THE UNHERALDED CRITICAL MINERALS

AUSTRALIAN MINING SPOTLIGHTS THREE AUSTRALIAN-BASED COMPANIES WITH BRIGHT CRITICAL MINERALS FUTURES.

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Some critical minerals garner more attention than others; some have glossier and more intelligible end uses than their lesser known cousins.

But that's not to say the antimonies, fluorines, niobiums and molybdenums of the world aren't important, with equally critical purposes for global advancement and renewable energy development. The same goes for tungsten, vanadium and rare earths, each of which has an exciting future in Australia and abroad.

While Australia's rare earths industry has attracted plenty of international attention of late, with the US and Canada two of the key backers, the local industry remains in its infancy.

There are also Australian-based companies looking to cut their teeth in international rare earths jurisdictions.

Australian Mining spotlights three local companies that are on the hunt for or producing lesser known but equally important critical minerals.

Axel REE

Brazil is becoming a globally significant rare earths jurisdiction, with emerging projects defined by low-cost mining and processing methods.

Axel REE and its suite of Brazilian rare earths assets is a key player in the area. Axel's Caladão project in the state of Minas Gerais was the first rare earths discovery in Brazil's 'Lithium Valley', which boasts the country's largest lithium reserves.

"Axel REE founder Pat Volpe has been operating in Brazil for 14 years and has built a team of tenement managers, geologists, geophysicists and drillers," Axel REE executive chair Paul Dickson told Australian Mining.

"A lot of the leg work was done during that period, including the completion of 48 drill holes across 25km at Caladão. The project now spans around 400 square kilometres, which is huge."