Key Highlights

  • Critica (ASX:CRI) achieved up to 91.9% gallium and 84.7% scandium extraction in metallurgical testwork on its Jupiter Rare Earth Elements Project.
  • Gallium extraction improved from about 63% previously reported, though extraction is not the same as final product recovery.
  • The Jupiter Scoping Study delivered an after-tax NPV8 of about A$2.0 billion, with no value attributed to gallium or scandium.
  • Downstream resin adsorption testwork is underway to assess selectivity and recovery of separate gallium and scandium products.

Critica Limited (ASX:CRI) reported on 9 November 2026 significant progress in its assessment of recovering gallium and scandium as by-products from its 100%-owned Jupiter Rare Earth Elements Project in Western Australia. The results relate to the leach stage of the process, and the company says the by-products are not included in the Economics of its existing scoping study. The work is focused on whether these metals could become an additional value stream for the project.

The Testwork Results

The leach testwork achieved extraction of up to 91.9% for gallium and 84.7% for scandium. Critica says gallium extraction has materially improved from about 63% reported previously. The company stresses that these figures represent the proportion of each metal transferred into solution during leaching, and not final product recoveries.

Gallium and scandium report to the same product stream as rare earth elements, so their separation is a key step. Downstream resin adsorption testwork is underway to assess how selectively the metals can be separated and recovered as distinct products.

The Resource Context

The company reports a 160-million-tonne Indicated Resource containing about 6,400 tonnes of gallium oxide and 7,200 tonnes of scandium oxide. The 1.5-billion-tonne Inferred Resource contains about 60,000 tonnes of gallium oxide and 54,000 tonnes of scandium oxide, based on rounded tonnages and grades.

Both metals are described as critical minerals with applications in advanced technologies, energy and defence. The resource figures are presented as an endowment, not as an estimate of recoverable quantities.

Placing the gallium and scandium figures in context is useful because they describe the in-ground endowment rather than recoverable tonnes. The resources are reported for the project as a whole, and the by-product figures are derived from rounded tonnages and grades. Recovery into saleable products would require the extraction achieved in leach testwork to carry through separation and purification. The company says the resin work is designed to test that step, and until it is complete the figures remain an indication of potential rather than a measure of product.

What the Figures Do Not Show

The scoping study’s after-tax NPV8 of about A$2.0 billion excludes any value for gallium or scandium, so the figures are not yet reflected in the project economics. Any future contribution would depend on the separation work, the processing route and the market prices of the two metals.

Inferred resources carry lower geological confidence, and the company has not yet confirmed that the metals can be recovered as saleable products. Extraction results alone do not establish a commercial process, and additional testwork is required before any value is attributed.

Final Word

Critica has moved gallium and scandium from a possible by-product to a subject of active testwork, and the extraction figures are the most concrete results so far. The project economics do not yet include these metals, and the separation and recovery stages remain open questions. The next test will be the resin adsorption work and whether it produces separable, saleable products.

Until the separation stage is reported, the gallium and scandium opportunity remains a question for future testwork, and investors will need the company’s updated economics to see whether any value is attributed to these metals.