ABx Group has made solid progress at its Deep Leads rare earth project in northern Tasmania, with independent tests confirming strong results that support an efficient and more scalable path to production later this year.
Specialist testing by Australia’s Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) validated and boosted earlier in-house results, showing high extraction rates for the heavy rare earths dysprosium and terbium.
These elements are considered among the most strategically important in the rare earth category, and are crucial in making parts used for electric vehicles, robotics and wind turbines.
The tests achieved extraction rates above 70 per cent, reinforcing confidence in the quality and processability of the Deep Leads deposit. Encouragingly, strong results were also achieved at slightly higher pH levels, suggesting the potential for the deposit to be effectively leached at a pH above 4.0, reducing the chances of contamination by impurity elements such as aluminium and iron.
ABx group managing director and chief executive officer Mark Cooksey welcomed the outcome, calling it “an important milestone” for the company.
Work now shifts to larger scale testing, with slurry leach trials planned at higher solids concentrations. The company remains on schedule to deliver a mixed rare earth carbonate (MREC) sample by the end of 2025, which will be shared with prospective customers.
The Deep Leads resource stands at 89 million tonnes, with an average grade of 844 parts per million total rare earth oxides. Heavy rare earths, including dysprosium and terbium, account for more than 4 per cent of that total.
“With the program on track to deliver our first MREC sample later this year, we are advancing towards commercial outcomes,” Cooksey said.
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