Mount Ridley lifts rare earth, scandium recoveries as trademarked Selectro cuts reagent dose
Original announcement by stockhead on
- Company
- Mount Ridley Mines
- Ticker
- MRD
- Exchange
- Unavailable
- Region
- Western Australia
- Primary commodity
- Rare earth
- Secondary commodities
- Scandium, Gallium
- Document categories
- Metallurgy, Resource update
- Extracted
- 2026-09-17 01:03:13 UTC
Analysis by Minestarters Atlas
Minestarters Atlas analysis
Summary
Mount Ridley Mines reported improved metallurgical recoveries for scandium (91.8%) and rare earths (HREE 84%, LREE 77%) using its proprietary Selectro leach process. Notably, these improvements were achieved while halving the reagent dose compared to previous tests, suggesting significant potential for cost optimization.
Reasoning: The metallurgical results show strong technical progress with improved recoveries and significantly reduced reagent consumption, though gallium recovery saw a decline.
Positive factors
- Significant increase in scandium recovery to 91.8%
- Improved rare earth recoveries (HREE 84%, LREE 77%)
- Achieved results while halving reagent dose, indicating significant cost-saving potential
- Proprietary Selectro process outperforming hydrochloric acid baseline
Negative factors
- Gallium recovery declined from 55.8% to 41.5%
Facts used in scoring: 6
Classification and evidence
High Recoverypositive
Recovery at or above the exceptional band for the commodity and processing route.
Why it applies: Scandium recovery reached 91.8% which is exceptional for the commodity.
Evidence · text
“lifts scandium recovery to a program-high of 91.8%”
Mill Routeneutral
Processing via mill or concentrator (CIL, CIP, tank leach, flotation).
Why it applies: The testing involves a leach process (Selectro) and upcoming flotation.
Evidence · text
“proprietary Selectro leach process”
Inferred Resourcenegative
Speculative category — limited drilling, geological continuity assumed but not confirmed. Cannot support economic studies alone.
Why it applies: The project holds an inferred scandium resource.
Evidence · text
“holds an inferred scandium resource of 946Mt”
Cut-off Disclosedpositive
Cut-off grade used for resource reporting is clearly stated, enabling like-for-like comparison.
Why it applies: A current resource fact retains the disclosed cut-off grade
Single Domain Onlynegative
Testing limited to one composite or domain — representativeness not established.
Why it applies: only one composite was tested
Extracted facts
Stored fact records: 6. Some facts used in scoring do not have a stored record.
Resource Estimates (2)
inferredGrass Patch · scandiumTonnes: 946000000Grade: 50.1Grade Unit: ppmContained Metal: 47357Contained Unit: tView all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- Grass Patch
- Commodity
- scandium
- Region
- australia_wa
- Reported Region
- Western Australia
- Ticker
- MRD
Resource scope
- Estimate type
- resource
- Reporting standards
- jorc
- Resource group id
- resource:daf921ec6cf6400f9b6d
Resource Data
- Category
- inferred
- Tonnes
- 946000000
- Grade
- 50.1
- Grade Unit
- ppm
- Contained Metal
- 47357
- Contained Unit
- t
- Cutoff Grade
- 25
- Cutoff Unit
- ppm
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2026-09-17T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: Large inferred scandium resource reported.
Negative factors
- Inferred category
Evidence · text
“Grass Patch project currently holds an inferred scandium resource of 946Mt at 50.1ppm for 47,357t contained scandium at a 25ppm cut-off”
Tags used in scoring
Inferred Resourcenegative
Speculative category — limited drilling, geological continuity assumed but not confirmed. Cannot support economic studies alone.
Why it applies: category is "inferred"
Cut-off Disclosedpositive
Cut-off grade used for resource reporting is clearly stated, enabling like-for-like comparison.
Why it applies: cutoff_grade is stated
JORC Compliantpositive
Resource estimate prepared in compliance with JORC Code (Australia) — high reporting standard.
Why it applies: reporting_standards includes jorc
No QP/CP Disclosurenegative
No Qualified Person or Competent Person named — lower credibility for the estimate. A QP/CP should be a member of a recognized professional association with relevant experience.
Why it applies: no Qualified or Competent Person is named anywhere in the release
inferredGrass Patch · rare earthTonnes: 122546000Grade: 889Grade Unit: ppmContained Metal: 44610Contained Unit: tView all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- Grass Patch
- Commodity
- rare earth
- Region
- australia_wa
- Reported Region
- Western Australia
- Ticker
- MRD
Resource scope
- Estimate type
- resource
- Reporting standards
- jorc
- Resource group id
- resource:c36c910522e002384174
Resource Data
- Category
- inferred
- Tonnes
- 122546000
- Grade
- 889
- Grade Unit
- ppm
- Contained Metal
- 44610
- Contained Unit
- t
- Cutoff Grade
- 300
- Cutoff Unit
- ppm
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2026-09-17T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: HREE-rich rare earth resource reported.
Negative factors
- Inferred category
Evidence · text
“hosts a 122.546Mt HREE-rich rare earth resource at 889ppm TREO, including 364ppm HREO and 44,610t contained HREO, at a 300ppm TREO cut-off”
Tags used in scoring
Inferred Resourcenegative
Speculative category — limited drilling, geological continuity assumed but not confirmed. Cannot support economic studies alone.
Why it applies: category is "inferred"
Cut-off Disclosedpositive
Cut-off grade used for resource reporting is clearly stated, enabling like-for-like comparison.
Why it applies: cutoff_grade is stated
JORC Compliantpositive
Resource estimate prepared in compliance with JORC Code (Australia) — high reporting standard.
Why it applies: reporting_standards includes jorc
No QP/CP Disclosurenegative
No Qualified Person or Competent Person named — lower credibility for the estimate. A QP/CP should be a member of a recognized professional association with relevant experience.
Why it applies: no Qualified or Competent Person is named anywhere in the release
Metallurgical Results (4)
leachGrass Patch · scandiumRecovery: 91.8 %View all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- Grass Patch
- Commodity
- scandium
- Region
- australia_wa
- Reported Region
- Western Australia
- Ticker
- MRD
Test Work
- Program Status
- preliminary
- Test Type
- leach
- Processing Route
- Selectro leach process
- Sample
- Test 3 on unbeneficiated Grass Patch feed
Recovery
- Recovery
- 91.8 %
- Recovery Basis
- actual_test
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2026-09-17T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: Significant increase in scandium recovery to 91.8%.
Positive factors
- Program high recovery
Evidence · text
“lifts scandium recovery to a program-high of 91.8%”
leachGrass Patch · rare earthRecovery: 84 %View all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- Grass Patch
- Commodity
- rare earth
- Region
- australia_wa
- Reported Region
- Western Australia
- Ticker
- MRD
Test Work
- Program Status
- preliminary
- Test Type
- leach
- Processing Route
- Selectro leach process
- Sample
- Test 3 on unbeneficiated Grass Patch feed (HREE)
Recovery
- Recovery
- 84 %
- Recovery Basis
- actual_test
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2026-09-17T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: HREE recovery lifted to 84%.
Positive factors
- Improved HREE recovery
Evidence · text
“lifted average heavy rare earth (HREE) and light rare earth (LREE) recoveries to 84% and 77% respectively”
leachGrass Patch · rare earthRecovery: 77 %View all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- Grass Patch
- Commodity
- rare earth
- Region
- australia_wa
- Reported Region
- Western Australia
- Ticker
- MRD
Test Work
- Program Status
- preliminary
- Test Type
- leach
- Processing Route
- Selectro leach process
- Sample
- Test 3 on unbeneficiated Grass Patch feed (LREE)
Recovery
- Recovery
- 77 %
- Recovery Basis
- actual_test
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2026-09-17T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: LREE recovery lifted to 77%.
Positive factors
- Improved LREE recovery
Evidence · text
“lifted average heavy rare earth (HREE) and light rare earth (LREE) recoveries to 84% and 77% respectively”
leachGrass Patch · galliumRecovery: 41.5 %View all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- Grass Patch
- Commodity
- gallium
- Region
- australia_wa
- Reported Region
- Western Australia
- Ticker
- MRD
Test Work
- Program Status
- preliminary
- Test Type
- leach
- Processing Route
- Selectro leach process
- Sample
- Test 3 on unbeneficiated Grass Patch feed
Recovery
- Recovery
- 41.5 %
- Recovery Basis
- actual_test
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2026-09-17T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: Gallium recovery dropped from 55.8% in Test 2 to 41.5%.
Negative factors
- Recovery drop
Evidence · text
“gallium, which saw recoveries drop from 55.8% in Test 2 to about 41.5%”
How Atlas produces this analysis
Minestarters Atlas uses automated extraction to summarize mining announcements, identify reported measurements, and classify supporting evidence. Sentiment reflects the extracted narrative and classification rules; it is an interpretation, not a reported measurement. Evidence quotes and context are provided where available. Missing data, low-confidence results, and review flags indicate limitations. Check the original publisher announcement before relying on an interpretation.