ANSTO Testwork Doubles Gallium Recovery and Unveils Scandium Potential at Caladão

Breakthrough in Gallium Recovery

Axel REE Limited (ASX – AXL) has announced a significant advancement in its metallurgical testwork at the Caladão Project in Brazil. Recent tests conducted by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) have doubled the gallium extraction rate from approximately 25% to around 50% using oxalic acid leaching on composite samples from diamond drill hole DDH-036. This leap represents a meaningful improvement in the potential economics of the project’s gallium product stream.

Notably, gallium recovery continued to increase even after 72 hours of leaching, suggesting that the process has not yet reached its maximum efficiency. This opens the door for further optimisation and scale-up opportunities, which could enhance the overall recovery rates and commercial viability.

Scandium Emerges as a Valuable Co-Product

In an unexpected but strategically important development, the ANSTO testwork also confirmed the presence of scandium in the leach solutions. Scandium is a high-value critical metal with applications in aerospace, defence, advanced manufacturing, and solid oxide fuel cells. Its spot price currently hovers around US$3,200 per kilogram, underscoring its economic significance.

The ability to co-extract scandium alongside gallium from the shallow oxidised horizons at Caladão introduces a potentially lucrative co-product credit. This discovery aligns well with Axel’s multi-product development strategy, which aims to leverage both rare earth elements and critical metals to maximise project value.

Strategic Development and Next Steps

Axel’s Non-Executive Chairman, Paul Dickson, emphasised the importance of these results, highlighting that the findings could support a standalone processing operation for gallium and scandium independent of the rare earth mineralisation targeted by in situ recovery trials. The company is advancing parallel workstreams – progressing the Woolrich rare earth wellfield towards modular, low capital and operating expenditure in situ recovery trials, while simultaneously conducting optimisation and downstream recovery studies for gallium and scandium extraction.

To further this effort, Axel has engaged Core Resources, a Brisbane-based metallurgical project development firm, to conduct follow-up testwork on new composites from Area B of the Caladão Project. This work will evaluate zones with reported gallium grades up to 100 ppm and scandium grades up to 20 ppm, potentially supporting a dedicated gallium-scandium mineral resource estimate.

Caladão’s Growing Resource Base

The Caladão Project already boasts a substantial inferred resource of 572 million tonnes of rare earth elements and 439 million tonnes of gallium-bearing material. The addition of scandium as a recoverable co-product enhances the project’s profile as a globally significant source of critical metals outside China, a market currently dominated by a limited number of suppliers.

Axel’s approach focuses on low-impact, modular in situ recovery of ionic rare earths using magnesium sulphate leaching, complemented by a parallel process targeting gallium and scandium from near-surface oxidised material. This dual strategy aims to unlock multiple revenue streams while minimising environmental disturbance and capital intensity.

Looking Ahead

While these laboratory results are promising, the company acknowledges that further optimisation and scale-up studies are essential to confirm commercial viability. The ongoing collaboration with Core Resources and the planned in situ recovery trials will be critical milestones in advancing the Caladão Project towards production.