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“Exciting times,” said Tom Drivas, CEO and Director of Appia Rare Earths & Uranium Corp. (CSE: API | OTCQB: APAAF), his tone both measured and confident. After months of quiet technical work in Brazil, Appia has secured what he calls “a deal done with Ultra [Rare Earth Inc.],” closing a US$6 million investment to advance its ionic-clay and carbonatite discoveries at the company’s PCH Project in Goiás State. “We were looking for a strategic partner to advance the project into development,” he said. “Now we have one.”The transaction, finalized October 31 and announced publicly November 3 on Newsfile, gives Ultra a 50% interest in Appia Brasil Rare Earths Mineração Ltda., the local subsidiary that holds the PCH property. Appia retains 25%, with Brazilian partner Antonio Vitor Junior holding the remaining 25%. As part of the arrangement, Ultra purchased 5.56 million units of Appia at C$0.50—each including a half-warrant at C$0.70—bringing an additional C$2.78 million (US$2 million) directly onto Appia’s balance sheet. “These investors wouldn’t be coming in if they didn’t believe in the project,” Drivas told host Tracy Hughes of InvestorNews.com. “Our current trading price is around C$0.28.”The new capital, he emphasized, “will be used by Appia for working capital and for work on our Canadian projects,” while the US $6 million committed by Ultra is earmarked to move PCH to a pre-feasibility study within roughly 12 months. Under the joint structure, Ultra acts as operator and funds the next phase of drilling, resource modeling and metallurgical testing. “We’re drilling the carbonatite high-grade rare earths below the ionic clay,” Drivas said. “The goal is an NI 43-101 resource estimate and to move the project forward.”While Brazil is in the spotlight, the Toronto-listed company continues to advance a continental portfolio spanning northern Saskatchewan, Ontario’s Elliot Lake, and now South America. “Appia is a unique company—probably the only Western-world company with interests in three distinct rare earth projects in three different regions,” Drivas observed. Each property, he said, hosts minerals in geological settings with “known extraction technology.” At Alces Lake, the company is delineating high-grade monazite; at Elliot Lake, it controls Canada’s only district to have commercially produced both rare earths and 300 million pounds of uranium some 30 to 40 years ago. Now, with PCH, “we have ionic-clay rare earths at surface and high-grade hard-rock carbonatite below. I don’t know of any other project that has both.” He stressed the logistical advantages—“just 15 minutes from a mining town, with roads and power”—and the metallurgy: “Early results show very good desorption and fast kinetics, which means the rare earths come out efficiently. It basically ticks all the boxes.” Three drills are currently active at PCH—two auger rigs on the clay horizon and one diamond drill on the carbonatite body—while crews in Canada prepare for the next field season. Appia is also “evaluating potential Canadian uranium asset opportunities, like Elliot Lake,” Drivas said. After several lean years, he senses a turn in sentiment. “Over the last few years, it’s been difficult to raise substantial capital while rare earth prices were low,” he reflected. “But things have changed recently, and now this partnership with Ultra gives us the momentum to move the Brazil project forward rapidly, while continuing to advance our Canadian projects.”

A quietly confident declaration opened my conversation with Brett Marsh, President, CEO, and Director of Spartan Metals Corp. (TSXV: W): “Tungstonia was in operation during World War I and World War II … We picked it up recently, and we’re really excited about its potential for tungsten exploration.” The historic Nevada mine, once among the highest-grade tungsten producers in the United States, now anchors a critical minerals focused strategy at Spartan.Marsh pulled no punches. “At the time, it was one of the highest-grade tungsten mines … and recent research has shown that it continues to be so in terms of resource potential,” he said, underscoring that Spartan sees discovery potential, not just legacy assets. Moving quickly, Spartan has already initiated an exploration campaign at the Eagle Project in Nevada. “We started last week with characterization of some of the historic tailings … That program involved 34 holes, and we’re excited to receive results in a couple of weeks,” Marsh told me. And the work doesn’t stop there: “We’ve also been conducting an extensive soil sampling program across both claim blocks—Tungstonia and the Rees claim block … Those samples will be sent for analysis very soon.”In fact, the company’s October 16, 2025, news release confirms that the exploration program, which includes tailings drilling and surface work, is underway as part of Phase 1 of the NI 43-101-recommended work plan. Marsh’s background—“a range of roles with both junior and major mining companies, as well as with world-renowned consultancies”—helps explain his urgency. “I wanted to build (from) a broad and diverse background so I could effectively serve in a leadership role like this at Spartan Metals,” he noted.The team aspect is central too. When I asked about his newly-appointed Vice President, Exploration, he replied, “We were very fortunate to bring Rebecca Ball on board. She’s one of the top geologists I’ve ever worked with … She’s hit the ground running and is even more enthusiastic about the project than I am, if that’s possible.” That kind of enthusiasm, and talent, is now flowing toward the project’s broader potential: “Tungstonia forms the foundation of the company right now, with tungsten, silver, and rubidium as key focus metals. We also have the Rees claim block, which hosts another past-producing tungsten mine … Recent sampling in 2024 and 2025 showed significant silver and tungsten nearby … If you look at the U.S. critical minerals import reliance list, Tungstonia and the Rees claim block together contain at least 11 of the 50 critical minerals sought by the United States. It’s a very rich and well-endowed project area, and we seem to find something new every time we analyze new data or revisit the field.”Looking ahead, Marsh outlined the next steps: “We expect results soon from the tailings drilling program, along with metallurgical testing from both waste rock and tailings. Those results will help determine what we can recover … We’ll also reinterpret historical data to identify high-priority drill targets … Over the next quarter, shareholders can look forward to a steady stream of updates showing strong progress.” Of the company symbol “W” and the name Spartan Metals, his explanation was succinct: “The trading symbol ‘W’ is the chemical symbol for tungsten … When we formed the company, we deliberately made tungsten the foundation of Spartan Metals … As for the name ‘Spartan,’ it’s been a nickname of mine for some time, so naming the company was a way to put a personal stamp on it.”In articulating a strategy that connects deeply historic mines with modern critical-minerals priorities, Brett Marsh presents Spartan as more than an acquisition play. “We started … 34 holes … We’re really excited about the potential for discovery here,” he said, and the work is well under way.

In a sector where legacy assets often languish under layers of inertia, Kevin Keough is intent on rewriting the playbook. “There’s a major corporate revamp underway,” the Romios Gold Resources Inc. (TSXV: RG) CEO told me, leaning into the conviction of someone who’s already staked his own capital on the turnaround. “For investors looking for a turnaround play—that’s what Romios is.”Keough, who stepped into the role in June 2025, said the company is “a few steps away” from completing what he called a “radical refresh” — a process encompassing the company’s structure, strategy, and even its name. “By year-end,” he explained, “we’ll totally change the look and feel of this company: how it operates, its name, and various other aspects—to the benefit, I hope, of our shareholders.”The reset follows a string of corporate and field developments that signal a clear shift from prospect generator to active explorer. “We recognized the company had several issues to deal with—it had an inflated capital structure, a lot of debt, and management that perhaps was getting on in years,” he said. “So the company needed a complete refresh—and that’s what we’re doing.” Since June 30, Romios has closed an oversubscribed private placement and announced a debt-settlement program — moves Keough described as essential to rebuilding credibility. “I personally put in quite a bit of money,” he added. “I see assets in this company that could make our shareholders a lot of money going forward—and I’m not talking several years out.”At the top of his priority list is Trek South, a wholly owned copper-gold porphyry target in British Columbia’s Golden Triangle, adjacent to Teck-Newmont’s Galore Creek project. “It’s a seasonal play, but it offers the prospect of a discovery in the first round of drilling—one with the merits of potentially becoming a mine,” he said. “We have a large-scale target there, and that will be our focus.” Keough, who previously helped guide GT Gold through its celebrated Saddle discovery and eventual acquisition, said the same “disciplined, discovery-driven model” would define Romios’s new phase.While Trek South commands the spotlight, Romios has also launched a new round of fieldwork at its Kinkaid Copper-Gold-Silver Project in Nevada’s Walker Lane trend. The 10-day mapping and sampling program follows up on assays as high as 36.3 g/t gold and 4.8% copper at the Bismark Hill target, and 1,725 g/t silver at the PM Skarn zone—results that hint at multiple buried porphyry centers. Vice-President of Exploration John Biczok called it “an exciting and potentially game-changing development.”Keough is equally focused on modernizing the boardroom. “We’ve brought in independent directors like Liz Wallinger and Malcolm Davidson—both CPAs—and Trish Jacques, who chairs the Association for Mineral Exploration BC,” he said. “They’ve all joined because, like me, they see the potential in Romios once we fix the historical issues.”That blend of pragmatism and conviction underpins Keough’s pitch to investors: a willingness to take calculated risk in pursuit of scale. “I’d remind shareholders that we’re early-stage explorers,” he said. “You don’t invest in us unless you’re prepared to take a gamble to some degree.” But, he added, “The potential for a big return based on the first drilling is real. The geoscience alignment at Trek South is exactly what we saw before at GT Gold — and that was the key.” For Keough, it’s less about legacy and more about timing. “Once we finish the corporate rebuild,” he said, “we’ll be positioned to focus on those flagship assets. The rebrand will help promote that vision.”

“The old-timers thought 5,000 grams per tonne was too low to mine,” says Frank Basa, CEO and Chairman of Nord Precious Metals Mining Inc. (TSXV: NTH | OTCQB: CCWOF). “Think about that.” His disbelief carries pride—an echo from the past reborn in the present. Today, Nord is again pulling extraordinary grades from Ontario’s storied Cobalt Camp, a district once hailed as the world’s richest silver producer. “We came out with these crazy grades—89,000 grams a tonne, 50,000, 20,000,” Basa recounts. “It might be we’re going back to another cycle of super-high grades.”What began as a $25,000 purchase put on his credit card has evolved into a multi-million-dollar revival. “The cheapest property now in the camp is $5 million,” Basa says. “Another company came in and spent $10 million.” Yet, for him, the prize remains elusive: “When I was with Agnico, we were looking for the motherlode. We’ve never found it. I think it’s still here.”Nord’s transformation has mirrored the rally in silver itself. A recent capital raise aimed for $1 million but ballooned to $11 million within weeks. “I’ve never seen anything like that,” Basa says. “The price of silver was going up—everything was lined up for us.”The company’s near-term focus lies in reprocessing the Beaver Mine tailings, where test work produced commercial-grade silver concentrate. “We have these very high-grade Beaver tails,” Basa says. “The grade is between 4 to 10 ounces a ton. Some people have a resource at that grade.” He cites Ontario’s new “recovery permit,” which allows for approvals in just 10 weeks. “You can’t get that anywhere in the world,” he adds.Basa estimates that tailings reprocessing could yield half a million ounces of silver annually—a stepping-stone toward Nord’s three-year production plan. “We actually have two plants,” he says. “One is for the tailings, and the other is for hard rock. We’d like to start producing next year on the tailings, then move to the hard rock within that same three-year time frame.”For a camp once left for dead, the revival feels poetic. “This was the highest-grade area in the world,” Basa reflects. “We might just be going back to that again.”

In a recent conversation with Tracy Hughes of InvestorNews, Jack Lifton, co-chair of the Critical Minerals Institute (CMI), offered a pointed assessment of the recent meeting between President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping and its implications for the rare earths market. According to Lifton, “what they agreed upon was that China would roll back its latest series of impediments to the export of rare earth products by one year,” and he cautioned that “this wasn’t any kind of permanent deal.” He emphasized that Americans in particular tend to overlook the significance of China’s newly published 2026-2030 five-year plan, which prioritizes the development of a civilian consumer economy—contrasting with China’s traditional emphasis on production over consumption. “China absorbs 80% of its production of rare earth enabled products,” he noted, adding that if China succeeds in its domestic consumer revolution, “they’ll use even more of their production than they do now.” Lifton warned that the United States and Europe must act proactively: “no matter what this temporary agreement is, the United States and Europe must develop domestic sourcing of these rare earth enabled products, in particular the magnets.” He observed that the market seemed to understand the provisional nature of the accord, remarking that although rare earth stocks dipped, “not that much” dropped, reflecting investor recognition that “this is a temporary fix and nothing has been decided in the long run.” Lifton offered a critical view of China’s relationship with the World Trade Organization, asserting “China thinks WTO is sort of a pejorative term … they couldn’t care less about the World Trade Organization except as it benefits China.” Addressing the geopolitics, he characterized Trump and Xi as “world-class salesmen … this is a duel between two powerful, smart salesmen, both of whom are trying to help out their nations,” and cautioned against interpreting the outcome as one having made significant concessions. On allied front, Lifton chastised the U.S. for disregarding key partners: “the problem we have in America … is that we’re ignoring Canada and we’re ignoring Australia.” His outlook for Canada is telling: “Canada is being forced by the actions of the United States administration into the arms of Europe.” Whether Canada chooses to link with the U.S., Europe or China, he observed, “If Canada can’t sell its materials to the United States, what’s it going to do? Stop producing? No. It’s going to sell to whoever wants to buy them.” Lifton sounded a clear warning: to avoid being economically bypassed, the West must treat critical minerals investment as a long-term strategic effort, not a political impulse.

Few juniors move from acquisition to drill completion in a single quarter. Volta Metals Ltd. (CSE: VLTA | FSE: D0W) has—and President & CEO Kerem Usenmez says the results could redefine Canada’s place in the critical minerals map. “What’s particularly exciting about the Springer Rare Earth and Gallium Project is its location, its high-grade nature, and the fact that it’s open in all directions,” he told InvestorNews.com host Tracy Hughes. “That, to me, is the most exciting spot to be in right now.”In an industry where patience is measured in drill seasons, Volta wasted no time. “We acquired this project in July this summer, and we’ve already drilled it,” Usenmez said. The company’s 1,638-metre diamond program, four holes in total, probed deeper than any previous campaign. “Every borehole went deeper than anticipated—deeper than it had ever been drilled before. We believe a couple of the holes, if not more, remain in mineralization, because visually we can still see carbonatite.” Samples are now at Activation Laboratories in North Bay, Ontario, with assays pending.Volta’s September 29 release confirmed what Usenmez described: all holes intersected multiple thick zones of syenite-carbonatite breccia and dolomitic carbonatite—up to 125 metres and 20 metres downhole thickness respectively—ending in mineralization still open for expansion. Technical Advisor Dr. Fred Breaks noted that early observations “suggest the presence of a very large, intact carbonatite system … with the present drilling situated within a potassic fenite breccia zone intruded by high-grade REE-rich dolomitic carbonatite dykes.”The potential stakes are high. The historic 2012 Tetra Tech resource estimated 4.2 million tonnes at 1.14% TREO (indicated) and 12.7 million tonnes at 1.17% TREO (inferred) with measurable heavy-rare-earth content—numbers Volta hopes to verify and expand. “We’ll likely release [assay results] hole by hole—from now through mid-to-late November,” Usenmez said. “After that, we’ll be updating the resource, which we anticipate will be larger and potentially better. We also aim to have a standalone gallium resource—which would be the first in Canada.”Usenmez credits a deliberate approach to relationships for the company’s momentum. “It’s extremely important to build that relationship and be respectful,” he said of Volta’s memorandum of understanding with the Nipissing First Nation. “We believe that you have to do that before doing any work. This MOU solidifies our respectful relationship and partnership with them.”Now entering only its second year as a public company, Volta’s strength, Usenmez insists, lies in its bench. “We have a knowledgeable, skilled, and engaged board—a functioning board with functioning committees. I rely on the expertise of every single person.” Among his advisors are metallurgist Alastair Neill, who helped design several rare earth processing facilities worldwide, and Dr. Breaks, whose three decades at the Ontario Geological Survey shaped much of the province’s rare earth elements (REE) and lithium mapping.From the core shack near Sturgeon Falls to the boardroom in Toronto, Usenmez’s focus is clear: accelerate responsibly. “We went right ahead and drilled,” he said simply, the understatement of a man used to moving fast in a slow industry. “It’s hard to pick a favorite [mineral]—I guess it’s like having multiple children—but right now, Springer is where the excitement is.”

In the heart of Brazil’s mining country, where hills of iron and niobium have long fed global industry, a new frontier is emerging—and Christopher Eager is convinced its titanium and rare earths that will define the next chapter. “Brazil is one of the few places in the world where you can go from early-stage exploration through to start of construction in sometimes less than 24 months,” said Eager, CEO and Chairman of Resouro Strategic Metals Inc. (ASX: RAU | TSXV: RSM | OTCQB: RSGOF), in a recent InvestorNews.com interview with Peter Clausi. “The permitting regime is very good. The environmental agency is strict but fair, and the mining ministry is very prescriptive. It’s a great place to develop a project.”Eager’s enthusiasm is grounded in data. Resouro’s Tiros Titanium-Rare Earths Project in Minas Gerais—350 kilometres from Belo Horizonte—hosts an NI 43-101 measured and indicated resource of 1.4 billion tonnes grading 12% titanium dioxide and 4,000 ppm total rare earth oxides. “We also have a supergene enrichment zone at surface—free-digging, friable material—of 130 million tonnes at 23% titanium dioxide and about 9,100 ppm total rare earth oxides,” Eager explained. “Ours is both bulk-mining and high-grade—the best of both worlds.”Resouro’s August 14 results from the Tiros Northern Block confirmed that the promise extends well beyond early drilling. Eighteen auger holes returned intercepts up to 22.4% TiO₂ and 13,074 ppm TREO, reinforcing the continuity of near-surface mineralization. “These results provide further evidence of the remarkable continuity and size potential of the global exploration target at Tiros,” Eager said in the release.From the air, the deposit traces a vast geologic ribbon across nearly 71 kilometres of strike length. “We’ve drilled about 7% of the deposit,” he told Clausi, “but we’ve done scout drilling. Radiometrics work quite well—we’ve got low uranium and thorium, but enough to give a radiometric signature.” The company controls nearly 500 square kilometres of concessions over the Capacete Formation, mapped across the region.For Eager, a mining engineer by training, the project’s simplicity is its genius. “From a mining engineer perspective, it’s cut-and-fill mining with rehabilitation as you go,” he said. “It’s friable, free-digging, no drill-and-blast, at surface, with very little stripping ratio.” The challenge, he admits, lies not in the pit but in the processing. “The real intellect and brains behind this project are the metallurgists,” he added. “We beneficiate the ore, separate the coarse fraction of the titanium dioxide, and purify it for the pigment market. The finer fraction is leached for rare earths and more titanium dioxide—this second stream is applicable to the titanium metals market.”Titanium, as Eager reminds us, is ubiquitous. “It’s the white pigment in plastics, paints, and anything with a white base,” he said. “The titanium pigment market is worth about US $20 billion a year—a large, deep market that can’t be manipulated by one group, such as the Chinese.” The company also sees potential downstream opportunities as titanium technologies evolve. “You can take titanium dioxide, remove the oxygen, and get titanium metal. Traditionally this was done using the Kroll process, but now there are newer technologies producing titanium metal powder for 3D printing of titanium components.”Resouro’s deposit even contains minor scandium, used in high-performance alloys and additive manufacturing. “Titanium is increasingly used in cars, too—lighter, stronger, non-corrosive compared to steel,” he said. “It’s more expensive, but new technologies and economies of scale are bringing down the cost.”Publicly listed across Australia, Canada, and the U.S., Resouro maintains a market capitalization of about C$40 million. “About 50% of our shares are ADRs on the Australian market and 50% on the Canadian market,” Eager noted.

There are few phrases that carry the weight of accomplishment in the junior mining world quite like “commercial shipment.” For Silver Bullet Mines Corp. (TSXV: SBMI | OTCQB: SBMCF), it’s not just a milestone—it’s validation. As Director and VP of Capital Markets Peter Clausi put it in a recent conversation with InvestorNews.com host Tracy Hughes, “There’s been a lot of work getting to this point, and it’s a good reward for the shareholders.”The company’s October 24 announcement confirmed shipment of its first commercial quantity of gold and silver concentrate from the KT Mine in Arizona—an event Clausi described as “monumental.” The product has already been picked up for transport, marking the beginning of what the company expects will be regular scheduled shipments. “This represents significant revenue to the company,” Clausi reiterated, although he added that the exact numbers—tonnage, grade, and dollar value—remain confidential under the terms of the agreement with the buyer. “We’d love to disclose all the details to the investing public; we just can’t right now, and so we won’t.”It’s not just about this single load of concentrate. Silver Bullet Mines is moving from exploration to sustained production, with two mines contributing material. “We have concentrate from the KT Mine and from the SC Mine,” Clausi explained. “This shipment is the gold-silver concentrate from the KT Mine. With respect to the material from the SC Mine, we’re still waiting—frustratingly so—on the third-party independent assay results on the silver concentrate. Once we have that, there’ll be another sale announced.”But the path to cash flow is rarely straight. Clausi pointed to a global backlog in assay laboratories caused by the surge in gold prices. “Six weeks ago, I thought it would be tomorrow,” he said with dry humor. “The problem at the labs right now—and this is a global problem—is that gold’s at $4,000. So, everybody who has a gold project is pulling samples out of the closet or going into the field to grab samples and jamming up the labs with them.”The company’s progress is also visible in its balance sheet. Silver Bullet has retired convertible debentures issued in 2023 and seen the exercise of millions of warrants, strengthening working capital. “The holders of the debentures elected to convert now, before the ratchet took place,” Clausi said. “They were issued shares at the lower pre-ratchet price. And remember, we did that financing when the stock was around 8 to 10 cents, so having a convert at that price point was fantastic for the company to raise capital.”Silver Bullet’s ownership of its own processing mill in Globe, Arizona, sets it apart from many peers. “We own our own mill, and it’s working very well,” Clausi said. “We’re going to take some capital and add other units so we can extract gold and copper at our mill—not just silver.” The mill, he added, is central to the company’s strategy: “For most mining companies, the mine is the key. For us, it’s the mill—because now we can take other material in Arizona, bring in new mines under the Silver Bullet umbrella, process that material, and control our own costs.”The company’s portfolio includes three mining jurisdictions—Arizona, Idaho, and Nevada—with both silver and copper prospects. Its flagship Black Diamond Project sits in Arizona’s historic Globe-Miami copper camp, where Silver Bullet is reviving the legacy of the 19th-century Richmond Basin discoveries. “We started at Buckeye, which was silver at a certain grade,” Clausi recalled. “We found the SC Mine—really liked that—and then we were introduced to the KT Mine, which has high gold grades. So, we can work the SC for high silver and the KT for high gold.”

Stakeholder Gold Corp. (TSXV: SRC) sits at the crossroads of two of the hottest commodity stories of 2025 — gold and copper — and, as CEO Christopher Berlet tells it, “right in the middle” of the White Gold District that is suddenly worth hundreds of millions more than it was just weeks ago.“We currently trade at about one-fifteenth the value of the surrounding companies,” Berlet said, acknowledging the gap between Stakeholder’s market cap and peers such as Western Copper and Gold Corporation (TSX: WRN | NYSE American: WRN), Fuerte Metals Corporation (TSXV: FMT | OTCQB: FUEMF), and White Gold Corp. (TSXV: WGO | OTCQX: WHGOF).When asked about the impact of the recent deal by Fuerte Metals, Berlet replied: “It is exceptionally good news for the White Gold District in particular. Fuerte Metals (since) … announced the acquisition of the Coffee Project. If you read their press release, it extensively discusses First Nations participation, road construction, and the quality of the Coffee deposit, which is one of the largest and best undeveloped heap-leach deposits in the world today. It brings a credible path toward building a new mine in White Gold and a very credible team to the district.”The underlying infrastructure play is central: “By design, we staked the ground for two reasons. One was to include all drainage into Ballarat Creek, a prolific placer-gold producer … The other was to acquire claims along the defined road route after Newmont began public consultations around 2016. … Today, we are positioned with 17 kilometres of the road to be built directly through the middle of our 18,500-hectare property. We have a gold discovery of size on the western side of that road and a copper discovery on the eastern side, separated by about 8 kilometres.”Looking ahead, Berlet described the plan: “Our objective now is to drill. … We have substantial targets in both the Sky Gold Zone and the Loki Copper Zone. We plan to begin drilling as early as possible. The Northern Gateway Road will run 17 kilometres through the center of our claims. The discoveries are about a kilometre on either side of that road … It is an ideal location for new discoveries in the White Gold District.”He also pointed to the lesser-known but cash-flow generating side of the business: “We have started a new white-quartzite quarry, which is profitable. … The business is expanding, cash-flow-positive, and allows us to maintain a tight capital structure.” In the company’s recent news release, Stakeholder reported quartzite sales of C$911,837 in H1 2025 — up 153% year-over-year — with gross margins of 76.9%.“We are expanding our product range from 1 to 3 quarries and are witnessing a robust return of demand for the exotic blue quartzite product … At the same time, we are developing direct sales lines into the UK, Canada and select further international markets,” stated Marcus Chase, President of Victoria Mining Corp., the company’s wholly-owned Brazilian subsidiary supporting exploration funding while reducing dilution.Berlet observed the synergy: “An expanding cash flow from the stone-quarry business allows us to fund exploration and preserve treasury shares as we pursue significant gold-and-copper discovery opportunities in the White Gold District.” Finally, when asked what shareholders should expect in the upcoming quarter, Berlet said: “There will be news about expansion, revenue growth, and strong operating margins in Brazil. … For 2026, our key focus will be new discoveries in the White Gold District. We will begin drilling as soon as possible, supported by newly issued permits, qualified geologists, and claims secured until 2033, extended annually as work progresses. … The news that can truly drive value for Stakeholder in 2026 will come from our geological work in the heart of the White Gold District.”

Scandium Canada Ltd. (TSXV: SCD) is rapidly positioning itself as a linchpin in North America’s critical minerals strategy. “We’re certainly the single largest and only primary source of scandium in North America,” said CEO Guy Bourassa during an interview with InvestorNews.com host Tracy Hughes. “For anyone looking to work with or produce high-performance aluminum-scandium alloys, we’re definitely a company to look at.”Fresh from Quebec’s 2025 Economic Mission to Asia, Bourassa described a surge of global attention following China’s recent export ban on scandium. “It’s awakening investors and large potential end users who now realize they’re at the mercy of one single source,” he explained. “That’s creating momentum for them to support development within our own territories.” The mission, organized by Investissement Québec International and Quebec’s Ministry of Natural Resources, saw Scandium Canada present its Crater Lake project to major institutions in Seoul and Tokyo. “We had a couple of interesting meetings in Seoul and Tokyo,” Bourassa added, noting growing demand from Asian manufacturers for reliable scandium supply.At the heart of Scandium Canada’s strategy is Crater Lake — a 230-kilometre northeast Nunavik property that Bourassa calls “one of the world’s most significant primary sources of scandium.” A recent mineral resource update confirmed its exceptional grade and rare earth oxide byproducts, strengthening Quebec’s role in the global clean technology value chain. Bourassa noted that the company’s latest metallurgical tests at SGS Lakefield “confirmed the flowsheet, demonstrated very good scandium recovery, and verified the quality of our total rare earth oxide byproduct,” all improvements over the 2022 Preliminary Economic Assessment.Government support has been another catalyst. “There’s very good momentum from both the federal and provincial governments,” Bourassa said, pointing to Ottawa’s Critical Minerals Infrastructure Fund — a $300 million annual program to accelerate project readiness. “We applied this year for a grant under that program… we expect to receive an answer sometime this fall — hopefully by the end of October.” If approved, the funding would cover much of the cost of a large-scale pilot metallurgy phase, bringing the company to a full feasibility study by fall 2027 and a Final Investment Decision soon after.On the technology side, Scandium Canada is emerging as both a miner and materials innovator. Its new alloys, developed through its Scandium+ division and in partnership with McMaster University, are “a practical solution to one of the most persistent challenges in metal 3D printing: eliminating cracking in high-strength aluminum alloys.” Bourassa explained that these alloys “meet or exceed all mechanical properties compared to the only comparable product currently on the market — and we can achieve that with less scandium content.” The company has already filed an international patent and identified “eight different sectors and about ten specific parts that can be rapidly tested and commercialized.” The next catalyst, Bourassa confirmed, is the expected announcement of roughly $11 million in government grants. Bourassa adds: “The more China restricts or bans exports, the more valuable our project becomes. Western governments are under pressure to secure access and control over the supply of critical minerals, and our project fits directly into that strategy.”

Few companies in the North American critical minerals sector can make the claim that they are both advanced and environmentally forward—but West High Yield (W.H.Y.) Resources Ltd. (TSXV: WHY) stands out as one that can. “We’re probably the largest, greenest project on the North American continent relative to critical minerals today,” said Barry Baim, Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director of West High Yield, in an interview with InvestorNews host Tracy Hughes. “Within that project, we have a 7.5-kilometre outcrop of a discovery that contains magnesium, silica, nickel, and iron.”Baim’s enthusiasm was well-placed. At a time when North America is urgently trying to decouple from foreign mineral dependencies, West High Yield’s Record Ridge Project—located just outside Rossland, British Columbia—has quietly advanced to the brink of production. “This project is critical not only because of the demands of various industries and the geopolitical thrust going on in the world right now,” he explained, “but also because of the energy transition to a low-carbon economy. Magnesium and silica are going to play a huge role in that—in many verticals.”The numbers back him up. According to the company’s NI 43-101 Preliminary Economic Assessment prepared by SRK Consulting, Record Ridge holds approximately 10.6 million tonnes of contained magnesium—making it one of the highest-grade magnesium deposits in the world, averaging 24.6% magnesium. “It’s easily extractable,” said Baim. “As you may be aware, magnesium is currently controlled by China, which produces about 95% of the world’s supply using something called the Pidgeon Process. That’s a very heat-intensive, carbon-emitting process—not favorable to the environment.”By contrast, West High Yield is developing a process that could redefine what “green mining” means in practice. “The process we’re looking at is much greener, using HCl (acid leaching),” Baim said. “Because we use HCl in a closed-loop system, it requires very little energy and is almost carbon-neutral.” For manufacturers prioritizing ESG compliance, the implications are significant: “It’s an ideal product for them to acquire,” he added, “a premium product without a CO₂ trail in their manufacturing process.”The company’s long path toward permitting underscores its persistence. “Canada has some of the most rigorous mining standards in the world,” Baim noted. “The company was founded 22 years ago, and we’ve been working on the critical minerals aspect of this project for the last 18 years.” That persistence has paid off. In September 2025, West High Yield announced it had received a draft permit from the British Columbia Ministry of Mining and Critical Minerals—an essential step toward final approval for extraction at Record Ridge. “We’ve now completed all of that,” said Baim. “We submitted our permit application in 2018, and we’ve been working closely with the Ministry to meet all environmental and regulatory requirements for a sustainable project. We anticipate receiving the final draft permit in Q4 of this year.”Once that permit lands, construction will begin almost immediately. “We already have a Letter of Intent (LOI) in place for an offtake agreement covering the first couple of years of the project,” Baim said, highlighting that early revenue is within sight. “As soon as the permit is secured, we’ll start the necessary pre-construction work. The beauty of our project is that it’s already close to existing infrastructure—power and gas lines run through our site, and we’re only 2 kilometres off a public roadway.”Beyond infrastructure advantages, the economics of Record Ridge are equally compelling. “Our ore contains 94% saleable product from extraction—magnesium, nickel, silica, and iron—so we don’t need a large processing facility or a tailings pond on site,” Baim explained. “It’s a simple yet highly economical project.”

In a world where half the global population depends on nitrogen fertilizers that come with a heavy carbon cost, FuelPositive Corporation (TSXV: NHHH | OTCQB: NHHHF) is rewriting the rules of agricultural production. “Nitrogen is one of the most essential inputs for farmers around the world,” said Ian Clifford, CEO and Chair of FuelPositive, in a recent interview with InvestorNews host Tracy Hughes. “The production of synthetic nitrogen feeds half of the world’s population, but unfortunately, it’s also one of the most carbon-intensive manufacturing processes on the planet.”Clifford’s company is tackling one of modern agriculture’s most entrenched problems—how to feed billions sustainably—by moving fertilizer production from massive, petroleum-fueled plants to the farms themselves. “Our business model is to build systems that live on the farm, with the farmer,” he explained. “These systems are designed to provide this essential and critical input—ammonia—right on the farm. That means farmers own the means of production, they own the output, and they always have a very clear line of sight on the cost and supply of their nitrogen.”The company’s first full-scale demonstration system, the FP300, is installed on an 11,000-acre grain farm near Winnipeg, Manitoba. Once fully activated, it will produce 100 metric tonnes of green ammonia annually, powered entirely by sustainable electricity. Each tonne produced prevents up to two tonnes of CO₂ emissions. The system serves as the foundation for FuelPositive’s next model—the FP1500—capable of producing five times that amount. “Right now, we have our first full-scale demonstration system on a farm in Manitoba,” Clifford said. “This $5 million LIFE financing we’re doing right now is designed to fully complete the activation of that first system and then run it through its demonstration phase over the next six to twelve months.”Farmers have been quick to express interest. “We’ve got dozens of farmers lined up to purchase systems, but they need to see the system running before they make that commitment,” Clifford noted. The Manitoba government has also shown strong support for the project, though Clifford pointed out that the timing of their funding programs doesn’t always align with a company in transition. “Raising government money at this stage of our development is a real challenge because we’re between the research and development phase, which is relatively straightforward to fund, and the commercialization and manufacturing stage,” he explained. “So, we decided to go back out to the market with a LIFE financing—available to all Canadians—and raise the capital that way.”FuelPositive’s decentralized model is as much about independence as it is about innovation. Traditional ammonia production relies on centralized refineries that ship globally, leaving farmers at the mercy of volatile pricing and unpredictable supply chains. Clifford’s approach upends that system by giving producers direct control of their fertilizer and fuel inputs. “It’s all petroleum-based,” he said of conventional methods. “So it has a very significant carbon footprint, and again, it’s centralized production.”As FuelPositive prepares for the activation of its first unit, the stakes are high. “The big step will be the activation of the system—getting it fully up and running at full output,” Clifford told Hughes. “Then, all of the data collection, inspections, and certifications will take place in real time over the coming months. We’ll see the performance of the system, and through that, we’ll also see the conversion of farmer interest into actual sales.”Momentum appears to be building. According to FuelPositive’s latest corporate update, the company has launched an updated website, released a French version of its offering document, and reported strong investor interest in its ongoing financing. “We’re super excited with the response we’re getting so far—it’s been great,” Clifford said with a smile.

In a sector defined by scarcity, American Tungsten Corp. (CSE: TUNG | OTCQB: TUNGF) has set its sights on reviving a supply chain that North America lost a decade ago. “Production in North America ceased in 2015,” CEO Ali Haji told InvestorNews host Tracy Hughes. “The intent for American Tungsten is to be the first producer since that cessation.”From his first five months as CEO, Haji’s impact has been measurable: “The stock has moved four times—literally four times—since you became CEO,” Hughes remarked. The momentum reflects a rare combination of factors—high grade, existing infrastructure, and strategic partnerships—that could allow American Tungsten to fast-track the restart of its past-producing Ima Mine in Idaho.“We are a brownfield project with about 15 miles of underground workings,” said Haji. “We also have the second-highest grade in North America at 0.63% WO₃, plus a 2-ounce-per-ton silver credit and 0.15% molybdenum.” These attributes, he explained, make the project “well-hedged against any sort of price movements from the tungsten perspective.” With paved roads, high-voltage power, and water rights already in place on private patented land, American Tungsten expects to build a 500-ton-per-day milling operation capable of supplying roughly 8% of U.S. demand within 12 to 18 months.In September 2025, the company announced a Letter of Intent with Global Tungsten & Powders (GTP)—one of only two ammonium paratungstate (APT) producers in North America. “The fact that we’ve been able to obtain an offtake with them tells the market that we have the potential to produce something of quality,” Haji said. In the accompanying release, he called the deal “a pivotal milestone in our emergence as a leading domestic supplier of high-grade tungsten,” adding that it “reflects the deep confidence our partners place in our technical capabilities and long-term vision.”Rehabilitation work at the Ima Mine’s Zero Level access tunnel has already advanced 115 feet, with the company reporting an MSHA inspection that “praised the quality of work completed.” Haji emphasized that American Tungsten is “rapidly advancing toward a secure, modern, and highly efficient underground mining operation.”The company’s 2,000 acres of valley-floor property, which include historic tailings from prior operators, could offer an additional near-surface resource. “Our intent is to put our milling facility either on or beside those tailings,” Haji explained. “We’re currently reviewing them to see if they would make sense for us to process.”While Haji’s operational plans are aggressive, his strategic team suggests institutional ambition. “I’m most proud of Jim Whitaker… the COO of Capstone Copper, an $8 billion copper behemoth,” Haji said. “He’s a true mine builder.” Alongside Whitaker sits Dan Nicholas, former head of the U.S. Department of Energy’s $40 billion Loan Programs Office, who is helping American Tungsten pursue grants for what Haji calls “an $18 million capex project in Idaho that would serve 8% of U.S. tungsten demand.”Globally, tungsten is one of the most critical—and constrained—industrial metals, vital to defense, aerospace, and high-temperature manufacturing. American Tungsten’s grade positions it among the best. “We are sitting at 0.63%—the second-highest in North America and the fifth-highest in the world,” Haji said. “That ultimately changes our economics quite drastically. Even with a 500-ton-per-day production profile, we are still very profitable.”As the company prepares to begin drilling to validate its historical resource this quarter, the CEO remains singularly focused: “The intent is still very much to be the first producer of tungsten in North America since 2015.”

The world’s next energy race isn’t being fought over oil or gas—it’s being built from the black powder inside a lithium-ion cell. And in that race, Nano One Materials Corp. (TSX: NANO | OTCQB: NNOMF) has quietly positioned itself as one of the few Western companies with the technology, partnerships, and timing to compete.“We’re really excited about our progress with Rio Tinto,” says Alex Holmes, Chief Operating Officer of Nano One, speaking with InvestorNews.com host Tracy Hughes. “Rio Tinto invested in Nano One in the middle of 2022 at about $2.70 a share. They invested in us because they saw the need for technology to change the way LFP cathode active material is made.”The partnership now serves as a model for how the West might rebuild its battery supply chains from the ground up. Rio Tinto—already one of the world’s largest lithium producers—plans to make over 200,000 tons of lithium carbonate by 2028, following its $5 billion acquisition of Arcadium Lithium. “By structuring this relationship with Rio Tinto and pre-qualifying their materials,” Holmes says, “we’re helping our licensing partners cut about 12 months out of that process that would typically be required to pre-qualify materials.”Nano One’s approach fuses upstream mining with downstream technology in what Hughes called “a western supply chain blueprint for LFP batteries.” Holmes agrees. “It’s not going to be one company or one group trying to do it on its own. It has to be collaborative,” he says. “Us bringing this upstream with the refining end—and us in the midstream—creates a very strategic value proposition for the companies that are downstream of us.”That vision is already drawing heavyweight validation. Earlier this week, Nano One announced an expanded collaboration with Japan’s Sumitomo Metal Mining on LFP commercialization. “Sumitomo recognized the need for technology differentiation to help the Japanese ecosystem grow—and that copying China was simply not an option,” Holmes explains. After two years of joint testing and trials, Sumitomo has now identified Nano One as “a key technology partner for how they’re going to grow their LFP business and their nickel-rich business.” --

Few projects in Canada’s critical minerals landscape capture the strategic urgency of tungsten the way Happy Creek Minerals Ltd. (TSXV: HPY) does. “Happy Creek has one of the highest-grade tungsten deposits in the world,” said President, CEO, and Director Jason Bahnsen, “which is a great place to start.” The company’s flagship Fox Tungsten Project in British Columbia holds an NI 43-101 resource of roughly 1.2 million tonnes across Indicated and Inferred categories, and with drilling now underway, Bahnsen believes “this could be one of the largest and highest-grade tungsten deposits globally.”Founded by geologist Dave Blann in 2006 and named after a nearby creek, Happy Creek has recently caught the attention of investors. “When I joined, the company had a market cap of about seven or eight million dollars,” Bahnsen recalled. “We’re now at around $25 million, and we think there’s a lot more room to grow.” Since his arrival, the share price has more than doubled and the company has raised fresh capital, appointed a new director, and initiated a 10,000-metre resource-expansion drill program at Fox. “Because of the timing of our financing in September, we got going fairly late in the season,” he explained. “Drilling began about three weeks ago. The holes are relatively short—around 100 metres—which gives us a lot of efficiency and highlights the shallow nature of the deposit.”That shallowness, combined with Fox’s grade, makes the project stand out in the global tungsten landscape. As Bahnsen pointed out, “There currently isn’t a single tungsten producer on the continent,” positioning Happy Creek to fill a major North American supply-chain gap. The company’s 2025/2026 diamond-drill program—up to 100 holes across several target zones—is designed to expand its existing high-grade resource. “We’ll be announcing assays over the next few months,” he said. “We like what we’re seeing in the drilling so far.”Yet Happy Creek’s ambitions extend well beyond tungsten. Its Silver Boss Project, a 200-square-kilometre copper-molybdenum-gold-silver property, sits adjacent to Glencore’s former Boss Mountain Molybdenum Mine. “Boss Mountain was one of the highest-grade molybdenum mines in Canada—around 0.2 percent moly—and ran for over 20 years until 1983,” said Bahnsen. “We’re exploring extensions of that mineralization.” He noted the presence of a 4.5-kilometre copper-in-soil anomaly and highlighted that the area “is so mineralized it could almost be a standalone company.”Happy Creek’s contiguous 370-square-kilometre land package also includes the Hen Art-DL area, hosting historic gold workings and samples grading up to 40 grams per tonne. “The entire area is richly mineralized—with copper, gold, silver, molybdenum, and even some palladium and platinum,” Bahnsen added. “With renewed investor interest in explorers, I think Happy Creek is in a great position.”As the drilling season advances, the company expects steady assay results from Fox and continued progress at Silver Boss—each update moving closer to Bahnsen’s vision of building a significant North American source of tungsten and a diversified portfolio of critical mineral assets in British Columbia.

In an era when artificial intelligence is reshaping nearly every industry, Quantum Critical Metals Corp. (TSXV: LEAP | OTCQB: ATOXF) is taking a bold step to merge machine learning with mineral exploration. “Everything is getting automated—faster, better, smarter,” said CEO and Director Marcy Kiesman. “We’re trying to use AI in every aspect we can in the mining field.” From mapping mineralized zones to correlating geological data, the company’s technology-first approach is designed to accelerate discoveries of key critical minerals essential to the energy transition.At the heart of this strategy is Quantum’s NMX East Project in the James Bay region of Québec—home to a suite of priority metals that includes gallium, lithium, niobium, rubidium, and tantalum. “We’ve just recently flown two airborne surveys on our NMX East project,” Kiesman said. “The anomaly we detected is similar in amplitude, strike, shape, and size to that of our neighboring Nisk deposit owned by Power Metallic Mines Inc.—which is fantastic news for Quantum and its shareholders.” The project sits just ten kilometers outside of Namaska and adjacent to Nemaska Lithium’s Wabouchi deposit, placing Quantum squarely within one of Canada’s most active critical minerals corridors.The company’s October 2025 update confirmed the completion of a second MAG-TDEM airborne survey, revealing deep bedrock conductors consistent with nickel-PGE mineralization. “It’s encouraging for shareholders,” Kiesman said at the time, “that a magnetic anomaly on the NMX East Property is similar in amplitude, strike, shape, and size to the anomaly found at the neighboring Nisk deposit.” Drill permits are now being prepared, and the next phase will target both the pegmatite zones and a newly identified ultramafic package at the southern end of the property.Quantum’s exploration philosophy extends beyond conventional geology. “We upload most of our reports into AI systems to find correlations between our projects and neighboring projects,” Kiesman explained. “We also use AI to differentiate the different rock types on the project and to statistically locate the areas of greatest interest—to make our exploration faster on the ground.” Metallurgical work is currently underway to determine the most efficient method for extracting critical minerals from mica—the key mineral carrier at NMX East. “The areas of the rock with high mica concentrations also had high gallium—around 186 grams per tonne gallium, compared to 40 grams per tonne when averaged with the rest of the rock,” she said. “We’re honing in on these micas.”Beyond Québec, Quantum is advancing the Victory Antimony Project and other copper and silver assets in northern British Columbia, with assay results pending from recent grab samples. The company also joined the 47G Institute, a U.S.-based aerospace and defense innovation network, as part of its strategic outreach to supply the Pentagon and allied industries with non-Chinese sources of critical minerals. “They have turned out to be amazing contacts for Quantum,” Kiesman said. “The U.S. has put in place a timeline of 2027 to ban Chinese products, so they are actively searching for other sources of these materials. Luckily, we have some of these materials.” As the company deepens its work across its expanding portfolio—including the NMX East Gallium-Rubidium-Cesium Project, the Discovery polymetallic project, and the newly acquired Prophecy Germanium-Gallium-Zinc Project—Quantum Critical Metals is positioning itself at the intersection of technology, exploration, and national strategy. “We really want to start drilling more of our pegmatites and ultramafic package,” Kiesman said. “We’ll likely do the drill program for everything all at once to make it more efficient.”

Brazil’s Caldeira Project may prove to be one of the rare earth industry’s defining assets, and Meteoric Resources NL (ASX: MEI) is moving fast to prove it. “Since we spoke last, we’ve delivered our PFS, and we’re very, very pleased with the results,” said Stuart Gale, Managing Director and CEO of Meteoric Resources. “The PFS gives us more confidence around the mining, the exploration, our understanding of the resource, and the recoverability of the rare earths. So we’re very confident around everything that we’ve done to get that into the PFS. Of course, that’s just the next stage as we head into the DFS.”The company’s focus now is building a pilot plant in Poços de Caldas to validate its results and showcase progress to investors and offtakers. “What’s nice about that is the pilot plant will let us test out the work from the PFS, continue to fine-tune metallurgical recoveries, and give investors and funders an opportunity to see it. It will also give us more Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate (MREC), which can be sent to our offtakers,” Gale explained. That progress is reflected in the market, with Meteoric’s capitalization hovering near a quarter of a billion U.S. dollars.ANSTO—the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation—has been instrumental in advancing the project. “ANSTO has been really important for us in terms of understanding the metallurgy of the ionic clays. We’ve done a number of pilot tests with ANSTO over the last 18 months. That culminated in another continuous piloting test a few weeks back… it validated all the work we’ve done around recoveries, managing spent clays, dewatering, and removing ammonium sulfate,” Gale said. In a September update, Meteoric reported that four separate five-day campaigns totaling 480 hours had confirmed excellent metallurgical recoveries and produced high-quality MREC with magnet rare earth recoveries of 70% consistently achieved.The scale and quality of Caldeira’s ionic clays, Gale argued, set the project apart. “In the PFS, we released our maiden reserve—just over 100 million tonnes at over 4,000 ppm. That’s enough to keep us going at that grade for at least 10 years of mining operations. Compared to other ionic clays, that’s two to four times higher,” he said. Combined with low operating costs and low capital intensity, Gale described it as the project’s “holy trinity: grade, recoveries, low costs, and low capital intensity. That’s actually four, so maybe it’s better than a holy trinity!”The company also benefits from its location. “The Brazilian government and financial sector have been very supportive of ‘strategic minerals,’ as they call them. There’s a lot of support not just to bring new projects into existence, but also to develop downstream industry—technology, processing, and value-add within Brazil,” Gale said. He pointed to cheap power, abundant water, and a skilled workforce as additional advantages. About a year ago, Meteoric was added to Brazil’s investment platform, part of President Lula’s broader reindustrialization agenda.That support extends to permitting. “In Brazil, the process starts with a Preliminary License—we expect that in the next couple of months. After that comes the Installation License, which we expect around May/June next year. From lodging our Environmental Impact Statement in May 2024, that’s about a two-year turnaround to get the Installation License—our license to construct. Not many countries can compete with that timeline,” Gale explained. He added that while there are environmental challenges to work through, the process is “well understood” and he does not expect delays.

Few deposits in the world can claim to redefine the rare earth landscape, but Professor Ken Collerson believes Victory Metals’ North Stanmore discovery may be one of them. “When you’re making new discoveries in exploration, the whole key is seeing what other people see but thinking what no one has thought before. And that’s exactly what we did with the Victory North Stanmore discovery, which is sitting between two gold mines. Here we have a rare earth–gold discovery that is very, very valuable,” said Collerson, Technical Director of Victory Metals Limited (ASX: VTM).Victory, which carries a market capitalization of about A$131 million, is advancing what Collerson describes as a rare earth project unlike most others. “The three main reasons with Victory Metals are: it’s a regolith-based rare earth system, not a hard rock mine; it’s a huge leachable, free-dig deposit; and it’s uniquely enriched in heavy rare earths such as dysprosium and terbium,” he explained. “Our initial scoping study suggested around US$300 million of capex, which may increase to US$400 million. We’re going to release our PFS shortly.”Scale is at the heart of the story. “We have identified 530 million tonnes of rare earth ore on about 10% of the exploration target. The current mineral resource estimate defines a mine life of 30 years. Given this is just 10% of the target, this is a huge discovery,” Collerson said. Beyond size, it is the enrichment of heavy rare earths that sets North Stanmore apart. “We initially estimated about 38% heavies, but we’re now finding zones with 70–80% heavy rare earth enrichment, with concentrations up to 1% (10,000 ppm). This is very significant—a unique deposit geologically.”A recent release underscored that distinction, noting North Stanmore is returning some of the highest dysprosium and terbium results ever reported from clay-hosted systems globally. One hole produced assays of 218 ppm Dy₂O₃, roughly 54 times higher than the average upper continental crust. “The scale and grade of dysprosium and terbium we continue to uncover at North Stanmore is nothing short of extraordinary,” said Victory’s CEO Brendan Clark. Collerson elaborated: “Mother Nature has done us a service in this deposit. During the weathering event, groundwaters passed through the profile and stripped out the mobile thorium and uranium. That’s why our uranium and thorium levels are basically at continental crust averages—around 7 ppm thorium and 2 ppm uranium in the ore. That is very different from many other clay-hosted systems.”Strategic investors are already circling. Collerson revealed that Victory was offered $10 million by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth arm, but turned it down due to restrictive offtake terms. “At this stage, we decided to remain fairly agnostic about offtake. We’re keeping options open—possibly supplying Japanese houses and European houses as well,” he said. The company has nonetheless raised A$11.5 million in just two days and is in active talks with Australian government agencies to ensure it can complete its PFS and move toward a pilot plant. Victory’s North Stanmore Project, located in Western Australia’s Cue Region, is already Australia’s largest indicated clay heavy rare earth resource. With assays showing dysprosium and terbium grades orders of magnitude higher than global averages—and without the burden of radioactive elements—the company sees itself positioned to be a pivotal supplier to the magnet, defense, and electrification markets.

Brazil may well be the new frontier in the global chess match for critical minerals, and Brian Leeners, CEO and Director of Homerun Resources Inc. (TSXV: HMR | OTCQB: HMRFF), is determined to ensure his company plays a decisive role. “It’s a pretty good chess match,” he said of the evolving relationship between Brazil and the United States. “On one side, you have a fairly aggressive player. On the other side, I think you have a very strategic player.” Pointing to President Lula’s background as a union negotiator under Brazil’s dictatorship, Leeners added, “You can understand how delicate you need to be in how you progress your position.” Yet, he is confident that “Brazil is far too important in the critical material supply space outside of China for America not to embrace it as a strategic supply center.”Homerun Resources is advancing its position as a frontrunner in Brazil with an ambitious buildout anchored in silica. “We’ve been in the planning process for the better part of two and a half years,” Leeners explained. “There were three key figures in that idea—we put the team together, the assets together, and we’ve been moving through the planning phase.” Now in the Bankable Feasibility Study stage, he describes the company’s position as transformative: “When those are done, we’ll have that third-party validation of the business model. In the mining industry, that’s the moment of transition—when you go from being another company that’s not in production to a company headed toward production.” Investors are taking notice. “We’re starting to get a lot of attention from sophisticated institutional, high-net-worth, and family office investors,” he said, adding that on the Lassonde curve, “we’re now through the planning phase and moving into the development phase, which is pre-cash flow. That’s where you get the biggest bang for your buck.”Diversification is central to Homerun’s strategy. “We’ve put together a diversified business model relative to our core competency, which is silica,” Leeners said. On the industrial-grade side, Homerun is already delivering samples and moving down the pipeline toward customers. At the same time, the company is nearing completion of its capex BFS for a high-purity processing plant. “Once complete, we’ll build that plant next year and get into production.” Beyond silica, Homerun is also making strides in energy storage. “We are very close to revenue—potentially later this year or early next year. We’re in the licensing and commercialization stage with the U.S. Department of Energy on our energy storage side.”True to his tech background, Leeners emphasized disruption. “You need to apply that mindset across the business model,” he said. Homerun is advancing what he calls a “traditional industrial vertical integration model” in Brazil, something he argues is less feasible in the developed world due to higher costs. “We’re developing a company that’s quite unique compared to the usual competitive space,” he noted. That uniqueness extends to capital markets, with the company preparing to list on the London Stock Exchange to broaden its investor base.Silica, however, remains at the center of everything Homerun does. “Solar is silica—or silica is solar,” Leeners declared. “If you break down a solar panel, it has two main components: the glass and the silicon. Both are produced from silica. Remove silica, and you’re left with useless materials.” He points to solar glass as a particularly attractive market: “It’s the only flatline price point in the solar space over the past decade. Everything else except silver has gotten cheaper, but solar glass has maintained its price.”

The rare earths market is sizzling — valuations have doubled or tripled since early summer — and Constantine Karayannopoulos, veteran strategist and former CEO of Neo Performance Materials Inc. (TSX: NEO | OTCQX: NOPMF), says the spark came from Washington. “It all started with the deal that MP Materials Corp. (NYSE: MP) did with the DoD or DoW, where there was a massive amount of money that the U.S. government committed to MP,” he explained. “The whole thing has been presented as a sort of bottom price guarantee. With expectations in the market that this will be available to everybody, every name in the rare earth industry has doubled or tripled in value.” That frenzy has brought a wave of equity raises, making life “a lot easier” for listed companies, though he cautioned that “execution being what it is, some companies will do better than others.”While rare earths dominate the headlines, Karayannopoulos is closely tracking lithium. “Lithium prices over the long term tend to be very well correlated with rare earth prices. They have similar demand drivers: EVs and electrification,” he said. With prices having bottomed and recovered, he sees a decade of opportunity left for lithium, even if alternatives for batteries may emerge. Still, he believes the longer runway belongs to rare earths.Turning to policy, he was blunt about Canada’s role. “I think Canada should get its industrial strategy together first instead of jumping into the deep end and trying to pick winners and losers without the context of an industrial strategy informing its choices in the critical mineral space,” he said. He pressed for a clear-eyed SWOT analysis: “For the past three or four years, all we’ve done is talk about it. It’s way overdue to really do something meaningful.”For Karayannopoulos, industrial strategy is not a slogan but a framework for growth. He invoked history: “All advanced industrial economies since the Second World War were built with automotive as a significant part of their economic development.” Today, as the automotive sector transitions from combustion to electric, Canada needs to be strategic. “We’ve committed as a country about $55 billion over the next 15 years to the EV industry and batteries. That’s enormous. But I haven’t noticed any commitment from those companies to use critical minerals from local supply chains. That’s a massive oversight that needs to be corrected very quickly.”Pressed on who is doing it right, he pointed to Brazil. “As recently as March, when I was in Rio speaking at the Brazilian Development Bank’s conference, they announced a fund of about a billion dollars — half private, half public. They called for proposals across the supply chain and are investing in developers and juniors.” Beyond capital, Brazil is building laboratories, university partnerships, and downstream capacity. “It’s a great start. We’ll see how it unfolds, but I think Brazil is getting it right.”Karayannopoulos spoke with pride about another milestone: the opening of Neo Performance Materials Inc.'s (TSX: NEO | OTCQX: NOPMF) new plant in Estonia. “The facility is state-of-the-art, highly automated, constructed in less than 500 days. The first shipment of commercial trial magnets was delivered in 18 months from start of earthworks,” he said. He credited his successors — CEO Rahim Suleman and Magnaquench EVP Greg Croll — for executing the project. “They delivered a fantastic facility. At the opening, there were demanding customers from Germany buying magnets for EV drivetrains in Europe. It’s the biggest magnet facility of its kind in Europe, designed to supply EV magnets made in Europe. I’m glad I had something to do with it.”