ASX RELEASE 17 April 2025 Victory Unveils Major Gallium Resource as By-Product to HREEs Victory Metals Ltd (ASX:VTM, Victory or the Company) is pleased to announce a significant enhancement to its Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) at the North Stanmore project, with the inclusion of Gallium Oxide (Ga₂O₃). This strategic addition further strengthens the Company’s diversified critical minerals portfolio and positions Victory as a potential dependable Western supplier of metals currently under tight global supply due to Chinese export restrictions. HIGHLIGHTS • Victory has added 4,788 tonnes of Gallium Oxide (Ga₂O₃) to its updated Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) at the North Stanmore project, which now stands at 247.5 million dry metric tonnes at 520 ppm Total Rare Earth Oxide plus Gallium Oxide at 26 ppm (TREOSc2O3 + Ga₂O₃) (Inferred and Indicated) • Gallium oxide has a current market price of approximately AUD $770/kg1 • North Stanmore now includes seven critical metals that are currently subject to Chinese export restrictions, all of these restricted critical metals have been recovered during testwork in Victory’s Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate (MREC). These include: o Heavy Rare Earths (HREEs): Gadolinium (Gd), Terbium (Tb), Dysprosium (Dy), Lutetium (Lu), Yttrium (Y) o Light Rare Earths (LREEs): Samarium (Sm) o Strategic By-product: Gallium (Ga), Scandium (Sc) • Gallium is a critical technology metal used in AI chips, semiconductors, quantum computing, defence systems, LEDs, and solar panels – with global supply tightly controlled, particularly by China • Gallium is recovered concurrently with Victory’s Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate (MREC) no additional processing required, making it a cost-effective by-product • Addition of Gallium enhances the value and strategic appeal of Victory’s Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate (MREC), although the Company remains firmly focused on its high ratios of heavy rare earths as the core revenue drivers • Victory is now one of the few companies in Australia with a declared Gallium Oxide Mineral Resource, further positioning the Company as a globally relevant and potential diversified critical minerals supplier 1 price https://www.fastmarkets.com/insights/chinas-gallium-export-control-continues-to-squeeze-market-despite-higher-decemberexports/?utm_source=chatgpt.com); USD/AUD conversion rate of 0.65 applied ACN: 124 279 750 E: info@victorymetalsaustralia.com D: +61 (08) 6555 2950 A: Suite 1, 295 Rokeby Road, Subiaco, WA, 6008 — T H E F U T U R E O F A U S T R A L I A N H E A V Y R A R E E A R T H S — • Downstream engagement and offtake discussions are being expanded to reflect this new opportunity, with Gallium now included as a bonus value stream in strategic planning Victory’s CEO and Executive Director Brendan Clark commented: “The addition of Gallium to the MRE is an incredible bonus, not a dependency. Our focus remains on developing a world class heavy rare earth project, but the ability to recover Gallium concurrently through our recovery process without additional complexity significantly enhances the value proposition. Gallium is a strategic technology metal with growing global demand, and its inclusion as a by-product positions Victory as an even more attractive partner for downstream and offtake discussions.” April 2025 MRE update On 16 January 2025, Victory announced an updated Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for its North Stanmore Heavy Rare Earth Elements (HREE) Project in Western Australia (January 2025 MRE). The January 2025 MRE stood at 247.5 million dry metric tonnes at 493 ppm Total Rare Earth Oxide plus Scandium Oxide (TREO + Sc2O3) and Ga2O3 @ 26ppm, (Inferred and Indicated), using an economic cut-off grade of 330ppm TREO plus Scandium Oxide, inclusive of high-grade domain (≥600 ppm TREO cut-off) of 53 million tonnes @ 1,012 ppm TREO plus Sc2O3 (Inferred and Indicated) (Figure 2).2 Victory subsequently commissioned further Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate (MREC) production activities to optimise recovery conditions for Gallium Oxide (Ga₂O₃) while maintaining the heavy rare earth element (HREE) distribution in the final MREC product. On 26 March 2025, Victory announced the successful production of Gallium (Ga) in its final MREC product from North Stanmore. Gallium confirmed in final MREC product at 258 g/t Ga₂O₃, successfully recovered using low-CAPEX leaching process and recovery occurring concurrently with REEs requiring no additional processing stages.3 Victory then commissioned MEC Pty Ltd (MEC) in April of 2025 to update the January 2025 MRE to include Gallium oxide given the recent MREC Gallium recoveries. Updated April MRE Information The April 2025 MRE update was estimated within the boundaries of ten tenements; E20/0544, E20/871, E20/971, E20/1016, E20/2468, E20/2469, P20/0543, P20/2007, P20/2153, and P20/2403, with all tenure held by Victory Cue Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Victory (Figure 1). 2 3 Refer to ASX Announcement of 16 January 2025 for further details. Refer to ASX Announcement of 26 March 2025 for further details. ACN: 124 279 750 E: info@victorymetalsaustralia.com D: +61 (08) 6555 2950 A: Suite 1, 295 Rokeby Road, Subiaco, WA, 6008 — T H E F U T U R E O F A U S T R A L I A N H E A V Y R A R E E A R T H S — Figure 1: North Stanmore MRE by ResCat Figure 2: Cross section 6,973,900mN, looking north, 5x vertical exaggeration and showing the High-Grade intercept. ACN: 124 279 750 E: info@victorymetalsaustralia.com D: +61 (08) 6555 2950 A: Suite 1, 295 Rokeby Road, Subiaco, WA, 6008 — T H E F U T U R E O F A U S T R A L I A N H E A V Y R A R E E A R T H S — A site visit was conducted on May 30, 2024, by MEC Manager of Resources, Mr Dean O’Keefe and MEC Resource Geologist, Mr Issam Digais, accompanied by Victory Metals personnel including Mr Savvas Hagiantoniou, Exploration Site Supervisor. Dean O’Keefe is an MEC Competent Person for the North Stanmore MRE. During the site visit the general layout of the area and project location was checked. MEC also conducted a check survey of drillhole collar locations, the surveyed locations were confirmed as being in close proximity to the planned drillhole locations, all within 3m. No production has occurred at the North Stanmore site. The North Stanmore MRE occurs in regolith above an alkaline intrusion. Despite its magnetic signature, the North Stanmore intrusion had not been recognised previously on regional geological maps. Petrological data for samples of diamond core confirm its alkaline character and indicate that the intrusion is post-tectonic and hence, post-Archean in age. The North Stanmore Intrusion is a large (approximately 16km by 5km) differentiated ultramafic to felsic intrusion. Lithologies identified in thin section include kaersutite and carbonate-bearing peridotite, orthopyroxenite, clinopyroxenite, leuco- and leuco-gabbro (ijolite), diorite, monzonite and syenite. Some regolith samples are strongly LREE enriched indicating that the intrusion also contains carbonatite. However, the uniformly high HREO/TREO of the regolith (of approximately 34% to 38%) indicates that carbonatite represents a subordinate phase in the intrusion. The North Stanmore Intrusion is interpreted to be associated with an early Proterozoic plume track that was responsible for alkaline magmatism extending in a broad belt from Mt Weld carbonatite near Laverton through Leonora to Cue. The rare earth element mineralisation occurs in a relatively flat-laying saprolite-rich clay horizon beneath a veneer of unconsolidated colluvium that ranges in thickness from 0–36m. The uniformity of Nb/Ta ratios (Nb/Ta 16±4) in the regolith above the North Stanmore Intrusion indicates that the regolith developed in situ. Importantly, studies have shown that Nb/Ta ratio of regolith over carbonatites and other alkaline intrusions closely resembles the Nb/Ta ratio of their source plume generated lithologies. REEs are adsorbed onto kaolinite or form secondary REE phosphates, rhabdophane (after monazite), churchite (after xenotime), and florencite. QEMSCAN mineralogical studies show that the REEs are mainly hosted by <20µm particles. Scandium oxide (Sc2O3) is enriched throughout the regolith profile due to the breakdown of pyroxene in the North Stanmore source lithologies. Scandium oxide is generally considered to behave differently to the REEs, which are adsorbed as outer-sphere complexes on clay surfaces, found in Al(OH)2SiO sites, or occur as hydrated REE bearing phosphates. However, Sc3+ behaves like the transition metals (Ni2+ , Co2+, Cu2+) and, due to its smaller ionic radius, it adsorbs onto vacancy sites in clay lattices or attaches to the surface of Mn oxides. Scandium is a highly valuable critical element occurring in the same Group of the Periodic Table (Gp. 3B) as the lanthanides. It occurs predominantly in HREE bearing ultramafic and mafic igneous rocks like the North Stanmore Intrusion. By contrast, felsic alkaline rocks and granitoids are more LREE enriched and contain negligible amounts of Scandium. The chemical properties of Scandium are distinct from the other REO’s and Scandium has recently been recognised to have superconducting properties. Scandium has been deemed a critical mineral due to current Chinese and Russian control of the supply chain. ACN: 124 279 750 E: info@victorymetalsaustralia.com D: +61 (08) 6555 2950 A: Suite 1, 295 Rokeby Road, Subiaco, WA, 6008 — T H E F U T U R E O F A U S T R A L I A N H E A V Y R A R E E A R T H S — Yttrium is classified as a REO because of its similar ionic radius to the lanthanides, and similar chemical properties to the HREEs. A geological cut-off grade of 150ppm TREO + Sc2O3 was used to separate mineralised material (MIN) from weakly mineralised material (WMM). A high-grade mineralisation (HGMIN) domain was additionally modelled above a geological cut-off grade of 600ppm TREO + Sc2O3. Logging was completed for 90% of the sample intervals and used to produce surfaces to delineate the colluvium, saprolite, and basement. Drilling at North Stanmore to support the April 2025 MRE includes seven hundred and fifty-five (755) drillholes for 42,118.9m, inclusive of 694 Air-core (AC) drillholes for 38,188m, 50 Reverse Circulation (RC) drillholes for 3,166m, and 11 diamond drill holes for 764.9m. Drillhole depths range from 10m to 222m. All drillholes were completed by Victory from 2022 to 2024. The drillhole spacing at North Stanmore (MRE area) ranges from 50m x 50m to 250m x 100m. Eleven percussion (air core and RC) drillholes have been twinned with diamond drilling (DD001 to DD011). Samples were submitted to the laboratory for analysis only where the initial screening by handheld XRF generated a mineralised value, whereas the diamond drilling was sampled and assayed along the entire length of the drillhole. There is good spatial comparison between the percussion and diamond assays for the twin drilling. The use of the handheld XRF tool is a reasonable indicator of zones of mineralisation within the percussion holes. Local validation was completed by comparing the composite grades used to estimate the block values against the estimated block values. There was close correlation between composite assays and estimated block grades, with some small differences resulting from the smoothing effect of ordinary kriging. Min/max checks were utilised to ensure all blocks were populated. OBM validation functions were used to check for overlapping blocks, there were no incidence of overlapping blocks. The Resource has been classified as Indicated and Inferred categories, in accordance with the 2012 Australasian Code for Reporting of Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (JORC Code). Unclassified material based on sparse exploration data has not been reported as part of the Mineral Resource. A range of criteria has been considered in determining this classification including: • • • Geological continuity Data quality Drill hole spacing An Indicated Mineral Resource classification was based on drillhole spacing (250m x 100m, closing to 50m x 50m), acceptable underlying QAQC, and an RTK/DGPS survey of drillhole collars. An Inferred Mineral Resource classification was based on a drill spacing of ~500m x 100m. Approximately 71% by tonnage of the April 2025 MRE is classified as Indicated Mineral Resources and approximately 29% is classified as Inferred Mineral Resources. Three stages of metallurgical test work have been completed for the North Stanmore Project, focusing on beneficiation, and leach test work to establish potential recoveries and processing options. ACN: 124 279 750 E: info@victorymetalsaustralia.com D: +61 (08) 6555 2950 A: Suite 1, 295 Rokeby Road, Subiaco, WA, 6008 — T H E F U T U R E O F A U S T R A L I A N H E A V Y R A R E E A R T H S — Core Resources (Core) located in Brisbane completed the third stage of test work including beneficiation test work in March of 2024 and reported that the REE feed grade increased by 63% by rejecting the +53µm feed material from across all samples. Core also completed leach test work on the beneficiated material . The leach test work program involved diagnostic metallurgical testing on a composite blend of the beneficiated samples with a head grade of 1,283 ppm TREO. This was sourced from 23 samples and 13 drillholes from North Stanmore. The initial atmospheric leach test work program was trialled at elevated temperatures and variable leaching conditions compared to previous work. These test conditions yielded high recoveries of Pr (94%), Nd (94%) and heavy rare earth elements Tb (91%), and Dy (92%) with a combined recovery of 93% Magnet Rare Earth Elements (“MREE”). Scandium oxide (Sc2O3) recoveries of 50% had previously been achieved, with optimisation work occurring in parallel. These assays were conducted by Australian Laboratory Services, Brisbane. The objective of the diagnostic test work was to recover REE and Scandium oxide from the beneficiated sample using alternative conditions to previous metallurgical programs, that successfully demonstrated increased extractions at higher temperature (from 25°C to 100°C). The April 2025 MRE includes a Mineral Resource estimate for Gallium oxide (Ga2O3) occurring within the TREO + Sc2O3 mineralisation envelope, as Gallium oxide would be a byproduct of the REE recovery. The Gallium oxide estimate used the January 2025 dataset and interpretation and is reported as part of the April 2025 MRE. The grade distribution for Ga2O3 (ppm) associated with the TREO mineralisation is shown in Figure 5. The crustal abundance of Gallium is similar to lead (15ppm) but is weakly dispersed and rarely found in concentrations >1,000ppm (Henderson, 1982). For the North Stanmore deposit the Gallium oxide (Ga2O3) mineralisation has an enrichment factor of 1.25 compared to the average crustal concentration and proven metallurgical recoveries in the MREC. 4 MEC deems that there are reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction using open pit mining on the following basis: • • • The North Stanmore Mineral Resources occur close to surface and will be amenable to opencut mining to commence production. Mineralisation that occurs at depth with limited drilling support has been excluded from the stated Mineral Resource, Metallurgical testwork has returned favourable process recovery results, The North Stanmore project is located approximately 6km from Cue township and ~420km from Geraldton Port via the Great Northern Highway, being one of West Australia’s major arterial road networks. Table 1: North Stanmore April 2025 MRE (≥330ppm TREO + Sc2O3 cut-off grade) MRE TONNES (t) TREO (ppm) HREO (ppm) LREO (ppm) HREO/TREO (%) Sc2O3 (ppm) Ga2O3 (ppm) 176,500,000 477 181 296 38 26 26 INFERRED 70,900,000 533 164 369 31 28 26 TOTAL 247,500,000 493 176 317 36 Numbers are rounded to reflect they are an estimate. Numbers may not sum due to rounding. 27 26 CLASSIFICATION INDICATED 4 Refer VTM ASX release dated 26 March 2025: Gallium Produced in Final MREC Product ACN: 124 279 750 E: info@victorymetalsaustralia.com D: +61 (08) 6555 2950 A: Suite 1, 295 Rokeby Road, Subiaco, WA, 6008 — T H E F U T U R E O F A U S T R A L I A N H E A V Y R A R E E A R T H S — The sensitivity of the Mineral Resource estimate to the reporting cut-off grade is shown in Figure 3. Figure 3: Grade tonnage curve for the North Stanmore TREO + Sc2O3 MRE (Indicated and Inferred) ACN: 124 279 750 E: info@victorymetalsaustralia.com D: +61 (08) 6555 2950 A: Suite 1, 295 Rokeby Road, Subiaco, WA, 6008 — T H E F U T U R E O F A U S T R A L I A N H E A V Y R A R E E A R T H S — Table 2 shows the HREO within the HGMIN domain by classification, and Table 3 shows the HREO within the MIN domain by classification. Table 2: North Stanmore April 2025 MRE HREO within the HGMIN domain (≥330ppm TREO + Sc2O3 cut-off grade) CLASSIFICATION MRE TONNES (t) INDICATED 35,400,000 INFERRED 16,500,000 TOTAL 51,900,000 TREO + Sc2O3 (ppm) TREO (ppm) HREO (ppm) Eu2O3 (ppm) Gd2O3 (ppm) Tb4O7 (ppm) Dy2O3 (ppm) Ho2O3 (ppm) Er2O3 (ppm) Tm2O3 (ppm) Yb2O3 (ppm) Lu2O3 (ppm) Y2O3 (ppm) 972 941 318 7.5 30.5 5.0 30.9 6.4 19.1 2.7 17.7 2.6 196 1,099 1,072 354 8.6 33.7 5.5 33.6 7.0 20.8 3.0 18.8 2.7 220 1,012 982 329 7.9 31.5 5.1 31.7 6.6 19.7 Numbers are rounded to reflect they are an estimate. Numbers may not sum due to rounding. 2.8 18.1 2.7 203 Table 3: North Stanmore April 2025 MRE HRE[Y]O within the MIN domain (≥330ppm TREO + Sc2O3 cut-off grade) CLASSIFICATION MRE TONNES (t) TREO + Sc2O3 (ppm) TREO (ppm) HREO (ppm) Eu2O3 (ppm) Gd2O3 (ppm) Tb4O7 (ppm) Dy2O3 (ppm) Ho2O3 (ppm) Er2O3 (ppm) Tm2O3 (ppm) Yb2O3 (ppm) Lu2O3 (ppm) Y2O3 (ppm) INDICATED 141,200,000 386 361 146 2.4 12.0 2.1 13.6 3.0 9.2 1.4 9.2 1.4 92 INFERRED 54,500,000 399 370 106 2.6 10.4 1.7 10.1 2.1 6.2 0.9 5.8 0.9 65 TOTAL 195,700,000 390 364 135 2.5 11.5 2.0 12.6 2.7 8.4 Numbers are rounded to reflect they are an estimate. Numbers may not sum due to rounding. 1.2 8.3 1.2 85 The economic cut-off grade for the April 2025 MEC MRE (Table 1) was ≥330ppm TREO + Sc2O3. This cut-off grade was selected based on the evaluation of other like regolith hosted rare earth Mineral Resources. The MIN domain grade and tonnage is exclusive of the HG grade and tonnage (Table 3). Table 4 shows the LREO by domain and classification above 330ppm TREO + Sc2O3. Table 5 shows base metals, gallium, and hafnium grades above 330ppm TREO + Sc2O3. Table 4: North Stanmore April 2025 MRE LREO Grades by Domain and Classification (≥330ppm TREO + Sc2O3 cut-off grade) INDICATED TONNES (t) 35,400,000 TREO+Sc2O3 (ppm) 972 LREO (ppm) 623 La2O3 (ppm) 144.8 CeO2 (ppm) 270.2 Pr6O11 (ppm) 36.0 Nd2O3 (ppm) 141.0 Sm2O3 (ppm) 30.5 HGMIN INFERRED 16,500,000 1,099 718 182.8 293.8 43.0 163.9 34.1 HGMIN TOTAL 51,900,000 1,012 653 156.9 277.7 38.3 148.3 31.6 MIN INDICATED 141,200,000 386 215 48.7 96.0 11.9 47.2 11.0 MIN INFERRED 54,500,000 399 264 63.9 121.2 14.4 53.8 10.9 MIN TOTAL 195,700,000 390 229 52.9 103.1 12.6 49.1 10.9 Total TOTAL 247,500,000 520 317 74.7 139.6 18.0 69.8 15.3 DOMAIN CLASSIFICATION HGMIN Numbers are rounded to reflect they are an estimate. Numbers may not sum due to rounding. Table 5: North Stanmore April 2025 MRE Ni, Co, Cu, Hf, Ga2O3 (≥330ppm TREO + Sc2O3 cut-off grade) Tonnes (t) Ni Co Cu Hf Ga2O3 (ppm) (ppm) (ppm) (ppm) (ppm) INDICATED 35,400,000 36 29 43 6 26 HGMIN INFERRED 16,500,000 44 26 55 5 26 HGMIN TOTAL 51,900,000 38 28 47 6 26 MIN INDICATED 141,200,000 23 14 25 7 26 MIN INFERRED 54,500,000 45 21 47 5 25 MIN TOTAL 195,700,000 29 16 31 6 26 Total TOTAL 247,500,000 31 19 34 6 26 DOMAIN CLASSIFICATION HGMIN Numbers are rounded to reflect they are an estimate. Numbers may not sum due to rounding. MRE Proportions Pie Charts Figure 4: North Stanmore April 2025 updated MRE composition by percentage in 52.8Mt and 195.7Mt resource domains The high HREYO/TREYO ratios shown in Figure indicates that the North Stanmore Mineral Resource contains a significant percentage of the rare, and valuable, HREE’s Dysprosium (Dy) and Terbium (Tb). Figure 5: MRE Gallium oxide grade distribution at North Stanmore ACN: 124 279 750 E: info@victorymetalsaustralia.com D: +61 (08) 6555 2950 A: Suite 1, 295 Rokeby Road, Subiaco, WA, 6008 — T H E F U T U R E O F A U S T R A L I A N H E A V Y R A R E E A R T H S — Regional Geology Victory’s tenements lie north of Cue, within the centre of the Murchison Province, which comprises the Archaean gneiss-granitoid-greenstone north-western Yilgarn Block. The Archean greenstone belts in the Murchison Province, the Warda Warra and Dalgaranga greenstone belts, and the southern parts of the Meekatharra-Mount Magnet and Weld Range belts are dominated by metamorphosed supracrustal mafic volcanic rocks, as well as sedimentary and intrusive rocks. Thermo-tectonism resulted in development of large-scale fold structures that were subsequently disrupted by late-stage faults. The greenstone belts are intruded by two suites of granitoids. The first, most voluminous suite, comprises granitoids that are recrystallised with foliated margins and massive cores, typically containing large enclaves of gneiss. The second suite consists of relatively small, post tectonic intrusions. Two large Archaean gabbroic intrusions occur south of Cue. These are the DalgarangaMount Farmer gabbroid complex in the southwest, and the layered Windimurra gabbroic complex in the southeast. Project Geology Victory’s REE, Sc and Ga discovery occurs in regolith above the North Stanmore alkaline intrusion, discovered north of Cue. Despite its magnetic signature, the North Stanmore intrusion had not been recognised previously on regional geological maps. Petrological data5 for samples of diamond core indicate that the intrusion is post-tectonic and hence post-Archean in age. The North Stanmore Intrusion is a large (approximately 16 km by 5 km) differentiated ultramafic to felsic intrusion. Lithologies identified in thin section include kaersutite and carbonate-bearing peridotite, orthopyroxenite, clinopyroxenite, leuco- and leuco-gabbro, ijolite, diorite, monzonite and syenite. Some regolith samples are strongly LREE enriched indicating that the intrusion also contains carbonatite. However, the uniformly high HREO/TREO of the regolith (of approximately 34% to 38%) indicates that carbonatite represents a subordinate phase in the intrusion. The North Stanmore Intrusion is interpreted to be associated with an early Proterozoic plume track that was responsible for alkaline magmatism extending in a broad belt from Mt Weld carbonatite near Laverton through Leonora to Cue6. Deposit Type The rare earth element mineralisation occurs in a relatively flat-laying saprolite-rich clay horizon beneath a veneer of unconsolidated colluvium that ranges in thickness from 0m to 36m. The uniformity of Nb/Ta ratios (Nb/Ta 16±4) in the regolith above the North Stanmore Intrusion indicates that the regolith developed in situ. Importantly, studies have shown that Nb/Ta ratio of regolith over carbonatites and other alkaline intrusions closely resembles the Nb/Ta ratio of their source plume generated lithologies7. Mineralised REE saprolite horizons above the North Stanmore Intrusion occur at depths between 12m and 77m. Ce/Ce* tracks regolith oxidation, and the upper parts of regolith enrichment zones have Ce/Ce* >1 reflecting gain of mobile Ce4+, while the lower parts of enrichment zones have Ce/Ce* <1. Leachable clay REE deposits all have Ce/Ce* <1. The Ce/Ce* of the June 2024 updated MRE in the Indicated category is 0.86 (Tables 1 to 4). 5 Refer VTM ASX release dated 10 August 2022, Major Alkaline Igneous Complex Discovered 6 Fiorentini et al., (2020) Nature Sci. Repts. 10:19729 7 Cornelius et al, (2005) Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis, Vol. 5, 291–310; Zhukova et al., (2021) Ore Geology Reviews 139, 104539 ACN: 124 279 750 E: info@victorymetalsaustralia.com D: +61 (08) 6555 2950 A: Suite 1, 295 Rokeby Road, Subiaco, WA, 6008 — T H E F U T U R E O F A U S T R A L I A N H E A V Y R A R E E A R T H S — REEs are complexed with carbonate ions [CO32-] and bicarbonate ions [HCO3-] or occur as REE3+ ions in soil as groundwater migrates downwards during tropical weathering. Based on Ce/Ce*systematics8 and TREO concentrations, there appear to be four zones of REE enrichment at North Stanmore. These are 15m to 25m, 28m to 37m, 41m to 46m and a deeper zone between 53m and 77m. The regolith is complex and importantly some cores exhibit two zones of REE enrichment. REEs are adsorbed onto kaolinite or form secondary REE phosphates, rhabdophane (after monazite), churchite (after xenotime), and florencite. QEMSCAN mineralogical studies show that the REEs are mainly hosted by <20-µm particles. Scandium is enriched throughout the regolith profile due to the breakdown of pyroxene in the North Stanmore source lithologies. Sc is generally considered to behave differently to the REEs, which are adsorbed as outer-sphere complexes on clay surfaces, found in Al(OH)2SiO sites, or occur as hydrated REE bearing phosphates. However, Sc3+ behaves like the transition metals (Ni2+ , Co2+, Cu2+) and, due to its smaller ionic radius, it adsorbs onto vacancy sites in clay lattices or attaches to the surface of Mn oxides9. Sc is enriched throughout the regolith profile. REO and Gallium Terminology Yttrium is included as a REE because of its similar ionic radius to the lanthanides and has similar chemical properties to the HREEs [holmium (Ho) and erbium (Er)]. Scandium, a highly valuable critical element occurs in the same Group of the Periodic Table (Gp. 3) as the lanthanides. It occurs predominantly in HREE bearing ultramafic and mafic igneous like the North Stanmore Intrusion. By contrast, felsic alkaline rocks and granitoids are more LREE enriched and contain negligible amounts of Sc contents. The chemical properties of Sc are distinct from the other REEs, and Sc has recently been recognised to have superconducting properties. Sc has been deemed a critical mineral due to current Chinese and Russian control of the supply chain. Gallium is a chemical element with the symbol Ga and atomic number 31. It is a soft, silvery metal that is solid at room temperature but melts just above it, making it unique among metals. Gallium is primarily used in the production of semiconductors, particularly in devices like light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and solar panels. It forms important compounds such as gallium arsenide (GaAs), which is widely used in electronics due to its excellent semiconductor properties. Additionally, gallium is known for its ability to form binary compounds with elements like phosphorus and arsenic, which are crucial in various technological applications. Analytical data was determined by ALS using the ME-MS81 technique of fusion digestion followed by ICPMS analysis. Results were returned in elemental form and were converted to oxides. TREO (Total Rare Earth Oxides), LREO (Light Rare Earth Oxides), HREO (Heavy Rare Earth Oxides), MREO (Magnet Rare Earth Oxides), and the ratio of HREO/TREO were calculated as follows: • TREO is the sum of La2O3, CeO2, Pr6O11, Nd2O3, Sm2O3, Eu2O3, Gd2O3, Tb4O7, Dy2O3, Ho2O3, Er2O3, Tm2O3, Yb2O3, Lu2O3, and Y2O3,. This follows the protocol recommended by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry.10 Yttrium and Scandium are included as 8 Ce/Ce* = (2*(Ce )/(La +Pr )), where Ce , La and Pr are chondrite normalised values; La = La concentration /0.237, N N N N N N N CeN =Ce concentration /0.613 and PrN =Pr concentration/0.0928; Ce/Ce* ratios >1 reflect the gain of Ce4+ at shallower regolith depths while Ce/Ce* ratios <1 reflect the loss of mobile Ce4+ from deeper parts of weathering profiles that contain Ce3+. 9 Zhang et al., (2024) Am. Mineralogist 8 Williams Jones and Vasyukova (2018) Economic Geology ACN: 124 279 750 E: info@victorymetalsaustralia.com D: +61 (08) 6555 2950 A: Suite 1, 295 Rokeby Road, Subiaco, WA, 6008 — T H E F U T U R E O F A U S T R A L I A N H E A V Y R A R E E A R T H S — they share Group IIIA properties in the Periodic Table with the lanthanides. Importantly, yttrium exhibits similar geochemical properties to the HREOs. • TREOS is the sum of La2O3, CeO2, Pr6O11, Nd2O3, Sm2O3, Eu2O3, Gd2O3, Tb4O7,Dy2O3, Ho2O3, Er2O3, Tm2O3, Yb2O3, Lu2O3, Y2O3, and Sc2O3. • HREO is the sum of Eu2O3, Gd2O3, Tb4O7,Dy2O3, Ho2O3, Er2O3, Tm2O3, Yb2O3, Lu2O3, and Y2O3. • LREO is the sum of La2O3, CeO2, Pr6O11, Nd2O3, and Sm2O3. • MREO (Magnet Rare Earth Oxides) are the rare earths used in the production of magnets predominantly, Nd2O3, Pr6O11 (NdPr) and Dy2O3, Tb4O7 (DyTb). • HREO/TREOS is the ratio of the sum of Eu2O3, Gd2O3, Tb4O7,Dy2O3, Ho2O3, Er2O3, Tm2O3, Yb2O3, Lu2O3, and Y2O3/sum of La2O3, CeO2, Pr6O11, Nd2O3, Sm2O3, Eu2O3, Gd2O3, Tb4O7,Dy2O3, Ho2O3, Er2O3, Tm2O3, Yb2O3, Lu2O3, Y2O3, and Sc2O3. • The quality of the assays is shown in Figure 6 by the smooth inter-element profiles in chondrite normalised plots for the 197.2 Mt and 53 Mt resource compositions. Sampling and sub-sampling techniques Air-core drilling samples were collected as 1m samples from the rig cyclone. Each sample was placed into large green drill bags (900mmx600mm) for temporary storage onsite. Each sample was then split using a 3-tier (87.5% - 12.5%) splitter and the sample split was placed into calico sample bags for transport to Perth. Sample weights and recoveries were recorded on site and weighed 1.5 - 2.5kg depending on the sample recovery from the drill hole. The mean bulk sample weight was 8.45kg. A handheld pXRF anal