Critical Metals confirms metallurgical test work results at Tanbreez support refinery JV, Romania

Critical Metals Corp. [Nasdaq: CRML], a leading critical minerals mining company, today announced that the historical pilot work done by AMTEC/ALS for the Tanbreeze Project, Greenland, has been successfully replicated in the 2025 test work program undertaken at Fremantle Metallurgy laboratories under the review of independent consultant Professor Tony Tang. Professor Tony Tang utilized a duplicate ore sample to that used in the original 2016 Tanbreez study.

“We are proud to receive more compelling results from our test work at Tanbreez, which continues to underscore the opportunities ahead for Critical Metals,” said Tony Sage, CEO and Chairman of Critical Metals. “This test work advances our plans for a pilot plant, which is a key milestone in the commercial roadmap for both Tanbreez and the rare earth refinery through our Romanian JV. Critical Metals Corp.’s integrated mine-to-metals approach, positions us as one of the only companies advancing a fully Western-aligned rare earth supply chain focused on security of supply and strategic independence.”

During the replication of the 2016 metallurgical work completed by ALS/AMTEC, the laboratory team confirmed the original process flow sheet and demonstrated the ability to separate eudialyte, arfvedsonite, and feldspar into high-grade concentrates using a dry magnetic separation route. A second phase of the program applied the latest 2025 magnetic recovery technology from a leading global supplier of magnetic separation systems. The multistage, multi-roller high-intensity permanent rare-earth magnetic circuit—operating at more than 12,000 gauss—achieved an ultra-clean eudialyte final concentrate by further removing residual gangue material and generating a high-quality TREEs (Total Rare Earth Elements) concentrate. In addition, the process produced a secondary mixed concentrate containing significant TREEs that had not been recoverable using earlier generations of technology.

A complete metallurgical and elemental analysis of all rare earth elements was conducted by two independent laboratories to ensure accuracy, validate the results, and mitigate any potential laboratory-specific bias.

The successful application of the new high-gauss polishing roller technology has now been demonstrated and will be incorporated into the updated process flowsheet. This technology will also be replicated in the larger Proof-of-Concept Pilot Plant currently being procured by Critical Metals Corp.

The scalable Proof-of-Concept Pilot Plant is designed to process 300-500kg per hour of Tanbreez Kakortokite ore, reflecting run-of-mine (ROM) feed conditions and providing design data for the final production plant. Weekly production of 10-ton batches of eudialyte concentrate will serve as pre-production material for offtake partners, enabling them to customize their refinery circuits from mid-2026 onward. Once pre-production concentrate targets have been met, the Pilot Plant will be deployed in Greenland to support the training of Greenlandic operators and mining students in concentrator and mine operations. Both initiatives are subject to the Greenland Government’s approval.

The Proof-of-Concept Pilot Plant will be a fully scalable facility incorporating with crushers, screens, magnetic separators and an onsite analytical laboratory. Critical Metals Corp expects the Proof-of-Concept Pilot Plant will commence operations during the second quarter of 2026.

Design data generated from the Proof-of-Concept Pilot Plant, operating at a 1:200 scale, will provide the basis for accurate final plant engineering and eliminate the typical scalability uncertainties that arise when moving directly from laboratory testing to full-scale design. This approach ensures that the Tanbreez project is engineered to operate at a run-of-mine (ROM) feed rate of 100 tons per hour, supported by pilot-plant performance data collected over at least one full year prior to commissioning the commercial-scale facility.

The updated results and design enhancements incorporating the new processing technology will now be integrated into the project’s economic modelling and feasibility study. This work is intended to position the Tanbreez project as a leading global source of high-grade rare earth concentrate for the planned joint-venture refinery to be developed in Romania by CRML and Nuclearelectrica, near Brașov in central Romania. The resulting concentrate is expected to enable the JV refinery to produce high-purity rare earth salts and metals (targeting 99.99% to 99.9995% purity), as well as advanced materials such as aerospace- and defense-grade permanent magnets to support NATO and EU supply chain requirements.

The Tanbreez ore is expected to produce a concentrate containing a suite of valuable critical minerals, including Zn, Ga, Rb, Sr, Y, Zr, Nb, La, Ce, and Hf. Several of these elements—particularly the rare earth elements and certain high-value specialty metal compounds—can command prices ranging from approximately US$300/kg to more than US$26,000/kg, depending on purity and market conditions.

Critical Metals Corp (Nasdaq: CRML) is a leading mining development company focused on critical metals and minerals, and producing strategic products essential to electrification and next-generation technologies for Europe and its Western world partners. Its flagship Project, Tanbreez, is one of the world’s largest, rare-earth deposits and is located in Southern Greenland. The deposit is expected to have access to key transportation outlets as the area features year-round direct shipping access via deep water fjords that lead directly to the North Atlantic Ocean.

Another key asset is the Wolfsberg Lithium Project located in Carinthia, 270 km south of Vienna, Austria. The Wolfsberg Lithium Project is the first fully permitted mine in Europe and is strategically located with access to established road and rail infrastructure and is expected to be the next major producer of key lithium products to support the European market.

Wolfsberg is well positioned with offtake and downstream partners to become a unique and valuable asset in an expanding geostrategic critical metals portfolio.