Nordique Critical Metals reports over 95% rare-earth leaching and a simpler plant design

what happened

Nordique Critical Metals said laboratory tests by L3 Process Development showed leaching efficiency above 95% for neodymium, dysprosium and yttrium in samples from the Kwyjibo project in Quebec. The company said L3 and SMH Process Innovation have developed a revised hydrometallurgical flowsheet that removes several stages included in its 2026 preliminary economic assessment.

According to the company, a simpler plant could need less equipment, energy and capital and operating costs. A continuous rare-earth demonstration plant is targeted to start in the first quarter of 2027. The company is also evaluating whether overall recovery could exceed 80%, compared with about 75% assumed in the 2026 assessment, but this is a preliminary objective not included in the economics.

The company stresses that leaching efficiency is not the same as overall recovery of finished products, and further validation is required.

why it matters

For the rare-earth market, this is a sign of technical progress at a project outside China, but the results are laboratory-scale and preliminary. The project economics rest on a study that includes inferred resources, which carry no demonstrated economic viability.

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instruments