Everest Metals Corporation (EMC) has delivered an engineering scoping study for rubidium extraction at its Mt Edon critical minerals project in Western Australia, pioneering the country’s rubidium industry.
Considered a critical mineral in the US and Japan, Rubidium is known for its use in communication technologies such as ion cloud and fibre optic systems and in energy systems including magnetohydrodynamic power generation and thermionic power conversion.
While there are currently no active Australian rubidium mines, EMC is looking to change this through its Mt Edon critical minerals project.
Considered prospective for rubidium, caesium, lithium and tantalum – the latter of which are considered critical minerals in Australia – Mt Edon is situated in the southern part of the Paynes Find Greenstone Belt.
Mt Edon currently holds a maiden resource of 3.6 million tonnes at 0.22 per cent rubidium oxide, and 0.07 per cent lithium oxide at a 0.10 per cent rubidium oxide cut-off, containing over 7900 tonnes of rubidium oxide. It is considered Australia’s highest-grade rubidium discovery.
Building off this positioning, EMC and Edith Cowan University (ECU) have completed an engineering scoping study for Mt Edon’s rubidium extraction.
EMC’s proprietary direct rubidium extraction technology, developed with ECU’s Mineral Recovery Research Centre, has achieved up to 97 per cent rubidium recovery via optimised beneficiation and leaching.
“Our breakthrough rubidium extraction results showcase the power of our innovative direct rubidium extraction technology, paving the way for Australia’s first rubidium industry in Western Australia,” EMC executive chairman and chief executive officer Mark Caruso said.
“We’re thrilled to collaborate with our partners to scale up the Mt Edon project, unlocking its potential to meet global demand for this critical mineral and drive economic growth.”
EMC plans to conduct additional bench scale and pilot scale testing to validate the direct rubidium extraction technology before it builds a full-scale plant. It will also pursue domestic and international funding to scale up the pilot plant by 2026.
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