Scandium: Here’s why it has made this ASX stock rich, and which ones could be next in line?

Scandium is a metal that few investors except those in Sunrise Energy Metals (ASX:SRL) would be aware of, but this may not remain the case for too much longer. Sunrise’s Syerston project hosts one of the largest known primary scandium resources in the world and has an NPV of >$270m.

Let’s take a closer look at this metal, the progress Sunrise has made and other companies that could be making strides in the near future.

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Scandium: What you need to know

Scandium (atomic number 21) is a rare transition metal that tends to be widely dispersed in the Earth’s crust but rarely reaches concentrations that are economically viable to mine on their own. It commonly occurs in trace amounts within other mineral deposits, including uranium, titanium and rare earth element systems, and in certain clays and lateritic profiles.

Because of this dispersed geochemistry, most scandium production historically has come as a by‑product of other mining operations rather than dedicated scandium mines. That pattern is now changing as demand rises and new primary resources are defined.

The geological quality of scandium deposits matters because economically extractable concentrations are uncommon. Natural mineral hosts that accumulate scandium at grades useful for mining are rare globally, making each significant discovery — especially in politically stable jurisdictions — strategically valuable. Scandium often occurs with other rare earth elements and critical minerals in regolith profiles and clays that show promise for bulk extraction and relatively low strip mining costs when grades and thicknesses are sufficient.

Scandium is important because even small additions to alloys can dramatically improve performance. In aluminium alloys — the most commercially advanced application — substituting tiny amounts of scandium (fractions of a percent) increases strength, improves weldability and enhances corrosion resistance, making these alloys attractive for aerospace, defence, advanced automotive components and other high‑performance manufacturing. Scandium also plays a role in advanced energy technologies: solid oxide fuel cells that use scandia‑stabilised zirconia electrolytes can operate at lower temperatures with high ionic conductivity, improving efficiency in clean power generation. Because of its unique properties and the limited global supply crowding into a handful of producers, scandium has been designated a critical mineral in multiple Western supply chain strategies, including defence industrial bases.

The problem is – only 40 tonnes a year is produced and most of this is from China. At least this is how it is right now, but may not be for too much longer, if Sunrise has its way.

It’s made SRL investors rich

In several months during 2025, Sunrise surged from around $0.21 to above $6.00. This is all thanks to exploration work and the consequential growth in its resource at its Syerston project in NSW.

In 2025, an updated Mineral Resource Estimate revealed a global inventory of about 19,007  tonnes of contained scandium, nearly double earlier estimates. What’s more is that a high proportion of the resource in the Measured and Indicated categories — the most certain resource classifications. This resource update came alongside strong drill results from over a thousand reverse circulation holes, with multiple thick zones of high‑grade scandium identified close to surface, often starting within a few metres of the top of the profile.

In late 2025, Sunrise also updated the Ore Reserve, which underpins the first‑stage mine plan. The revised Reserve totals around 2 million tonnes at a grade of about 644 ppm scandium, equivalent to over 1,300 tonnes of contained scandium metal, supporting an anticipated mine life of more than 30 years with annual output of roughly 60 tonnes of scandium oxide.

The projected development capital requirement is about US $120 million, with average operating costs forecast in the region of US $534 per kilogram of oxide — competitive with global peers when factoring in strategic location and product quality.

Also in late 2025, US defence giant Lockheed Martin secured an option to purchase up to 25 per cent of Syerston’s annual scandium output over five years. The US Export-Import Bank has also expressed interest in providing up to US$67 million in debt financing, roughly half the project’s estimated development cost.

Sunrise’s timeline to production is being refined as the updated feasibility study — incorporating the new resource and reserve base — is expected to be completed in early 2026.

Provided that financing and offtake negotiations continue positively, and regulatorymilestones progress without major delays, Sunrise could be positioned to transition into construction and then initial production in the latter half of the decade.

Other ASX scandium players

Earlier this week, Mount Ridley (ASX:MRD) caught our eye. It revealed an Inferred Resource at its namesake project of 367.98MT @ 57.3ppm scandium for 18,855 tonnes contained metal and 28,920 contained oxide. This is also one of the world’s largest resources of this metal worldwide, and comes even with over 75% of tenure untested. There is also gallium mineralisation too. Investors were told the company would incorporate scandium into its broader rare earth development program. The next step will be metallurgical studies aimed at evaluating recovery pathways.

There are other companies with exposure too.

Rimfire Pacific Mining (ASX:RIM) is one of the clearest scandium‑focused explorers outside SRL. It has reported high‑grade results at its Currajong Prospect in central New South Wales, where recent drilling returned significant intercepts (for example, 12 m at ~367 ppm Sc and 16 m at ~361 ppm Sc), and ongoing programs are aimed at generating maiden resource estimates.

Australian Mines’ (ASX:AUZ) is Flemington Project in New South Wales also has a large inventories, with recent updates increasing the JORC resource and maintaining strong near‑surface grades. In January 2025, AUZ announced a substantial increase in the JORC 2012‐compliant mineral resource estimate, with the high‑grade component now totalling approximately 6.3 million tonnes at ~446 ppm scandium at a 300 ppm cut‑off grade. Most of that resource (98 %) is classified as Measured and Indicated — meaning it’s reasonably well defined — and about 90 % sits within 50 m of surface, making it highly attractive for potential open‑pit development

Hawk Resources (ASX:HWK) is another. As part of its strategy to expand into critical minerals, the company secured an option to earn up to 80 % of the Olympus Project in the West Musgrave region of Western Australia, which has demonstrated potential for scandium alongside base metals. A placement in 2025 helped fund this focus.

Finally, Victory Metals (ASX:VTM), though primarily a rare earths explorer, reports scandium as one of the critical minerals within its North Stanmore clay‑hosted rare earth deposit.

Conclusion

There is growing awareness about the role scandium can play in the energy transition. Sunrise Energy Metals is just one of the companies that has brought it to the forefront given the resource it has. There are other ASX players attempting to follow in its footsteps and they may well do so in the future, even if it takes a while.