Critica unveils fresh REE hits near Jupiter play in WA – and 5 new prospects

Critica Limited (ASX:CRI) has unveiled its latest raft of REE drill hits from nearby its Jupiter Project in WA.

Also worth noting: the company has now officially hit on five new “large scale satellite discoveries” adjacent to its Jupiter landholding.

Flagging multiple fresh rare earth discoveries, the company posted the following Total Rare Earth Oxide (TREO) drill data on Thursday:

• 20m @ 1,472ppm, including
  • 8m @ 2,539ppm
• 20m @ 1,611ppm, including
  • 8m @ 2,516ppm
• 23m @ 2,130ppm, including
  • 4m @ 5,331ppm
• 31m @ 1,610ppm, including
  • 12m @ 2,510ppm

When it comes to parts per million (ppm), it’s handy to remember 10,000ppm = 1%, but, REE concentrations below 10,000ppm are not necessarily unusual for the industry. The company’s geotechs are, perhaps unsurprising, most interested in the brief pocket of mineralisation coming in at 0.5% TREO.

Critica’s Jupiter play is part of a two-project portfolio which also includes the Brothers Project (nearby Jupiter,) and this drill data leaves Critica to interpret a potential province-scale REE mineral system at Brothers.

That, the company believes, underscores the high reliability of its geophysical targeting strategy.

At the five satellite zones now on the radar, high-value metals dysprosium and terbium were also found. Should the company find commercial quantities of both at depths economic to mine, it could lift the overall value proposition of the company’s flagship assets.

Also boosting optimism among the Critica team is low levels of thorium and uranium on-site associated with the mineralisation. Most REEs occur near radioactive minerals, which is why the Australian nuclear regulator ANSTO conducts the vast majority of REE testwork declared on the ASX.

Low radioactivity implies, all cards in order, easier downstream processing and less red tape when it comes to exporting product.

“We’ve made multiple discoveries which together confirm the provincial-scale nature of the Brother’s Rare Earth Project that surrounds Jupiter,” CRI chief Philippa Leggat explained.

“In addition to our successful exploration work, we have completed our infill drilling of the high-grade areas at Jupiter. We’re looking forward to receiving those results, metallurgical work continues and completing our maiden resource estimate for Jupiter, which we plan to release later this quarter.”

The question remains what rare earth prices will do in the coming years. Despite persistent interest in the sector, falling NdPr prices have robbed the sails of some wind in recent history.

CRI last traded at 1.2cps.

Join the discussion: See what HotCopper users are saying about Critica Limited and be part of the conversations that move the markets.