In this interview, Zak Mir speaks with Fulcrum Metals CEO Ryan Mee about the company’s progress in reprocessing a legacy gold mine in Canada, recent TR1 filings showing increased investor activity, and what lies ahead for the company.
Fulcrum has boosted gold recovery from around 59% to over 70%, now also recovering silver, using a zero-cyanide, zero-waste process with six-hour leach times. Recent drilling has lifted gold-equivalent grades by 8% to 0.7 g/t, supporting a mineral resource estimate expected in early 2026.
Fulcrum Metals has quietly been reshaping its story: moving from a conventional explorer to a technology‑led developer focused on recovering gold and critical minerals from historic tailings. Recent test results, shareholder activity and a tightening register have put the company on the map. Here’s what matters and why this transition could be significant for the company and the wider mining sector.
Fulcrum Metals’ senior management will be in Cape Town from February 9–12 for the Mining Indaba conference. If you’d like to meet and learn more about our environmentally friendly tailings reprocessing strategy, please get in touch.
Why the pivot to tailings matters
Tailings projects tap previously mined material rather than digging new pits. That has three immediate advantages:
- Lower environmental footprint — using existing material reduces disturbance and can avoid new land clearances.
- Faster access to ounces — infrastructure and mineral concentrations are already known, which shortens timelines.
- Opportunity to recover multiple metals — tailings often contain not only gold but also silver and critical elements that were not recovered economically in the past.
The Extrakt technology: cleaner, simpler, scalable
Fulcrum has partnered with a proprietary process referred to as Extrakt. The core claims are simple but powerful: a single process that is zero cyanide and zero waste, capable of recovering gold alongside valuable co‑products such as tellurium, gallium and silver.
- Located in Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Canada.
- Part of the Teck-Hughes historic gold mine.
- Milled circa 9.6 million tonnes of ore and produced circa 3.7 million ounces of gold between 1917 and 1968.
- Project consists of 7 mining claims over 112 hectares
- Working with Extrakt to use its technology to sustainability extract gold from the Teck-Hughes’ tailings.
Early bench testing delivered initial gold recoveries around 59%. More recent Phase 3 testwork has produced results in excess of 70% for both gold and silver, with further optimisation underway. In addition, extended leach testing is targeting critical minerals such as tellurium and gallium — potentially transforming the economics by increasing the project’s gold‑equivalent grade.
Phase 3 and the rise of co‑products
Phase 3 is the pivotal study for Fulcrum. The company has already flagged preliminary Phase 3 results and expects further announcements in the near term. Key takeaways:
- Higher recoveries — movement from ~59% to +70% indicates the process is maturing.
- Co‑product potential — tellurium, gallium and silver could materially boost gold‑equivalent grades and project NPV.
- Zero cyanide, zero waste — if the claims hold at scale, this could be a disruptive environmental and permitting advantage.
Market response and share register dynamics
The market has noticed the progress. Share price momentum pushed the company near one‑year highs and produced notable insider and institutional activity. Several TR1 filings showed increases from investors including Metals One, Nick Nugent and Ian Bagnell, amounting to just over 26% combined. Directors retain roughly 19% of the register, tightening ownership and aligning incentives.
At the time of reporting, the stock was up about 30.51% year‑to‑date with a market capitalisation of around £11.09m. That performance suggests growing investor appetite for technology‑driven, lower‑impact resource plays.
Valuation perspective and upside potential
The company’s projects host an estimated 200,000 ounces of gold. Using a bullish gold price reference quoted by management (~US$5,000/oz at the time), the in‑situ metal value can look large on paper. That said, there are important caveats:
- Resource estimates need to be converted into economic reserves.
- Process performance at bench scale must be proven in pilot and commercial operations.
- Recovery of co‑products and their marketability will materially influence economics.
In short: the combination of a credible resource base plus a potentially disruptive extraction method creates meaningful upside if the technology scales and regulatory, permitting and commercial hurdles are cleared.
What to watch next
- Phase 3 final results — confirmation of sustained >70% recoveries and consistent co‑product yields.
- Pilot test plans — announcement of pilot or demonstration plant timelines and budgets.
- Commercial agreements — off‑take, offtake partnerships for co‑products, or licensing deals for the Extract process.
- Register movements — further institutional interest or increased insider holdings that signal confidence.
Bottom line
Fulcrum Metals is positioning itself as more than a gold explorer. By combining tailings assets with a zero‑cyanide extraction method and the prospect of multiple recoverable metals, the company is aiming to offer a cleaner, faster route to value. The next tranche of Phase 3 results and any pilot‑scale confirmations will be the most important value inflection points to watch.
