Critica Limited (ASX: CRI) has achieved a significant improvement in the metallurgical processing flowsheet for its Jupiter Rare Earth Project in Western Australia. Independent testwork conducted by three separate laboratories has confirmed that sulphuric acid consumption can be reduced by approximately 30%, lowering requirements from a previous range of 1.4 to 1.6 tonnes down to 1.0 tonne per tonne of feed.

This reduction is a critical component in managing downstream processing expenses, as sulphuric acid represents a major reagent input in the hydrometallurgical circuit. The validation, performed by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), GAVAQ, and AMML, supports the company’s objective to maintain high rare earth recovery rates while systematically decreasing the reagent intensity of the acid bake process.

"Our approach has been to systematically optimise each stage of the Jupiter processing flowsheet and these latest results represent another important step in that programme. With optimisation now demonstrated across beneficiation recovery, concentrate grade and downstream reagent consumption, we continue to strengthen the technical foundations of Jupiter as we finalise the Scoping Study for release in Q3 2026." — Jacob Deysel, CEO

The company is now integrating these metallurgical results into its broader engineering development work. Additional testwork is ongoing to further refine operating parameters across varying feed materials as the project moves toward the delivery of its upcoming scoping study, which remains on track for release in the third quarter of 2026.

Read the full announcement: Jupiter Hydromet Cuts Acid Consumption by Approximately 30%