Mount Ridley Mines (MRD)

Mount Ridley Mines is sitting on something the Western world is scrambling to find. The Grass Patch Complex in WA hosts heavy rare earths, scandium and gallium from the same deposit, all from surface, 25km from the deep-water port at Esperance. China controls the processing of almost every one of these minerals, and Beijing has imposed export controls on dysprosium and gallium in the past 18 months. MRD just delivered a maiden JORC rare earth resource of 122.56 million tonnes with a 41% heavy rare earth ratio, on top of existing scandium and gallium resources already in the ground. The deposit covers about 15km of a 63km mineralised corridor, with 80% still untested. A partnership with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is progressing toward a full cooperative agreement. At a $31.9 million market cap, the market is barely paying for one of these commodities.

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MRD’s MD on 3 Critical Minerals From 1 WA Deposit

ASX Insights Rare Earths 24.03.2026

MRD Share Price & Investment Performance

Investment Summery

  • Date of Investment Announcement 24th March 2026
  • Entry Price $0.024
  • Returns from Entry +0%
  • High Point +0%

Company Milestones

  • Initial investment: $0.024
  • Maiden JORC heavy rare earth resource
  • Material Transfer Agreement 
  • Archived drill pulp re-assay results (22,000 samples)
  • Lawrence Livermore characterisation and leach results
  • CRADA executed
  • Resource expansion drilling
  • Metallurgical proof of concept

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Why We Like Mount Ridley Mines

We spend a lot of time looking at small-cap resource companies, and most of them have one commodity with a market cap that already reflects the best-case scenario. MRD is the opposite. Three critical minerals from the same deposit, a maiden resource that covers barely a quarter of the corridor, and a $31.9 million price tag. The nearest comparable on the ASX trades at roughly $170 million with one commodity. MRD has three, plus a partnership with one of the most serious laboratories on the planet that no other ASX company has. The catalysts through 2026 are real – Livermore results, 22,000 archived pulps to re-assay, and 33 kilometres of untested strike to drill. We bought in because this looks mispriced to us. Early-stage exploration can always disappoint, but the setup at this valuation caught our eye.

Why Critical Minerals

Dysprosium and terbium stop permanent magnets from failing at operating temperature. Every EV motor, every wind turbine, every military actuator needs them. There is no substitute for either one.

China controls roughly 90% of heavy rare earth processing and imposed export controls on both in April 2025. European dysprosium prices have quadrupled relative to Chinese domestic prices since. Scandium barely has a supply chain at all – global production is 25 tonnes a year against growing demand from aerospace and robotics. Gallium sits behind compound semiconductors and 5G, with 95-98% of refined supply coming out of China. The Australian and US governments have committed up to US$8.5 billion to back critical mineral projects in allied jurisdictions.

Mount Ridley's Position in Western Australia

The Grass Patch Complex sits 25 kilometres north of Esperance, connected by sealed highway to a deep-water export port. MRD’s maiden rare earth resource spans two blocks: Block 2 at 87.18 million tonnes and Block 1 at 35.36 million tonnes, both shallow and continuous from surface to about 52 metres. Standard earthmoving gear can excavate them.

The resource carries a 41% heavy rare earth ratio, one of the highest for clay-hosted deposits on the ASX. On top of that, MRD holds 18,855 tonnes of contained scandium and 24,584 tonnes of gallium, roughly 34 years of current world production. The nearest comparable, Victory Metals (ASX: VTM), trades at roughly $170 million with one commodity. MRD sits at a fraction of that with three.

The Key Points of Interest

  • Maiden resource covers about a quarter of MRD’s 63-kilometre mineralised corridor, with 80% of the tenure still untested
  • Seven gravity targets totalling 33 kilometres of untested strike already defined for drilling through 2026
  • 22,000 archived drill pulps from old nickel-copper exploration have never been assayed for rare earths, scandium or gallium – the cheapest way to grow a resource without drilling a metre
  • Partnership with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has no ASX peer, with the full CRADA being drafted now. MRD owns all IP generated under the agreement
  • Early met work shows heavy rare earths leach more strongly than lights in MRD’s regolith, meaning the highest-value elements come out first
  • Permitting underway with resource expansion drilling, re-assay and metallurgical programs all planned through 2026

Mount Ridley Mines in Summary

MRD holds JORC resources in heavy rare earths, scandium and gallium from the same deposit, 25 kilometres from a deep-water port in WA. At $31.9 million, the nearest comparable trades at five times the valuation with one commodity.

The 2026 calendar is full: Livermore results, archived pulp re-assay, resource expansion drilling and CRADA execution. Early-stage exploration can always disappoint, and met work can throw up problems. But three critical minerals from a shallow deposit in a tier-one jurisdiction, with a US national lab working on the processing, is hard to ignore at this price.

Disclaimer: This blog post is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as financial advice. Always consult with a financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

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