New critical mineral recoveries expand Teck-Hughes and pilot plant potential
New rubidium, strontium and scandium results broaden the recovery opportunity using Extrakt’s cyanide-free technology
Fulcrum Metals plc (AIM: FMET; OTCQB: FULMF) has reported encouraging laboratory results demonstrating the preliminary extraction of rubidium, strontium and scandium from its Teck-Hughes Tailings Project in Ontario, Canada, expanding the range of potentially recoverable metals using Extrakt Process Solutions’ cyanide-free technology.
The results increase the number of principal precious and critical metals successfully targeted in testing at Teck-Hughes to six, comprising gold, silver, tellurium, rubidium, strontium and scandium, while additional recovery results for copper, cobalt, nickel and manganese highlight the potential versatility of the process.
The latest non-optimised laboratory programme achieved extraction rates of 74.5% for strontium, 52.5% for rubidium and 47.8% for scandium, using a two-stage leaching process.
Importantly, the new tests maintained broadly comparable precious-metal extraction performance at a similar grind size, indicating that the additional metals could potentially be recovered without substantially compromising the existing process.
Gold extraction reached 62.4%, silver 85.4% and tellurium 91.1%, with the material ground to approximately P80 60 micrometres.
Previous optimised Phase 3 testing achieved higher recovery benchmarks of 78% gold, 95% silver and 96% tellurium at a finer grind size of approximately 55 micrometres.
However, the earlier optimised precious-metal recoveries and the latest critical-mineral extraction results have not yet been demonstrated together in a single optimised process.
The new programme also returned 79.5% copper, 71% cobalt, 71.1% nickel and 93.4% manganese extraction, providing further evidence of the range of metals that may respond to Extrakt’s technology.
These findings could support a broader recovery strategy at Teck-Hughes, although laboratory extraction does not establish that the metals can be economically separated, refined and sold.
Testing was undertaken by TDI Solutions LLC under the supervision of Extrakt Process Solutions, using the same composite tailings material examined during earlier programmes.
Following an initial cyanide-free leaching stage, a representative portion of the residue underwent a second treatment principally targeting gold and silver, which also extracted additional critical minerals.
The reported results are preliminary cumulative extractions calculated from feed and solid-residue measurements.
Further independent solution analysis, repeat testing and downstream recovery studies will be required to confirm the results and establish whether the process can produce commercially saleable products.
The company also reported low extraction of zirconium, at 4.7%, indicating that a separate recovery method would likely be necessary for that metal.
The latest testing identified rubidium at a reported grade of 106.4 grams per tonne, strontium at 841.7 grams per tonne and scandium at approximately 10 grams per tonne in the material examined.
These elements have specialist industrial applications, including rubidium in atomic clocks and precision technologies, strontium in ceramics and magnets, and scandium in aerospace alloys and advanced manufacturing.
Fulcrum cited indicative prices for refined rubidium carbonate, strontium carbonate and scandium oxide, but emphasised that these quotations do not represent the value of metals contained in the tailings or achievable project revenue.
Commercial viability would depend on the production of suitable refined products, processing costs, recoverable quantities and the availability of reliable markets.
Chief Executive Ryan Mee described the results as a significant milestone, highlighting the opportunity to expand Teck-Hughes beyond its original precious-metal recovery focus.
He said the ability to extract additional critical minerals while maintaining comparable precious-metal performance strengthened the rationale for developing Fulcrum’s standalone pilot plant.
William Florman, President of Extrakt Process Solutions, said the findings would inform further laboratory optimisation and pilot testing, while helping assess potential applications across Fulcrum’s wider project portfolio.
The company is developing a standalone pilot facility in Mississauga, Ontario, designed to validate its cyanide-free processing technology at a larger scale.
Fit-out and commissioning are targeted for completion by the end of the first quarter of 2027, with initial Teck-Hughes pilot testing planned for the second quarter of 2027.
The facility will support optimisation of multi-metal extraction, investigation of flotation integration and development of downstream recovery methods capable of producing potentially marketable products.
It is also intended to generate the engineering information required to advance Teck-Hughes towards more detailed commercial evaluation.
Fulcrum believes the expanded metal recovery results could have applications at its Sylvanite Gold Tailings Project, where comparable grades of several critical minerals have previously been reported.
However, Sylvanite will require its own metallurgical testing before any assumptions can be made about achievable extraction rates or processing economics.
The latest results broaden Fulcrum’s potential recovery opportunities from historical mine waste, adding three specialist critical minerals to the precious-metal extraction work already undertaken.
For investors, the key development is the possibility of recovering a wider range of metals through the same processing platform, potentially improving the commercial flexibility of future operations.
Nevertheless, the results remain at the laboratory stage and do not demonstrate commercial recovery, saleable product production or project profitability.
The next milestones will be further metallurgical optimisation, independent verification of the extraction results and commissioning of the Mississauga pilot facility, followed by planned Teck-Hughes testing during the second quarter of 2027.
Successful pilot-scale testing would provide a stronger technical foundation for evaluating the commercial potential of Fulcrum’s cyanide-free precious and critical metals recovery strategy.
