Everest advances Australian-first rubidium project

Everest Metals Corporation (ASX: EMC) has partnered with Edith Cowan University (ECU) to deliver an engineering scoping study for rubidium extraction at its Mt Edon critical minerals project in the southern part of the Paynes Find Greenstone Belt in WA.

Rubidium is a valuable substitute amid global declining caesium supplies, and the company is leveraging this increasing demand with its innovative direct rubidium extraction (DRE) technology, developed in collaboration with ECU, that has achieved more than 97% rubidium recovery.

Rubidium is considered a critical mineral for its use in communication technologies, defence, aerospace, medical applications and energy conversion technologies.

Mt Edon is considered Australia’s highest-grade rubidium deposit with a maiden resource of 3.6mt at .22% rubidium oxide and 0.007% lithium oxide at a .1% rubidium oxide cutoff, containing 7900t of rubidium oxide.

Everest Minerals executive chairman and chief executive Mark Caruso comments on the milestone.

“Our breakthrough rubidium extraction results showcase the power of our innovative DRE technology, paving the way for Australia’s first rubidium industry in WA,” he said.

“We’re thrilled to collaborate with our partners to scale up the Mt Edon project, unlocking its potential to meet global demand for this critical mineral and drive economic growth.”

The global market for the mineral is expected to grow from $6.88b in 2023 to $11.29b by 2032.

Everest’s strategic partnerships with ECU and CSIRO are driving technical advancements whilst funding application with the Minerals Research Institute of WA (MRIWA) will support the path to a commercial pilot plant.

The company will continue to explore domestic and international funding options for 2026 and pursue further bench scale and pilot testing before building a full-scale plant.