Axel REE (ASX: AXL) has announced breakthrough metallurgical results from auger drilling at the Woolrich in-situ leach (ISL) target within the Caladão Project in Brazil.
Best intercepts included 10 metres @ 590 parts per million soluble total rare earth oxides (TREO) from 5m ending with 457ppm, 4m @ 514ppm soluble TREO from 12m ending with 629ppm, and 7m @ 352ppm soluble TREO from 5m ending with 454ppm.
The company said the results confirm the presence of a genuine ionic-adsorption clay (IAC) system amenable to simple, low-cost in-situ leaching, and provide a strong foundation for advancing technical studies toward a potential in-situ development concept.
Leach Test Results
Axel REE reported that magnesium sulphate leach tests returned soluble rare earth grades comparable to those produced at the Malaysian Gerik in-situ leach operation.
The company observed higher soluble grades at depth in several holes, which aligns with the enrichment pattern typical of ionic clay systems.
Non-executive chair Paul Dickson said the results showed encouraging validation of the company’s IAC and ISL concept at Caladão, noting that the magnet-rich assemblage places Axel “in a strong position within the ionic clay peer group.”
The Woolrich target displays a magnet-heavy rare earth assemblage with approximately 40% neodymium–praseodymium and 42% magnet rare earth oxides within soluble total rare earth grades.
Axel noted that deeper drilling consistently terminated within mineralisation, indicating the potential for higher average soluble grades as programs advance, while the geological setting features favourable regolith and topographic conditions for ISL.
Favourable Product Basket
Axel emphasised that successful ionic clay operations demonstrate viability through low capital intensity, low operating costs and a favourable product basket rather than high grades alone.
The company believes that the leaching behaviour observed in the first batch of samples supports further investment in in-situ leach-oriented exploration, and plans to extend leaching tests across additional drill sites to define areas with higher soluble grades and magnet-rich assemblages.
The company will then integrate the leach results with geological and regolith data to refine domain models and identify the most prospective zones for drilling.
Further technical work will focus on delineating the ionic clay horizon and generating data required for subsequent development studies.
