ABx Strikes Rare Earth Gold: Maiden MREC Boasts World's Best Dysprosium-Terbium Combo

ABx Group (ASX: ABX) has unveiled a major milestone in Australia’s rare earths push, announcing the production of its first mixed rare earth carbonate (MREC) from its Deep Leads project in northern Tasmania — and the numbers are nothing short of eye-popping.

According to the ASX release, the maiden MREC not only confirms commercial potential for ionic clay-hosted rare earths onshore Australia, but trumps global peers with standout grades of two of the most critical elements in the clean tech race: dysprosium and terbium.

The MREC, processed by ANSTO, contains 4.0% Dy and 0.7% Tb, equating to 2.8 to 4.7 times the DyTb content of peer projects outside China. That makes it an elite product, especially in a market crying out for non-Chinese supply chains. Benchmark pricing puts Dy oxide over US$200/kg and Tb oxide north of US$900/kg — but it gets juicier. CIF Europe prices are reportedly three times higher, underscoring the premium for western-aligned supply.

“The ABx MREC is likely to be particularly sought after by customers seeking high DyTb and low uranium and thorium,” said ABx CEO Mark Cooksey. “We’re simply delighted with this result... it is the best we know of from any ionic rare earth resource outside of China”.

High Value, Low Impurities

The quality of ABx’s maiden product is not just about Dy and Tb. It also features very low levels of uranium and thorium, both of which are impurities of concern to downstream refiners. In fact, the MREC achieved a basket price of US$43/kg, between 17% and 51% higher than peer products. That’s largely thanks to the high concentration of heavy rare earths, with Table 1 on page 5 showing ABx’s DyTb content towering over competitors.

The project’s rare earth oxide (REO) breakdown is also compelling: 27.7% neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr), 4.7% DyTb, and a chunky 27.1% yttrium. For comparison, the nearest peer had just 1.7% DyTb and 8.7% yttrium.

In a world pivoting hard toward electric vehicles, wind turbines, defence tech and robotics — all of which rely on rare earth magnets — these elements are not just nice-to-haves. They’re strategic necessities.

Deep Leads: From Concept to Product

The MREC sample came from a 100kg bulk sample collected from trial pit DLP002 at the Deep Leads resource. It was processed via a standard three-step flow sheet: leaching, impurity removal, and precipitation, using ambient conditions and mild reagents. The result was 72g of high-purity MREC, showcasing excellent leaching kinetics and impurity rejection.

This is no lab fluke either. ABx’s broader Deep Leads – Rubble Mound – Wind Break resource stands at 89 million tonnes averaging 844 ppm TREO, with Dy+Tb comprising 4.4% of total rare earths — the highest such ratio among ionic clay deposits in Australia, and one of the highest globally.

Importantly, that resource estimate only covers 29% of the mineralised outline. Translation: there’s a lot more ground to grow into.

Offtake Conversations Heating Up

The company has already inked a Memorandum of Understanding with Ucore Rare Metals Inc., a North American rare earth processor, and is now shopping MREC samples around to other potential offtake partners. Discussions are expected to accelerate following this production milestone.

Column leach tests on a bulk sample are also underway at ANSTO, with early results anticipated later this month — another key step toward scoping a commercial flowsheet.

What’s Next?

With its maiden MREC now confirmed as a globally leading product, ABx is positioning itself as a serious contender in the West’s rare earths supply chain. The company is expected to update the market as bulk testing progresses and customer feedback rolls in.

Cooksey summed it up best: “This result... combined with the resource size, grade and ideal location near existing infrastructure, means that the Deep Leads project is a highly compelling opportunity.”

For a junior explorer with a clean tech bent, that’s no small claim — and no small achievement.