Highlights

  • ABx achieved over 70% extraction rates for dysprosium (Dy) and terbium (Tb) in ANSTO diagnostic leach tests.

  • ANSTO remains on schedule to deliver a Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate (MREC) sample in Q4 2025.

  • ABx shares rose 95.1% to AUD 0.08 during trading on 3 September 2025.

ABx Group Limited (ASX:ABX) has announced successful diagnostic leach test results from its Deep Leads rare earth project in northern Tasmania, with testing conducted by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO). The results indicate high recovery of critical heavy rare earth elements and progress towards the production of a Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate (MREC) sample later this year.

Shares in ABx traded 95.1% higher at AUD 0.08 during the session on 3 September 2025 following the announcement.

Diagnostic Leach Test Results

ANSTO completed diagnostic leach tests on sub-samples of a 100-kilogram bulk sample of ionic adsorption clay (IAC) rare earth material from Deep Leads. Tests were carried out at pH levels of 4.0, 4.5, and 4.7 to assess extraction performance under progressively less acidic conditions.

The results demonstrated greater than 70% extraction of dysprosium (Dy) and terbium (Tb), two of the most in-demand heavy rare earth elements. Extractions were consistent across pH 4.0 and 4.5, and only marginally lower at pH 4.7. The findings confirm that the Deep Leads deposit can be effectively leached above pH 4, reducing impurities and reagent costs while enabling more environmentally benign processing.

These results are consistent with ABx’s internal testing and reinforce ANSTO’s earlier findings, which highlighted Deep Leads as exhibiting some of the highest extractions under near-neutral conditions reported from any clay-hosted rare earth resource in Australia.

Next Steps and Customer Engagement

The next stage of the testing program will involve slurry tests, which will evaluate leaching performance under higher solids loading. The overall program remains on track, with ANSTO expected to deliver a high-purity MREC sample in Q4 2025.

Prospective customers, including rare earth refineries, are awaiting the results and composition of the MREC. ABx has already signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Ucore Rare Metals Inc. (TSXV:UCU; OTCQX:UURAF), a company developing rare-earth processing facilities in North America, and continues discussions with additional potential offtake partners.

Strategic Importance of the Deep Leads Project

Producing MREC samples with high proportions of Dy and Tb is considered a critical milestone for ABx, given the supply risk associated with these elements. The company’s Deep Leads–Rubble Mound–Wind Break resource contains an estimated 89 million tonnes averaging 844 ppm total rare earth oxides (TREO), with Dy and Tb representing 4.4% of TREO—the highest ionic proportion of any clay-hosted rare earth resource in Australia and among the highest globally.

The resource also contains approximately 36 ppm Dy+Tb, positioning ABx to deliver a high-value product with potentially favourable cost and impurity profiles.

With the latest ANSTO test results confirming the extraction potential under benign conditions, ABx continues to progress its strategy of advancing the Deep Leads project toward development.