- 01Axel secures environmental and water clearances for Woolrich ISR trial.
- 02Fieldwork will test magnesium-sulphate leaching of ionic REEs.
- 03Lab tests achieved 97% TREO recovery and produced first MREC.
Axel REE (ASX: AXL) has secured two regulatory clearances for a planned in situ recovery (ISR) field program at the Woolrich rare earth elements deposit within the Caladão rare earth elements and gallium project in Brazil.
A Certificate of Exemption from Environmental Licencing was received from the Minas Gerais State Department of Environment and Sustainable Development, while a three-year Certificate of Registration for Insignificant Water Use was issued by the Instituto Mineiro de Gestão das Águas.
These follow the receipt of formal state government support for Caladão earlier this month through a project-specific Protocol of Intent.
Managing director Dr Patience Mpofu said the clearances marked an important step in advancing the Woolrich program, which will evaluate magnesium sulphate-based ISR of ionic rare earth mineralisation in the field rather than in the laboratory.
Axel remains responsible for confirming municipal requirements and obtaining any other authorisations that may be needed such as approvals relating to permanent preservation areas or vegetation clearance.
Priority REE Deposit
The Caladão project hosts a global mineral resource estimate of 708.6 million tonnes at 1,443ppm total rare earth oxides (TREO) and a separate gallium MRE of 575.68Mt at 37.05ppm, providing a resource context for proposed extraction and processing studies.
Woolrich is considered to be Axel’s priority deposit for the development and field validation of its proposed magnesium sulphate ISR pathway, with a resource estimate of 264.6Mt at 1,101 parts per million TREO including a maiden 110.1Mt indicated resource at 1,073ppm TREO.
The planned ISR field program forms part of the company’s strategy to assess the potential application of magnesium sulphate leaching to Woolrich’s ionic adsorption clay REE mineralisation.
It will test whether the leaching response demonstrated in column work can be repeated consistently in the ground while also examining hydraulic response, operating parameters, and the behaviour of the mineralised profile at larger scale.
First MREC Production
Axel recently produced its first mixed rare earth carbonate (MREC) from laboratory-scale leach solutions at Woolrich, marking a new processing milestone after a substantial resource upgrade.
Testing recovered 97% of TREO and 99% of mixed rare earth oxides from solution through precipitation without a dedicated impurity removal stage, suggesting a potentially simpler processing route.
The MREC contained 34.1% neodymium and praseodymium oxides, along with 1.75% dysprosium and terbium oxides as proportions of TREO, with uranium at 0.78ppm and thorium at 0.10ppm.
"We are advancing Caladão step by step, and the field program results will generate important technical data to inform future ISR operations," Ms Mpofu said.
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