Critica managing director Philippa Leggat said: Given the outstanding economic potential presented by the high grades at Jupiter, we made the decision to complete this infill drilling program targeting these high-grade areas with a focus on enhancing the certainty of the upcoming maiden Mineral Resource estimate. Critica’s technical team made the remarkable discovery at Jupiter, meaning that all the exploration data is our own and we have not had to rely on the historical information of other parties. This delivers us a high degree of confidence in the quality of the drilling dataset that has been provided to SRK Consulting and the resulting robustness of the pending maiden Mineral Resource estimate for Jupiter.”

Apart from the rapidly growing resource, one of Jupiter’s main selling points is its proximity to critical infrastructure, including highways, ports and even rare earths processing facilities, such as Lynas Rare Earth’s recently opened plant near Kalgoorlie and Iluka Resources’ Eneabba refinery now under development.

Although the rare earths pricing environment is not at its peak at the moment- Lynas recently reported neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) average sales of $48 per kilogram or 75 per cent below 2021 peak prices - Critica remains hopeful of a rebound. The company says prices are starting to bounce back, hinting at a brighter future for the rare earths market overall.

With $8.5 million cash in the bank as of the September quarterly report, the company is in rare financial health to fund its exploration workstream throughout next year and keep the momentum going at Jupiter. There should also be enough money in the till to drill test the extent of mineralisation in the broader 1350 square kilometre Brothers project.

When Critica decided to either sell or farm out nearly all the company’s non-core assets in early 2024 to focus its time, money and resources on the Jupiter project, it may have raised a few eyebrows with its bold decision.

However, with every set of results the company has delivered, the call is starting to look better and better. If the crucial metallurgical studies hang together and the maiden resource comes in well, Critica could be on its way to becoming one of Australia’s most significant clay-hosted rare earths players set to ride the next rare earths and lithium boom.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au