Australian Strategic Materials Limited has released encouraging testwork results from its Dubbo Project in New South Wales, highlighting promising recoveries of both light and heavy rare earth elements using a heap leach process. The company’s recent Rare Earth Options Assessment has focused on evaluating a lower-capital, more expeditious pathway for processing its rare earth ore. Initial metallurgical tests on samples from three different parts of the Toongi deposit—identified as HLC-West, HLC-Central, and HLC-East—demonstrated that selected leaching parameters provide substantial recoveries. For instance, tests on the HLC-West composite, which represents approximately eight to 10 years of ore, achieved neodymium recoveries of about 80%, praseodymium up to 85%, terbium around 44%, and dysprosium near 38% when using a 12.5 mm crush size with a starting hydrochloric acid concentration of 50kg per tonne. The testing indicates that crush sizes between 12.5 mm to 25 mm are optimal for recovery, with the finer sizes showing notable advantages over a coarser 25 mm size. The recovery improvement is particularly significant for heavy rare earth elements, where increased recovery percentages result from the more efficient extraction achieved with the finer crush size and higher acid concentration. Similar rapid leaching behavior—often reaching final recoveries within 18 to 20 days—was observed in both HLC-Central and HLC-East composites, although optimal parameters varied slightly among the zones. While the HLC-Central composite performed best at a 25 mm crush size with higher acid concentration, the HLC-East composite again leaned towards the finer 12.5 mm crush size to maximize recovery efficiencies. The results underscore that the simpler heap leach process adopted by Australian Strategic Materials Limited could eliminate several capital-intensive processing steps traditionally used in the industry. The approach is expected to reduce both capital and operating costs substantially, making it easier to progress into a phased development strategy. The initial operating phase would focus on the production of separated rare earth oxides, including those subject to Chinese export controls, with the potential to deliver early revenue and support further funding or offtake discussions. In light of the findings, upcoming testwork will advance to column leaching studies later this month, extending the investigation to deeper zones of the deposit. This next phase will help refine the technical parameters and further validate the economic viability of a phased project development. The company is also preparing a detailed Heap Leach Scoping Study due early next quarter that will evaluate the benefits of a low-capex, simplified processing flowsheet against the industry’s more energy and cost-intensive methods. From an investment sentiment perspective, the news offers bullish elements, with robust initial recoveries, a streamlined and lower-cost process option, and a clear plan for phased development that could facilitate easier funding opportunities and earlier revenue generation. On the bearish side, uncertainties remain as the project moves from laboratory-scale testing to larger-scale column tests, and challenges related to optimizing heavy rare earth recoveries—in particular potential interference from iron extraction—still need to be addressed. This mix of promising technical performance along with ongoing development risks is likely to shape market sentiment in the near term.