Axel REE (ASX: AXL) reported a substantial expansion of its rare earth and gallium resource base during the December 2025 quarter, driven by a maiden mineral resource estimate (MRE) at Area B of its Caladão project in Brazil.
The updated estimates lift Caladão to a combined 572 million tonnes at 1,506 parts per million total rare earth oxides and 439Mt at 38ppm gallium, representing increases of 145 per cent and 339 per cent respectively over the previous resource.
Axel said the scale and growth of the resource, achieved across only about 35 per cent of the project area, confirms Caladão as a district-scale ionic clay-hosted rare earth and gallium system.
The quarter also delivered a metallurgical breakthrough at the Woolrich target, where in-situ leach testing confirmed strong soluble rare earth grades—supporting the potential for a low-capital, low-operating-cost development pathway.
Continued Resource Expansion
The maiden Area B mineral resource estimate defined 339Mt at 1,075ppm total rare earth oxides and 36.6ppm gallium, while adding three new deposits at Marambaia, Tiger Creek, and Woolrich.
When combined with the existing Area A resource, Caladão now hosts one of the largest primary gallium inventories reported globally, alongside a large ionic clay rare earth system.
Metallurgical testing at the Woolrich target demonstrated strong amenability to magnesium sulphate leaching, with soluble rare earth grades averaging about 464ppm and a magnet rare earth oxide proportion of roughly 42 per cent.
These soluble grades are comparable to those achieved at operating in-situ leach rare earth operations in Malaysia, confirm the technical foundation for progressing an in-situ recovery development concept at Caladão.
Advancing ISR Strategy
The company has commenced further drilling at Woolrich to delineate zones of highest soluble rare earth grades and to collect additional hydrogeological data to support in-situ recovery (ISR) design.
Axel is also undertaking a specialised soluble rare earth resource estimation to quantify the portion of the resource most amenable to in-situ leaching and to support feasibility-level studies.
Work programs are underway to refine leaching parameters, generate representative mixed rare earth carbonate samples for customer qualification, and compile cost and pricing inputs for integrated life-of-mine modelling.
These steps are intended to underpin the design and permitting of a pilot in-situ recovery trial at Woolrich as the next stage of project advancement.
Exploration Upside At Caladão And Caldas
During the quarter, Axel was granted three new exploration licences totalling 867 hectares adjacent to the Area A resource, extending its footprint within the Caladão Lithium Valley district.
The company commenced a 49-hole auger drilling program across these licences to test for gallium-rich laterite and rare earth-enriched saprolite, with initial observations described as encouraging.
At the Caldas rare earth project in Minas Gerais, auger drilling expanded the near-surface mineralised footprint across multiple prospects around the Poços de Caldas alkaline complex.
Results confirmed broad zones of clay-hosted rare earth mineralisation with elevated magnet rare earth content, reinforcing Caldas as a district-scale ionic adsorption clay target and supporting plans to define an initial exploration target following completion of drilling.
Brazilian Funding Runway
Axel ended the December quarter with $7.1 million in cash, providing funding runway to continue exploration and technical studies across its Brazilian portfolio.
During the quarter, Aidan Nania was appointed as a non-executive director following the resignation of Ian Kiers, strengthening the board as the company enters its next phase of growth.
With a background in corporate strategy across the resources sector, Axel expects Mr Nania’s appointment to assist it through its next phase of development.
Axel remains focused on advancing Caladão toward a modular ISR development while continuing to unlock further rare earth and gallium growth across its broader landholding in Brazil.
