Atlas Critical Minerals Achieves Up To 97% Rare Earth Recovery in Brazil Tests
Atlas Critical Minerals Corporation (NASDAQ:ATCX) ("Atlas Critical Minerals" or "Company"), a company focused on critical minerals for energy, technology, and defense applications, is pleased to announce high metallurgical recoveries from initial testwork on samples from its 100%-owned Alto do Paranaíba Project ("Project") in Minas Gerais state, Brazil. The testwork was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the Altilium Ti/REE Process™ (pat. pend.) for extracting rare earths elements ("REE") into leach solution and upgrading titanium ("Ti") into leach residue. Testing was directed by a Qualified Person under Item 1300 of Regulation S-K from Altilium Group Limited. Results demonstrated exceptional REE extraction rates, indicating strong potential amenability for commercial processing.
Outstanding Rare Earths Extraction: Leaching achieved 97.0% extraction for Magnetic Rare Earths Elements (MREE), 95.2% for Light Rare Earths Elements (LREE), 93.8% for Total Rare Earths Elements plus Yttrium (TREY), and 83.9% for Heavy Rare Earths Elements (HREE);
Titanium Concentration Upgrade: 97% of the titanium dioxide (TiO₂) reported to the leach residue, concentrating from 13.4% to 26.0%, indicating potential for titanium by-product enrichment; and
Amenable Mineralization: The Project's mineralization responded strongly to leaching, supporting the potential feasibility of processing the Project's ores for commercial rare earths recovery with titanium recovery as a byproduct.
Metallurgical Extraction Results
A 50 kg composite, considered representative of the mineralization of the Project's Block 1 properties, was processed at the Lakefield, Canada, analytical laboratory of SGS Canada Inc. ("SGS"), a premier mineral evaluation company. Head samples were air-dried, milled to 100% passing 0.5 mm, and subjected to chemical and mineralogical characterization. Two sighter leach tests using nitric acid (HNO₃) were completed:
- Leach 1: Direct acid leach on the as-milled sample.
- Leach 2: Thermal pre-treatment (roasting) followed by acid leach.
Element suites assayed included Al, Ca, Co, Cr, Fe, Ga, Mg, Mn, Ni, S, Sc, Si, Ti, and rare earths elements.
The following table summarizes the rare earths extraction rates achieved:
| TEST | TREY (%) | LREE (%) | MREE (%) | HREE (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leach 1 (Direct) | 57.7 | 57.1 | 62.1 | 63.4 |
| Leach 2 (Roasted) | 93.8 | 95.2 | 97.0 | 83.9 |
As observed from the table. Leach 2 delivered near-complete extraction of magnetic rare earths elements and strong recoveries across all rare earths groupings.
"These highly encouraging metallurgical results represent a significant step forward for our Alto do Paranaíba Project," stated Marc Fogassa, Chairman and CEO of Atlas Critical Minerals. "Achieving 97% extraction of magnetic rare earths elements is an important milestone. We believe our results to date indicate that the mineralization is amenable to processing, a key factor for the Project's economic potential."
Initial Drilling Campaign Results
An initial auger drilling program across several Project areas comprised 13 holes totaling 144 meters. A total of 178 samples were analyzed, including approximately 22% QA/QC control samples. Drilling intercepted near-surface, high-grade mineralization, including the following highlights:
- DHTI-001: 12m @ 5,961 ppm Total Rare Earths Oxides (TREO); 1,690 ppm Magnetic Rare Earths Oxides (MREO); 13.3% TiO₂
- DHTI-002: 6m @ 7,729 ppm TREO; 2,680 ppm MREO; 12.5% TiO₂
- DHTI-003: 3m @ 4,713 ppm TREO; 1,311 ppm MREO; 12.9% TiO₂
- DHCA-00001: 4.3m @ 4,706 ppm TREO; 1,124 ppm MREO; 15.1% TiO₂
- DHCA-00002: 7m @ 3,442 ppm TREO; 821 ppm MREO; 15.9% TiO₂
- DHCA-00003: 6m @ 3,396 ppm TREO; 812 ppm MREO; 11.2% TiO₂
- DHPM-00002: 6m @ 3,007 ppm TREO; 682 ppm MREO; 14.0% TiO₂
- DHPM-00003: 5m @ 3,129 ppm TREO; 716 ppm MREO; 13.0% TiO₂
- DHLF-00001: 6m @ 3,275 ppm TREO; 754 ppm MREO; 13.8% TiO₂
Surface Sampling Highlights
Surface sampling results from across the Project area demonstrated consistently high grades, including the following highlights:
- 28,870 ppm TREO; 7,493 ppm MREO; 16.5% TiO₂ (Sample STG-000014)
- 16,152 ppm TREO; 3,915 ppm MREO; 6.1% TiO₂ (Sample ATI-089)
- 6,405 ppm TREO; 1,643 ppm MREO; 18.6% TiO₂ (Sample SPJ-00008)
- 5,142 ppm TREO; 1,089 ppm MREO; 23.2% TiO₂ (Sample SVV-00003)