OD6 Produces High-Quality Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate and Hydroxide at Splinter Rock - The Making of an Australian Rare Earths Production Story.
- Noel Ong
- 2 minutes ago
- 6 min read
Announcement
OD6 Metals Limited (ASX: OD6) has delivered a key milestone at its 100%-owned Splinter Rock Rare Earth Project in Western Australia, producing high-quality Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate (MREC) and Mixed Rare Earth Hydroxide (MREH) with low impurities and strong commercial payability potential (Figure 1). The results, achieved through recent flowsheet developments, confirm Splinter Rock’s capability to produce a premium, magnet-rich rare earth product that meets or exceeds global benchmarks, positioning the project among the top tier of global rare earth ventures.
Figure 1: The Splinter Rock Project (source: OD6)
Highlights - Is this the Beginning of an Australian Rare Earths Production Story?
High-Grade Products:
MREC grading ~56% TREO and MREH grading ~59% TREO, produced via a simplified, scalable heap leach and impurity removal flowsheet.
+90% of value derived from high-demand Magnetic Rare Earths (Nd, Pr, Dy, Tb).
Exceptional Product Quality:
Low impurities (Al, Fe, P, Si).
Uranium and thorium content below 0.001%, avoiding refinery penalties.
Meets or exceeds global MREC/MREH specifications.
Commercial Positioning:
Benchmark payability typically 70–85% of REO basket value; OD6 positioned for premium rates.
Engaging with potential offtake partners in Asia, Europe, and North America.
Strategic Advantage:
Innovative processing pathway using heap leach, nanofiltration, ion exchange, and impurity control.
Partnerships with ANSTO and CPC Engineering to finalise optimal development pathway.
Product suited for high-tech defence, electronics, and renewable energy applications.
Technical Overview
The nine-month metallurgical program, undertaken in collaboration with the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), successfully demonstrated a comprehensive, multi-stage process designed to extract and refine high-value rare earth elements from Splinter Rock’s clay-hosted deposits. This work represents a critical advancement in OD6’s processing capabilities, confirming the technical viability of producing premium-grade Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate (MREC) and Mixed Rare Earth Hydroxide (MREH) products.
As illustrated in Figure 2, the process integrates heap leaching, nanofiltration, ion exchange, and impurity removal to achieve exceptional product quality with low impurity levels, while maximising the recovery of magnet-rich rare earths essential for high-tech and renewable energy applications.
Heap Leaching: Low-acid recovery from rare earth-bearing clays. (refer ASX 16 October 2024)
Nanofiltration: Acid recycling and REE concentration. (refer ASX 4 August 2025)
Ion Exchange: Enhanced removal of Fe and Al to reduce downstream risk. (refer ASX 7 August 2025)
Impurity Removal: Final elimination of deleterious elements.
Product Precipitation: Recovery of MREC (via Na₂CO₃) or MREH (via NaOH), followed by washing and drying.
Figure 2: Indicative processing steps including Heap Leach, Nanofiltration plus Ion Exchange & Impurity Removal (source: OD6)
The high-quality Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate (MREC) product produced from heap leach solutions at ANSTO as part of the Splinter Rock metallurgical program (Figure 3). The image highlights the tangible outcome of OD6’s nine months of testwork, demonstrating the successful precipitation of a saleable, low-impurity rare earth product that meets or exceeds global benchmarks.
Figure 3: OD6 Splinter Rock Heap Leach MREC Product produced at ANSTO (source: OD6)
Both products showed >55% TREO with magnetic rare earths forming over 90% of value. Low impurity levels, especially <0.001% U+Th, ensure favourable marketability (Figure 4).
Figure 4: Impurity Removal Curve showing decreasing Al and Fe concentration as pH is increased (source: OD6)
Next Steps
Optioneering Study
OD6 has appointed CPC Engineering to conduct an Optioneering Study that will assess several technically viable flowsheet options for the Splinter Rock Project. The study will evaluate each pathway on cost efficiency, recovery rates, scalability, and final product quality to select the optimal development route. Completion is expected this quarter.
Offtake Engagement
The company is actively engaging with potential offtake partners to evaluate commercial payability for its MREC and MREH products. These discussions are aimed at securing agreements that reflect the premium quality and low impurity levels of Splinter Rock’s output.
Scale-Up Testing
Plans are in place to scale up heap leach and impurity removal testwork using approximately one tonne of PQ diamond core material. This will enable the production of around one kilogram of MREC, providing multiple samples for optimisation trials, customer assessment, and offtake negotiations.
Managing Director Brett Hazelden commented:
“This is a significant milestone for OD6 and reinforces Splinter Rock’s potential to become a competitive and scalable producer of high value rare earth products. Our innovative processing pathway – using a combination of nanofiltration, ion exchange and impurity control - has enabled us to produce a high-quality, low-impurity MREC and MREH product that meets or exceeds global benchmarks.
This opens the door to a wide range of potential offtake partners and is expected to result in favourable payability.
We believe the ability to deliver a high quality, magnet-rich mixed rare earth product from a low-cost leaching system gives us a unique strategic advantage. We look forward to engaging with international separation facilities, end users and governments.”
Samso Concluding Comments
The significance of these results cannot be overstated. OD6 has finally moved beyond theoretical metallurgy into the production of a saleable, high-value product that ranks competitively on a global scale. Could this news be a sector-changing event, as the market has been struggling to see light at the end of the tunnel for the last 2 years?
In a market where quality and impurity levels directly dictate pricing and offtake interest, Splinter Rock’s specifications provide a meaningful competitive edge. This ASX release may be what the market needs to see in regards to the viability of the clay-hosted REE in Australia.
The combination of high TREO grades, dominance of magnetic rare earth content, and a processing route designed for scalability places OD6 in a strong position as the rare earth sector continues to attract strategic investment. With downstream engagement now underway, the pathway from testwork to commercial agreements appears tangible and strategically timed.
OD6’s ability to produce both carbonate and hydroxide forms offers flexibility to meet diverse customer requirements, an important factor in securing premium contracts. The coming quarters, particularly with the outcome of the Optioneering Study and scale-up testwork, will be pivotal in confirming Splinter Rock’s place as one of the world’s leading clay-hosted rare earth projects.
The main obstacle for investors is the belief that OD6 can maintain this level of product quality through scale-up and into production. Investors want to see if Splinter Rock can stand alongside the leading global clay-hosted rare earth projects, offering Australia another strong foothold in a strategically critical supply chain.
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