WA Jupiter giant repeats 58% rare earths carbonate trick for Critica

The Sydney Morning Herald · collected 2026-09-17 · by Andrew Todd
Read the original at The Sydney Morning Herald ↗

Summary

Critica Limited successfully produced a second high-grade mixed rare earth carbonate (MREC) from its Jupiter project in Western Australia, achieving 58% total rare earth oxide (TREO), which matches the quality of its first MREC. This repeat success includes an increase in valuable magnet and heavy rare earth components like dysprosium, terbium, and neodymium. Critica’s chief executive officer, Jacob Deysel, highlighted that this consistency is a significant technical achievement for turning their substantial resource into marketable products. The company has also demonstrated improved processing efficiencies with an 81% recovery rate of magnet rare earths and reduced acid consumption by 30%.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-17, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

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Claims extracted
20
claim-shaped sentences
Uncertain
0%
0 of 20 hedged
Leaning
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Correction & hedging signals
96.5
corrections and hedging in what we collected; not a measure of accuracy
Outlets on this story
1
Technology
Narrative spread
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articles carrying this framing
Analyzed 2026-09-17 · how these are computed

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Story summary

Critica Limited, a company based in Western Australia, has successfully produced its second high-grade mixed rare earth carbonate (MREC) with 58% total rare earth oxide (TREO), matching their initial achievement. This latest production, conducted by Australian Minmet Metallurgical Laboratories (AMML), includes increased concentrations of key heavy magnet rare earths like dysprosium and terbium, as well as neodymium oxide. The MREC's Magnet Rare Earth Oxide (MREO) content rose to 15% from 14.1%, while Heavy Rare Earth Oxide (HREO) jumped to 3.66% from 2.41%. According to Critica’s CEO, Jacob Deysel, the project's economics are significantly improved due to this higher concentration of valuable rare earths, which are currently in tight global supply and subject to price volatility.

Written for “Rare Earths Discovery WA” on 2026-09-17, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Rare Earths Discovery WA
Technology · 1 article(s) covering the same event. This is the one the site leads with.

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The Sydney Morning Herald · 342 article(s) · 0 correction(s) detected
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Who wrote this

Andrew Todd
2 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction
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2026-09-17 · The Sydney Morning Herald
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Topics

Australian Minmet Metallurgical Laboratories Critica Critica Limited MREC Western Australia

Subjects

Critica ORG · 5× Jacob Deysel PERSON · 2× AMML ORG · 1× ANSTO ORG · 1× Australian Minmet Metallurgical Laboratories ORG · 1× Chinese NORP · 1× Critica Limited ORG · 1× Western NORP · 1× Western Australia GPE · 1× the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation ORG · 1×

Narrative

‘Importantly, the latest product also delivered increased Magnet Rare Earth and Heavy Rare Earth content.’Critica chief executive office Jacob Deysel Specifically, the new MREC contains higher concentrations of the key heavy magnet rare earths dysprosium and terbium, as well as neodymium oxide - useful additions amid a global market that’s notoriously tight on supply and subject to significant price volatility in both Chinese and Western markets.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-17
2026-09-17 · The Sydney Morning Herald
WA Jupiter giant repeats 58% rare earths carbonate trick for Critica · assertive framing

Claims (20 extracted, 0 hedged)

Critica Limited has taken another step towards de-risking its behemoth Jupiter rare earths project in Western Australia by producing a second high-grade mixed rare earth carbonate (MREC), which impressively clocked in at 58 per cent total rare earth oxide (TREO). asserted
which → take → oxide
The results replicate the first MREC result, demonstrating a repeatable product quality, with a welcome added payload of increased valuable magnet and heavy rare earths. asserted
results → replicate → earths
Australian Minmet Metallurgical Laboratories (AMML) produced the latest MREC, which notably almost mirrored the product from the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), using the same repeatable process. asserted
which → produce → process
However, the latest product showed a significant uptick in the components that really drive the economics of a rare earths project. asserted
that → show → project
The content of valuable magnet rare earth oxides (MREO) jumped to 15 per cent from 14.1 per cent, while the heavy rare earth oxide (HREO) content surged to 3.66 per cent from 2.41 per cent. asserted
content → jump → cent
‘Importantly, the latest product also delivered increased Magnet Rare Earth and Heavy Rare Earth content.’Critica chief executive office Jacob Deysel Specifically, the new MREC contains higher concentrations of the key heavy magnet rare earths dysprosium and terbium, as well as neodymium oxide - useful additions amid a global market that’s notoriously tight on supply and subject to significant price volatility in both Chinese and Western markets. asserted
that → deliver → markets
Critica chief executive officer Jacob Deysel said: “Producing a second MREC at approximately 58% TREO is an important result, demonstrating repeatability in our ability to produce a high-grade rare earth carbonate from Jupiter. asserted
Producing → say → Jupiter
Importantly, the latest product also delivered increased Magnet Rare Earth and Heavy Rare Earth content, further strengthening the product quality.” asserted
product → deliver → quality
As is becoming increasingly apparent in the rare earths gambit, rare earths aren’t really that rare. asserted
earths → become → gambit
Instead, processing is key to a project’s eventual success and Critica’s successful replication of a high-grade MREC using a conventional, industry-standard acid bake flowsheet looks to be a serious technical milestone. asserted
replication → use → flowsheet
The company now has a firm handle on the metallurgy required to turn its massive 1.8 billion tonne resource into a saleable product, with the result becoming the latest in a string of metallurgical wins at Jupiter. asserted
result → have → Jupiter
Broader testwork programs have already demonstrated improved beneficiation recovery of a whopping 81 per cent magnet rare earths from its ore and a significant 30 per cent processing reduction in the costly sulphuric acid consumption. asserted
programs → demonstrate → consumption
Jupiter is touted as Australia’s largest clay-hosted rare earth resource, offering major leverage to magnet rare earths, gallium and yttrium just as electrification, robotics and artificial intelligence infrastructure ramp up demand for these critical inputs. asserted
electrification → tout → inputs
Paired with its Mt Lindsay tin-tungsten project in Tasmania, Critica appears to have its hands full building out a multi-commodity critical minerals platform spanning five commodities. asserted
Critica → pair → commodities
The company says it’s now running scoping studies for both the Jupiter and Mt Lindsay projects, with completion targeted by the end of this month. asserted
completion → say → month
SRK Consulting has been engaged to deliver an updated resource estimate for Jupiter, while engineering heavyweight SEDGMAN is managing the project’s scoping study. asserted
SEDGMAN → engage → study
Meanwhile, DRA Global has scored a guernsey for the Mt Lindsay study. asserted
Global → score → study
With two high-grade MREC products now under its belt and a growing body of evidence supporting its processing flowsheet, Critica enters the next phase of development with increasing confidence. asserted
Critica → grow → confidence
Consistency is what separates promising metallurgy from a credible development pathway, and Critica has now demonstrated exactly that. asserted
Critica → separate → that
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? asserted
company → list → something
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