Victory Metals Confirms Heavy Rare Earths in Secondary Phosphates at North Stanmore

Secondary Phosphates Dominate Critical Rare Earth Hosting

Victory Metals Limited (ASX:VTM) has unveiled detailed mineralogical insights from its North Stanmore Heavy Rare Earth Project near Cue, Western Australia, confirming that the lion’s share of key heavy and magnet rare earth elements reside in secondary phosphate minerals rather than traditional primary hosts. The company’s TESCAN Integrated Mineral Analyser (TIMA) study identified that 86% of dysprosium (Dy) and 82% of terbium (Tb) are contained within churchite and similar secondary phosphate minerals, while 88% of praseodymium (Pr) and 90% of neodymium (Nd) are found in the combined secondary phosphate groups including rhabdophane.

This mineralogical distribution is a marked departure from many rare earth deposits dominated by primary monazite and xenotime minerals, which together comprise only about 1.13% of the analysed concentrate. Instead, North Stanmore’s rare earth value is concentrated in hydrated secondary phosphates formed through prolonged natural weathering, a factor that Victory Metals says could simplify processing.

Distinctive Weathered Mineralogy Offers Processing Advantages

Primary monazite and xenotime are anhydrous, crystalline minerals requiring energy-intensive mineral cracking prior to leaching. In contrast, the secondary phosphate mineralogy at North Stanmore, comprising 5.93% of the concentrate mass, is hydrated and potentially more amenable to selective leaching without harsh pre-treatment.

Victory’s CEO Brendan Clark highlighted this as a "powerful point of differentiation," noting that the mineralogy supports a flotation-led beneficiation approach followed by selective hydrometallurgical treatment. This strategy aims to reject gangue minerals such as quartz and feldspar early, reducing the volume of material requiring leaching and downstream processing complexity.

Flotation Concentrate Mineralogy Supports Beneficiation Strategy

The TIMA study, conducted by ALS Metallurgy on a concentrate from Victory’s pilot plant, showed that churchite and rhabdophane secondary phosphates dominate the rare earth deportment. Churchite hosts most of the heavy rare earths Dy and Tb, while rhabdophane carries the bulk of the magnet rare earths Nd and Pr.

Gangue minerals are favourably dominated by feldspar rather than reactive carbonates, potentially reducing acid consumption during hydrometallurgical processing. These findings underpin the company’s wet screening and flotation beneficiation approach, which has already delivered a 59-fold upgrade to a 7.1% total rare earth oxide (TREO) concentrate, as reported recently.

Advancing Pre-Feasibility Study with Focus on Metallurgical Validation

While the TIMA deportment results provide a strong mineralogical foundation, Victory Metals acknowledges uncertainties remain, particularly for elements like Tb and Dy. The company plans further analytical work and metallurgical testing to refine phase compositions and confirm processing responses.

These results feed directly into the ongoing Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS), aiming to validate the technical and economic viability of North Stanmore as a long-term supplier of critical rare earths. The project’s 320.6 million tonne Mineral Resource Estimate, enriched in heavy rare earth oxides with a 38% HREO/TREO ratio, positions it strategically within Western Australia’s growing rare earth sector.