The result marks another milestone in the company’s methodical campaign to strip costs out of the development of the 1.8-billion-tonne Jupiter project, Australia’s largest clay-hosted rare earths resource. At the same time, strong rare earths extraction rates were maintained, demonstrating the lower acid consumption did not come at the expense of metallurgical performance. Sulphuric acid is one of the biggest operating cost drivers in rare earths processing. Federal and state policy initiatives are aimed at securing sovereign supply chains and encouraging lower-cost, Western-aligned rare earths production. While Jupiter remains the company’s flagship project, Critica’s other key project is the Mt Lindsay tin and tungsten project in Tasmania, broadening its exposure beyond rare earths.