Critica Advances Jupiter — First MREP Produced and Gallium Confirmed as Valuable By-Product
- Noel Ong
- 2 days ago
- 7 min read
Announcement
Critica Limited (ASX: CRI) has released two major updates that strengthen the technical and strategic credentials of the Jupiter Project, located in Western Australia (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Location of The Jupiter Project in Tier-1 Western Australia (source: CRI)
The Company has successfully produced its first high-grade Mixed Rare Earth Product (MREP) and, in parallel, delivered confirmation that gallium can be recovered as a valuable by-product within the same beneficiation-first flowsheet. Both developments form part of Critica’s staged, disciplined derisking program as the company transitions from explorer to developer.
The Business of Critica Limited: Focus — Gallium - REE -Projects
Critica is rapidly advancing the Jupiter clay-hosted rare-earth Project, which stands today as:
Australia’s largest clay-hosted rare earth resource.
A globally significant magnet-REE dominant system (Nd, Pr, Dy, Tb).
A project with exceptionally low uranium and thorium impurities.
Jupiter’s flowsheet design is anchored in beneficiation-first (Figure 2), allowing mass rejection of ~95% and strong grade uplift prior to hydrometallurgy — a key differentiator among clay-hosted REE deposits.
Figure 2: Jupiter beneficiate-first flow sheet now with MREP and Gallium byproduct streams (source: CRI)
Highlights – First Mixed Rare Earth Product (MREP) Produced (28 October 2025)
First MREP successfully produced from Jupiter concentrate, assaying 84% TREO.78% recovery achieved to Mixed Rare Earth Oxide (MREO), demonstrating high leach extraction (Figure 3).
Figure 3: Initial Mixed Rare Earth Product (oxide) 84% TREO (source: CRI)
Standard acid-bake process validated; parallel optimisation underway at ANSTO and Minutech-AMML.
Very low impurities — uranium and thorium well below transport thresholds.
3,000 kg closed-circuit pilot plant at GAVAQ (Hanoi) now in commissioning (Figure 4).
Figure 4: GAVAQ Pilot Plant – cold commissioning of Pilot Plant (source: CRI)
Beneficiation continues to achieve ~95% mass rejection with a 6–10× grade uplift.
Reinforces Jupiter’s magnet-REE bias (~23% of total REO) — critical for EVs, AI, renewables, and defence systems.
Leadership Commentary
Critica’s CEO, Jacob Deysel, commented:
“This first unoptimised Mixed Rare Earth Product is a pivotal step for Critica. Our metallurgical results confirm that beneficiated Jupiter concentrate can be successfully leached using conventional, scalable processing to produce a high-grade oxide product.
With beneficiation proven, MREP achieved, and pilot commissioning underway, we are moving decisively from explorer to developer.
Our focus now is optimisation, product specification, and engagement with prospective offtake and strategic partners as we continue building a credible, low-cost, Western-aligned rare earth supply chain anchored in one of the world’s largest and cleanest clay-hosted deposits.”
Highlights – Gallium Confirmed as Valuable By-Product (10 November 2025)
Jupiter’s 1.8 Bt resource averages ~39 ppm Ga₂O₃, representing ~70,000 tonnes of contained gallium (Figure 5).
Figure 5: Resource Model – showing Ga₂O₃ grade distribution across the resource model (source: CRI)
Metallurgical testwork confirms ~63% gallium recovery to leach solution within Critica’s existing REE flowsheet (Figure 6).
Figure 6: Schematic of GAVAQ MREO Flowsheet - standard acid-bake and gallium recovery pathway (source: CRI)
Gallium upgrade factor of ~1.2× in flotation concentrate; recovery achieved without altering process scope.
Gallium is hosted in both clay and REE phosphate minerals, demonstrating predictable leach behaviour.
Critical market context: China controls >98% of global gallium supply.
Additional co-product potential now under evaluation: scandium, germanium, and iron.
Confirms integrated REE–gallium value pathway within the same process circuit.
Leadership Commentary
Critica’s CEO, Jacob Deysel, commented:
“Jupiter continues to deliver scale, simplicity and strategic value. Metallurgical results indicate a clear line-of-sight to by-product recovery of gallium within the same process circuit that produced our first Mixed Rare Earth Product (MREP).
Achieving ~63% gallium extraction into solution marks an important step in demonstrating coproduct potential from within our existing process, without changing scope or strategy. This is not a pivot — it is a logical progression of Critica’s systematic flowsheet de-risking program.
The strategic imperative for the West remains unchanged: it is no longer enough to access critical minerals — we must secure custody of supply. By proving the ability to recover gallium alongside rare earths, Critica strengthens its position within a Western-aligned, low-risk and technically validated supply chain.”
About the Project (Western Australia)
The Jupiter Project is located in the Murchison region of Western Australia and represents:
A 1.8 Bt clay-hosted REE system, with a strong magnet-REE profile.
Resource grades (Table 1):
1,700 ppm TREO at 1,000 ppm cut-off.
~39 ppm Ga₂O₃ average gallium oxide.
Table 1: Jupiter clay-hosted REE and Ga Resource at preferred TREO lower cut-offs
Hosted within deeply weathered clay and saprolite overlying an alkaline granitoid intrusion.
Low impurity levels (U, Th) allow favourable handling and transport characteristics.
Metallurgical testwork on a Jupiter intermediate concentrate has confirmed strong upgrade factors for TREO and defined the basis for the reported ~63% gallium extraction to leach solution (Table 2).
Table 2: Jupiter intermediate concentrate used to produce the reported Gallium extraction.
Near-term Milestones to Watch
Q4 2025 – H1 2026
Operate the 3,000 kg closed-circuit pilot plant at GAVAQ.
Bake and leach optimisation across GAVAQ, ANSTO, Minutech-AMML.
Selective precipitation trials for gallium, plus screening for germanium and scandium co-products.
H1 2026
Finalise MREP/MREO product specifications.
Feed pilot data into the Scoping Study.
H2 2026
Commence Pre-Feasibility Study.
Ongoing
Offtake and downstream engagement with Western-aligned partners.
How Samso Understands the Investment Memo for the Company
Critica is building a rare-earth processing pathway that balances scale, simplicity, and strategic alignment. The Company’s model is based on a beneficiation-first approach that reduces mass early, lowers capital intensity, and enables higher-quality hydromet feed. The new confirmation of gallium recovery adds a further dimension to the value proposition and may materially enhance project economics.
The Company is now positioned in a globally relevant segment — magnet rare earths + critical by-products — with a technically validated flowsheet that is progressing toward feasibility-level robustness.
Samso Concluding Comments
Many clay-hosted rare earth stories show promise at the laboratory scale, but struggle when asked to demonstrate integration across larger, more representative programs. Jupiter is moving through this sequence in a steady, evidence-based manner. Beneficiation has now been proven several times over, delivering repeatable mass rejection and grade uplift.
Hydrometallurgy has shown that this upgraded material converts into a high-quality oxide product. And now, with gallium extraction validated within the same circuit, the flowsheet is showing signs of forming a multi-commodity pathway without additional complexity.
Gallium brings a strategic layer that should not be understated. In a market where more than 98% of global supply sits within a single jurisdiction, the ability to source gallium from a Western-aligned project anchored in a Tier 1 jurisdiction is significant. What matters most is that Critica has not pursued gallium as a separate exercise — the recovery emerged naturally from the same leach solution used to produce its MREP. This speaks to the underlying mineralogy and the integrity of the integrated flowsheet. If future optimisation improves recovery or defines a clear commercial product, gallium could become a genuine by-product contributor rather than a marginal value add.
From an investor perspective, Jupiter now presents a combination that is rare in the clay-REE space: scale, metallurgical simplicity, and jurisdictional strength. The ability to beneficiate clay-hosted material upfront is not common, and it sets the project apart in terms of capital intensity and downstream optionality.
The 3,000 kg pilot plant is an important next step, as it will provide the operating data, product volumes, and engineering basis needed for meaningful Scoping Study inputs. As these datasets accumulate, the market will gain more clarity on the cost structure, product specification, and long-term margin potential of the project.
Looking ahead, the next 12–18 months will be formative for Critica. Pilot-scale results, ongoing hydromet optimisation, and the definition of final MREP specifications will shape the project’s position in the Western rare-earth supply chain landscape. These developments are occurring against a backdrop of increased interest in magnet-REE supply security, AI-driven hardware demand, and the global re-balancing of strategic minerals.
If Critica maintains its current momentum, Jupiter may emerge as one of the few clay-hosted magnet-REE projects advancing toward a credible development case supported by both scale and technical validation.
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