concentrate ranging from 10,000ppm to 20,000ppm TREO.
The composite material dispatched to ANSTO and Minutech was upgraded using a two-step process involving wet low-intensity magnetic separation and a simple flotation process. It will undergo leach testing to produce a mixed rare earths carbonate.
Critica will be looking for the upcoming pilot plant to replicate or surpass the bench-scale results of mass rejection and upgrade in TREO. The results will enable inputs for a scoping study, providing key data on tailings characteristics, flow sheet economics and processing efficiencies.
Management believes vital decision-grade data will be revealed from the program, including recovery levels, concentrate specifications and reagent consumption to provide valuable direct inputs into its scoping study and help optimise the hydrometallurgical flow sheet.
Critica says GAVAQ, ANSTO and Minutech will combine seamlessly to advance its beneficiation, hydrometallurgy and product chemistry towards an in-demand concentrate product and to support offtake engagement.
Critica Limited chief executive officer Jacob Deysel said: “Approving the Jupiter pilot and appointing GAVAQ is a key step on our ‘scale, simplicity, speed’ roadmap. By upgrading before leaching, we reject about 95 per cent of mass and lift grades more than eight-fold ahead of hydrometallurgy. That translates into a smaller leach plant, lower reagent use and a cleaner, faster path to MREC.”
The company believes that taking upfront steps to dramatically upgrade its material will translate into a smaller leach plant being required, resulting in lower upfront capital expenditure and ongoing operating expenditure savings.
Critica plans to advance the project using two parallel de-risking streams – geology and metallurgy.
The geological stream will focus on delivering an optimal MREO resource from modelling ore blocks high in the four magnet elements, infill drilling, assay results and preparation of composite samples. Work is expected to define resource blocks for mine planning and pit-shell design.
The metallurgical stream will now comprise GAVAQ beneficiation testwork, in conjunction with ANSTO’s and Minutech’s downstream programs.
Together, the two streams will feed into the upcoming scoping study as well as its pre-feasibility and definitive feasibility studies, with an end-goal of a bankable project model. The company will also seek offtake agreements with global industry participants, grant funding and all necessary regulatory approvals for a mining operation.
The company is focused on the four key magnet rare earth elements, which are critical inputs for high-performance magnets and essential for electric vehicles, wind turbines, advanced technologies and clean energy applications. The elements account for more than 85 per cent of a rare earths basket value.
Jupiter’s ore has the added appeal of low levels of the deleterious elements uranium and thorium, helping to support permitting and garner interest in the product from global players.
The building of a pilot-scale processing plant is an important step towards production and this latest agreement may propel Critica along a faster path towards its end-goal.
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