Axel REE’s world-class gallium resource at Caladão is a Brazilian first with plenty of upside

• Axel REE defines 100Mt at 42ppm gallium resource at its Caladão project in Brazil
• Resource is contained in lateritic soils within Area A of the project
• Upside could come from mineralisation in Area B and broader untested areas

Special Report: Axel REE has highlighted the value of its Caladão project in Brazil with the definition of a world-class gallium resource of 100Mt grading 42ppm of the critical mineral in lateritic soils.

Gallium is essential for various defence applications such as military grade electronics, semiconductors, radar and satellites, high frequency communication systems and infra-red optics.

Supply is dominated by China, which is responsible for ~94% of global supplies and had slapped a ban on exports in December 2024.

This makes Axel REE’s (ASX:AXL) 4200t contained gallium resource at Caladão a potentially big deal as it could offer a future alternative to Chinese supplies.

It also represents Brazil’s first and one of few in-situ gallium discoveries worldwide that’s not associated with alumina or bauxite processing.

“The exceptional maiden gallium resource we have defined at Caladão is unique, with its own discrete layer of mineralisation at surface,” non-executive chairman Paul Dickson said.

“We started our first drill campaign in August 2024, only a month after listing on the ASX and identified the gallium layer in December 2024 following a review of the assays from this phase of drilling.

“To deliver a world-class gallium MRE has been the result of a lot of hard work from the Axel team and we thank them for their tireless efforts.”

Gallium resource

The gallium resource at Caladão was delineated from surface and limited to the lateritic cover averaging ~10m depth at Area A using a 35ppm cut-off.

It covers an area of about 33km2 and does not include Area B.

Drilling and sampling to date have outlined a mineralised footprint of ~65km2 – or about 20% of the project area – with consistent near-surface REE and gallium grades across both areas.Initial testwork by ANSTO has confirmed ionic adsorption clay REE that desorb under ammonium sulphate and NaCl leach conditions, with additional acid-leach tests indicating gallium recoverability.

Dickson notes that while the resource defined in Area A already establishes Caladão as a standout gallium deposit, it does not factor in the upside from Area B, where results to date indicate similar, if not superior, potential as Area A.

“We are confident that the maiden gallium MRE from Area B will expand an already world-class resource base,” he added.

“We have only completed drilling across ~20% of the mineralised area at our Caladão project, so we remain very optimistic that this is only the beginning of a globally significant deposit.”

A maiden REE resource is nearing completion while test work is underway to develop low-cost recovery processes for REE and gallium.

This article was developed in collaboration with Axel REE, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.