Axel REE Reports Woolrich Surge to 265Mt, Caladão Hits 709Mt Resource
Key Takeaways
- The Woolrich deposit has more than doubled in size to 264.6Mt @ 1,101ppm TREO, a 107% tonnage increase on the previous 128Mt entirely Inferred Resource.
- A maiden Indicated Resource of 110.1Mt has been established at Woolrich for the first time, representing 42% of the updated MRE and a meaningful step-up in geological confidence under JORC Code 2012.
- The Woolrich upgrade lifts Caladão's global REE MRE to 708.6Mt @ 1,443ppm TREO — a 24% increase — while the global Gallium MRE grew 31% to 575.7Mt @ 37.05ppm Ga.
- Woolrich is Axel's priority site for its planned in situ recovery (ISR) field validation program, and the higher-confidence Indicated Resource directly supports the hydrogeological and metallurgical integration required to design that program.
- The MRE covers only approximately 50% of the 420km² Caladão Project area, with all four deposits remaining open laterally and at depth, leaving substantial exploration upside unquantified.
Woolrich resource more than doubles as Caladão’s global REE inventory hits 0.71 billion tonnes
The Woolrich deposit at Axel REE’s Caladão Project has more than doubled in size, with an updated Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) of 264.6Mt @ 1,101ppm total rare earth oxides (TREO) and 34.7ppm Gallium, representing a 107% increase in tonnage on the previous 128Mt entirely Inferred Resource.
The upgrade lifts the Caladão global MRE to 708.6Mt @ 1,443ppm TREO, a 24% increase on the prior MRE (per ASX announcement 23 December 2025), while the Gallium MRE has grown 31% to 575.7Mt @ 37.05ppm Ga. Critically, Woolrich is Axel’s priority area for its planned in situ recovery (ISR) field validation program, making this a resource upgrade with direct development implications.
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Q1 FY27 resource upgrade — what the numbers mean
The Woolrich MRE breakdown
Independent consultant GE21 Consultoria Mineral Ltda prepared the updated Woolrich MRE, reported at a 500ppm TREO cut-off grade, with an effective date of 30 July 2026.
| JORC Category | Tonnes (Mt) | TREO (ppm) | Ga (ppm) | NdPr (ppm) | DyTb (ppm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indicated | 110.08 | 1,073 | 35.05 | 197.03 | 13.17 |
| Inferred | 154.51 | 1,120 | 34.48 | 212.33 | 13.90 |
| Total | 264.60 | 1,101 | 34.72 | 205.96 | 13.60 |
Source: GE21, 2026. Effective Date: 30 July 2026.
The headline figure here is not just the scale of the tonnage growth. Approximately 42% of the updated Woolrich MRE is now classified as Indicated, representing the maiden Indicated category at the deposit. That is a meaningful step-change in geological confidence — an Indicated Resource (as defined under the JORC Code 2012) reflects sufficient data to assume geological and grade continuity, providing a firmer foundation for the next phase of technical work. The previous Woolrich MRE was entirely Inferred.
How Woolrich lifts the Caladão project total
The Woolrich upgrade adds substantially to a project that already spans four deposits across a 420km² tenement holding in Minas Gerais, Brazil. The current Caladão global picture:
- Total Caladão REE MRE: 708.6Mt @ 1,443ppm TREO (up 24% on prior MRE per ASX 23 December 2025)
- Total Caladão Gallium MRE: 575.7Mt @ 37.05ppm Ga (up 31%)
- Four deposits: Area A, Marambaia, Tiger Creek, and Woolrich
- MRE covers approximately 50% of the 420km² Caladão Project area
- All four deposits remain open laterally along strike and at depth
The scale of remaining exploration upside — with half the project area yet to be included in any resource estimate — is worth keeping in mind when assessing what these numbers mean for potential project scale.
What is ionic adsorption clay REE and why does ISR matter?
REE mineralisation at Woolrich is ionic clay-hosted. Here is what that means in plain terms: rare earth elements are originally locked inside hard primary minerals such as monazite and xenotime in the underlying granite. During millions of years of tropical weathering, those elements are released and migrate downward through the rock profile. They then adsorb (attach) onto fine aluminosilicate clay minerals, principally kaolinite, illite, and smectite, forming what is known as an ionic clay deposit. The adsorbed REE, sitting loosely on the surface of clay particles, are the extraction target.
This matters because of what it enables: in situ recovery (ISR). Rather than conventional open-pit mining and surface processing, ISR involves injecting a leaching solution underground to dissolve the adsorbed REE in place, then recovering the REE-laden solution at surface. In Axel’s case, the leaching agent is magnesium sulphate. The approach is designed to minimise surface disturbance and reduce capital intensity compared to conventional mining.
The company states that successful field testing would position Axel as a potential first-mover in commercial low-impact ISR REE extraction in Minas Gerais, Brazil — though this outcome is contingent on the field validation program proceeding and delivering positive results. Gallium is co-hosted in aluminous minerals within the lateritic zone, and Axel is investigating recovery methods to improve project economics alongside REE extraction.
ISR development pathway and what comes next
Woolrich as the ISR test bed
The maiden Indicated Resource of 110.1Mt at Woolrich is significant beyond its tonnage contribution. A higher-confidence geological framework integrates more reliably with metallurgical, hydrogeological, and field-scale data, which is precisely what Axel needs as it designs its controlled ISR field validation program.
Managing Director Patience Mpofu commented:
Patience Mpofu, Managing Director
“This is a significant development milestone for the Caladão Project. We have more than doubled the Woolrich Resource to approximately 265 million tonnes and, importantly, established our first 110 million tonnes in the Indicated category.
“The importance of this upgrade goes beyond resource growth. Woolrich is the area we are prioritising for our ISR development program, and the increased geological confidence provides a stronger foundation for integrating our metallurgical, hydrogeological and field data.
“Our previous work has demonstrated encouraging ionic rare earth recoveries under magnesium sulphate leaching conditions…”
Previous metallurgical work referenced in the ASX announcement of 22 June 2026 demonstrated encouraging ionic REE recoveries under magnesium sulphate leaching conditions, providing initial confidence in the ISR approach.
Next milestones on the development roadmap
The forward pathway at Woolrich is structured around building the technical evidence base required before any progression to larger-scale testing. No specific timelines are stated in the announcement. The planned steps are:
- Complete magnesium sulphate leach optimisation
- Complete hydrogeological characterisation at Woolrich
- Design and execute the controlled ISR field validation program at Woolrich
- Use field validation data to inform a decision on progression to larger-scale pilot tests
It is worth noting that the MRE itself is based on total geochemical assays and is independent of the ISR metallurgical program. These two workstreams run in parallel — the resource estimate does not assume ISR works, and the ISR program is not the basis for the JORC classification.
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Gallium — a critical minerals co-product in focus
Gallium does not form independent mineral species at Woolrich. It is most likely hosted within the crystal structures of aluminous minerals such as kaolinite and gibbsite, concentrated in a gallium-enriched horizon within the lateritic zone. The Woolrich update has delivered a maiden Indicated Gallium MRE of 110.1Mt @ 35.1ppm Ga, sitting within the total Woolrich deposit of 264.6Mt @ 34.7ppm Ga.
At the project level, Axel’s global Gallium MRE grew 31% to 575.7Mt @ 37.05ppm Ga, which the company describes as “potentially one of the largest known discrete gallium resources in the world.” That qualifier — “potentially” — is the company’s own language and reflects the uncertainty inherent in any such comparison.
The strategic context here is material. The announcement explicitly notes “strong geopolitical interest in supply critical, strategic metals including Gallium,” a reference to the increasingly contested nature of gallium supply chains globally. Axel is investigating low-impact methods to optimise Gallium recovery and improve project economics. No metallurgical testwork on gallium recovery at Caladão Area B has been completed, so recovery assumptions remain theoretical at this stage.
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