Critica's Jupiter Deposit Combines Scale With a Low-Impact Advantage

A pilot process achieving 95% mass rejection has fund managers watching Australia's largest magnet rare earth resource ahead of a key scoping study.

22 Jun 2026 · 2 min read

Critica has built a compelling rare earths story around its Jupiter Deposit in Western Australia, already Australia's largest magnet rare earth resource, with a pilot process achieving 95 percent mass rejection and more than 8 times grade uplift that dramatically cuts the energy, water and chemical intensity typically associated with hard rock rare earths projects.

A dramatically cleaner processing breakthrough

NorthStar Impact Funds said Critica achieved a major milestone with the successful production of a high-quality Mixed Rare Earth Product from its flagship Jupiter Deposit, with pilot results showing around 95 percent mass rejection and more than 8 times grade uplift, meaning most of the mined material never reaches the processing or waste stream, dramatically reducing expected energy, water and chemical intensity per tonne of output relative to traditional hard rock rare earths projects.

The pilot results show ~95% mass rejection and >8x grade uplift, meaning most of the mined material never reaches the processing or waste stream, dramatically reducing expected energy, water, and chemical intensity per tonne of output relative to traditional hard rock rare earths projects.

— NorthStar Impact Funds, Monthly Report, October 2025

Australia's largest magnet REE resource

Lion Selection Group said it invested $0.5 million as part of an $8 million placement announced by Critica in November 2025, conducted at 2.6 cents per share, taking its interest in Critica to 2.4 percent with leveraged performance exposure through attaching options. Lion said Critica's Jupiter rare earth element project, located 50 kilometres west of Mt Magnet in Western Australia, is already Australia's largest magnet rare earth resource, with the company identifying similar mineralisation occurrences within the broader Brothers project tenure.

Critica's Jupiter REE project located 50km west of Mt Magnet in WA is already Australia's largest magnet REE resource, and Critica has identified similar occurrences of mineralisation within the broader Brothers project tenure.

— Lion Selection Group, Quarterly Report, January 2026

A long-term holding built on governance and asset quality

NorthStar Impact Funds called Critica high-grade, low-impact and asymmetric at its current price, a long-term holding drawn by the combination of governance, asset quality and environmental profile, including high grade, low biodiversity impact and limited uranium content, arguing the resource data published to date supports a compelling asymmetric risk profile, with the key catalyst to watch being a scoping study due in September 2026.

High grade, low impact, and asymmetric at this price. What drew me to Critica specifically is the combination of governance, asset quality and environmental profile — high-grade, low-biodiversity, limited uranium. The key catalyst to watch is the scoping study due September 2026.

— NorthStar Impact Funds, Article, June 2026

What fund managers say they are watching next is the scoping study due in September 2026, further exploration success within the broader Brothers project tenure, continued validation of the low-impact processing method's cost and environmental advantages, and how the recent $8 million placement's proceeds are deployed to advance Jupiter.