From the opening lines of the InvestorNews.com interview, it was clear that CleanTech Vanadium Mining Corp. is staking a bold claim in America’s bid for critical mineral independence, a theme now underscored by recent strategic acquisitions and royalty expansions that together reshape the narrative around domestic fluorspar supply. Bekzod Kasimov, the company’s Business Development Manager, described CleanTech’s latest move: “we recently announced the acquisition of roughly 1,600 acres in Illinois… we acquired areas that have been in production historically”, surrounding the Hicks Dome deposit, one of the largest known fluorspar and rare earth element occurrences in the United States — land that now boosts the company’s Illinois holdings to roughly 2,800 acres and, combined with Kentucky, more than 17,500 acres across the Illinois-Kentucky Fluorspar District. The significance of that move is not lost on CleanTech leadership, who have emphasized the size and potential of the holdings; according to the company’s CEO, the land position is now “larger than Manhattan.” Kasimov anchored the strategic rationale in the broader supply-and-demand challenges facing critical minerals, noting that fluorspar is defined as a critical mineral by the U.S. Geological Survey and that “supply of many critical minerals is highly concentrated, particularly in countries like China, and is often used as leverage in negotiations with the United States and Europe.” He pointed to U.S. policy pushing for diversified supply sources — a backdrop that has made the company’s acquisitions timely and potentially transformative. Kasimov recounted that CleanTech’s interest in fluorspar grew from observing market dynamics: “China became a net importer of fluorspar… reflected in pricing. In 2025 alone, the price of fluorspar increased by more than 40% to 50% and is currently trading around US$500 per tonne for acid-grade fluorspar,” underscoring the commodity’s rising economic and strategic value. He emphasized the breadth of fluorspar’s applicability — from **semiconductor manufacturing to renewable energy and uranium enrichment — and insisted that “fluorspar cannot be replaced” in these critical industrial processes.Asked about how he came to work in this space, Kasimov highlighted the company’s experience in navigating U.S. regulatory frameworks, referencing the positive Record of Decision on the Environmental Impact Statement at the Gibellini Vanadium Project in Nevada, another CleanTech asset classified as a critical mineral project under U.S. policy. “Because of that experience, it was a natural choice to focus on the United States,” he explained, describing Illinois and Kentucky as historically productive fluorspar regions with significant untapped resources. Kasımov also touched on the broader geological promise of Hicks Dome, noting that beyond fluorspar, there is potential for rare earth element discoveries — particularly heavy rare earths such as dysprosium, scandium, yttrium, and possibly germanium — bolstering the technical allure of the company’s expanded land position. While confirming the certainty of fluorspar within the acquired areas, he distinguished that rare earth potential is based on geological inference and historical context. Financial strategy came into focus when Kasimov explained the expanded royalty agreement with Oracle Commodity Holding, which covers a 2% net smelter return royalty on minerals from CleanTech’s properties, including the newly acquired Illinois parcels, in exchange for financing that helps underwrite project development — a mechanism he described as one of the tools mining companies use to fund growth.

A mineral deposit that can pay you eight ways is no longer just geology — it’s risk management, and Nicole Brewster wants investors to hear that as plainly as possible. In an interview with InvestorNews.com host Tracy Hughes, Brewster — President, CEO and Director of Renforth Resources Inc. (CSE: RFR) — speaks from the particular perch of a junior explorer in Québec’s Abitibi mining district: close enough to established infrastructure to feel the pull of development, small enough to live and die by timelines, assays and retail conviction. Renforth’s story, as Brewster tells it, is deliberately split between two kinds of appetite: gold, with the wholly owned Parbec Gold Deposit beside Agnico Eagle’s Canadian Malartic mine, hosting 265,800 ounces in Measured and Indicated and 97,000 ounces Inferred in an open-pit scenario using US$2,100 gold; and “critical minerals,” with the district-scale Malartic Metals Package and its Victoria polymetallic deposit, where the company has reported an initial NI 43-101 inferred resource of 125 million tonnes grading 0.15% NiEq.Hughes, who says she recently saw Brewster in London “really talking about nickel and zinc and your polymetallic deposit,” asks the practical question first: “Where should we start?” Brewster steers the conversation to the latest update. “We announced that the nickel-zinc polymetallic resource calculation excluded platinum and palladium,” she says, describing geologists “in the field pulling witness core for testing for platinum and palladium, which we know to be present.” The point is not decorative: “the value of those metals — any occurrence — does have a material effect on the value per tonne of the mineralized package that is Victoria,” she adds, promising that “the next MRE will reflect those PGE metals as well.” The company’s December update similarly says Victoria drilling core is being reviewed for PGE assaying, noting that prior work confirmed platinum and palladium, but that sampling density was insufficient for inclusion in the initial NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate, with the expectation those metals will be included in the next technical report.What Brewster calls “of great significance” is the mechanics of credibility: an NI 43-101 technical report that “speaks to the entirety of the property,” and places Victoria inside a larger, older district narrative. Renforth has said the NI 43-101 technical report supporting the initial Victoria inferred resource has been filed on SEDAR+ and made available through the company’s materials. Brewster’s tour through the package is brisk and map-like: “In the north, we have our Beaupré Copper proximal to the Cadillac Break,” a central “Lac Gold Zone” with “relatively low-grade but long-interval gold intercepts,” and then the southern structures — Lalonde and Victoria — that she suggests are “probably arms of a fold whose nose is right off our property on our neighbour Agnico Eagle’s Canadian Malartic ground.” The technical report itself describes the Malartic Metals Package as 426 map-staked claims totaling 24,143 hectares — the footprint for the next set of drill pads.

Cesium is what happens when a “minor metal” stops behaving like a footnote and starts acting like a constraint.On InvestorNews.com, host Tracy Hughes opened her conversation with Robin Dunbar—President, CEO, and Director of Grid Metals Corp. (TSXV: GRDM | OTCQB: MSMGF)—by placing the company where it actually operates: Manitoba, with a portfolio that spans nickel-copper-PGMs at Makwa (under an option and joint venture agreement with Teck Resources Limited, which can earn up to a 70% interest by spending and paying a total of CAD$17.3 million), copper-nickel at Mayville (with an NI 43-101 open-pit resource of 32 million tonnes grading 0.61% CuEq), lithium at Donner (an NI 43-101 resource of 6.8 million tonnes grading 1.39% Li₂O, with Grid holding 75%), and the lithium–cesium story now pulling attention toward Falcon West, about 110 kilometres east of Winnipeg along the Trans-Canada Highway.Hughes didn’t waste time getting to the point. “In our InvestorTalk earlier today, you were talking about cesium,” she said, noting the “huge following” Grid has drawn on short-form video explaining why it matters. Dunbar’s answer came out with the kind of practiced urgency that suggests he has had the same conversation with end-users, financiers, and skeptics—often in the same week. “Cesium is a fascinating metal and an opportunity in the critical metal space,” he said, before narrowing the market to a startling scarcity: “There have only been three producing deposits of cesium ever globally, and there are currently only three juniors with active drill programs… globally.”The scarcity, in Dunbar’s telling, isn’t merely academic. Cesium’s best-known public-facing role is invisible: atomic clocks that underpin global positioning. But he framed it as an enabling material with both mundane and strategic pull—“high-tech and military applications,” plus drilling fluids for deep wells, and “a growing array of uses in optical and solar.” And then the line that matters most in a market built on continuity of supply: “We’re seeing interest from end users because there’s a huge shortage of cesium feedstock in the world right now.”From there, the interview snapped into geology and economics—the two languages junior miners must speak at once. Grid’s recent work at Falcon West has focused on a flat-lying pegmatite system where cesium occurs alongside lithium and rubidium. “The zone we’re drilling starts at about 20 metres down,” Dunbar explained, describing “a 1 to 3 metre zone of the mineralization we’re looking for.” The target mineral is pollucite, the principal host of high-grade cesium. “When we drill and we get pollucite, the grades we’re getting are as high as 27% over a metre,” he said, pausing just long enough for the number to register. “Globally, to find pollucite, there are just a few occurrences—it’s very hard to find.”A December 4, 2025 Grid Metals news release put those kinds of numbers into market-standard intervals, reporting high-grade intercepts including 3.45 metres grading 16.8% Cs₂O (LU25-09) and 4.0 metres grading 10.4% Cs₂O, with a 1.2-metre sub-interval at 27.1% Cs₂O (LU25-08)—results the company described as “amongst the highest Cs₂O drill intercepts reported globally, in recent years.”Hughes, speaking for an audience that lives somewhere between capital markets and chemistry, asked Dunbar to “dumb down rubidium.” He obliged by placing it in the family: rubidium is “a sister metal to cesium,” with overlapping physical properties—“very high conductivity, photovoltaic properties”—but a very different extraction reality. Cesium can occur in pollucite at extraordinary concentrations, he said, while rubidium typically sits dispersed in lepidolite and mica, “and tends to only get to a maximum of 2% to 3% in very high-grade materials.” In other words: interesting, potentially useful, but rarely the main event—unless new applications and new processing routes change the equation.

Cesium is what happens when a “minor metal” stops behaving like a footnote and starts acting like a constraint.On InvestorNews.com, host Tracy Hughes opened her conversation with Robin Dunbar—President, CEO, and Director of Grid Metals Corp. (TSXV: GRDM | OTCQB: MSMGF)—by placing the company where it actually operates: Manitoba, with a portfolio that spans nickel-copper-PGMs at Makwa (under an option and joint venture agreement with Teck Resources Limited, which can earn up to a 70% interest by spending and paying a total of CAD$17.3 million), copper-nickel at Mayville (with an NI 43-101 open-pit resource of 32 million tonnes grading 0.61% CuEq), lithium at Donner (an NI 43-101 resource of 6.8 million tonnes grading 1.39% Li₂O, with Grid holding 75%), and the lithium–cesium story now pulling attention toward Falcon West, about 110 kilometres east of Winnipeg along the Trans-Canada Highway.Hughes didn’t waste time getting to the point. “In our InvestorTalk earlier today, you were talking about cesium,” she said, noting the “huge following” Grid has drawn on short-form video explaining why it matters. Dunbar’s answer came out with the kind of practiced urgency that suggests he has had the same conversation with end-users, financiers, and skeptics—often in the same week. “Cesium is a fascinating metal and an opportunity in the critical metal space,” he said, before narrowing the market to a startling scarcity: “There have only been three producing deposits of cesium ever globally, and there are currently only three juniors with active drill programs… globally.”The scarcity, in Dunbar’s telling, isn’t merely academic. Cesium’s best-known public-facing role is invisible: atomic clocks that underpin global positioning. But he framed it as an enabling material with both mundane and strategic pull—“high-tech and military applications,” plus drilling fluids for deep wells, and “a growing array of uses in optical and solar.” And then the line that matters most in a market built on continuity of supply: “We’re seeing interest from end users because there’s a huge shortage of cesium feedstock in the world right now.”From there, the interview snapped into geology and economics—the two languages junior miners must speak at once. Grid’s recent work at Falcon West has focused on a flat-lying pegmatite system where cesium occurs alongside lithium and rubidium. “The zone we’re drilling starts at about 20 metres down,” Dunbar explained, describing “a 1 to 3 metre zone of the mineralization we’re looking for.” The target mineral is pollucite, the principal host of high-grade cesium. “When we drill and we get pollucite, the grades we’re getting are as high as 27% over a metre,” he said, pausing just long enough for the number to register. “Globally, to find pollucite, there are just a few occurrences—it’s very hard to find.”A December 4, 2025 Grid Metals news release put those kinds of numbers into market-standard intervals, reporting high-grade intercepts including 3.45 metres grading 16.8% Cs₂O (LU25-09) and 4.0 metres grading 10.4% Cs₂O, with a 1.2-metre sub-interval at 27.1% Cs₂O (LU25-08)—results the company described as “amongst the highest Cs₂O drill intercepts reported globally, in recent years.”Hughes, speaking for an audience that lives somewhere between capital markets and chemistry, asked Dunbar to “dumb down rubidium.” He obliged by placing it in the family: rubidium is “a sister metal to cesium,” with overlapping physical properties—“very high conductivity, photovoltaic properties”—but a very different extraction reality. Cesium can occur in pollucite at extraordinary concentrations, he said, while rubidium typically sits dispersed in lepidolite and mica, “and tends to only get to a maximum of 2% to 3% in very high-grade materials.” In other words: interesting, potentially useful, but rarely the main event—unless new applications and new processing routes change the equation.

Power, in the rare earth business, isn’t found in the grade in the ground—it’s found in what you can turn that rock into, reliably, at scale, in a jurisdiction that wants the mine built.That framing is why Jack Lifton’s conversation with Mark Tory—President, CEO, and Director of Defense Metals Corp. (TSXV: DEFN | OTCQB: DFMTF)—lands with unusual clarity. Tory is not a newly minted executive discovering the critical minerals script in real time. He has “over 30 years in resources,” he told Lifton, “cutting my teeth at some big companies like Homestake and Anglo American before going into the junior sector.” He spent roughly a decade at Northern Minerals in Australia’s Kimberley region, focused on heavy rare earths, and he has done the kind of work that separates rare earth rhetoric from rare earth reality: “I’m probably one of the few people, Jack, who can say they’ve built and operated a rare earth processing facility.”Defense Metals’ story is anchored at its 100% owned Wicheeda Rare Earth Element mineral deposit in British Columbia—about 80 kilometres northeast of Prince George—where the company is advancing a development plan that increasingly reads like a North American counterpoint to the usual dependency narrative. The project is “readily accessible by a paved highway and an all-weather gravel road,” and it sits near power and transport infrastructure that includes hydroelectric transmission lines, rail, and port facilities at Prince Rupert. Tory, speaking from the operator’s side of the equation, emphasized the practicalities: Prince George is “an existing mining town,” with “an existing workforce,” plus “roads, rail, and access to hydroelectric power.” The rail line’s reach to Prince Rupert—“about 500 kilometres away”—matters not as a brochure detail, but as a cost and logistics lever in a business that can be undone by distance, permitting drag, and processing complexity.Lifton, who has followed rare earth projects long enough to see hopeful flow sheets dissolve into reality, pressed Tory on why he took the helm. Tory’s answer was telling, and it wasn’t a romantic one. “I obviously did my due diligence on the project,” he said, before delivering the point that has become the quiet dividing line between paper deposits and bankable projects: “When you look at rare earth projects, you don’t necessarily focus only on the grade in the ground. You need to look at what it concentrates up to through a relatively simple beneficiation process.” What attracted him to Wicheeda, he said, is that the ore “goes from about 2.4% in the ground to a 50% concentrate grade,” a level he described as “in line with all the major producers around the world—Lynas, MP Materials, as well as the Chinese producers.” The implication is direct: a project that can upgrade material efficiently is a project that can credibly talk about economics—and, eventually, financing.That upgrade path also shapes the way Defense Metals talks about product strategy. In the company’s Preliminary Feasibility Study (PFS), completed in 2025 (with news releases dated February 18 and April 7, 2025), Defense Metals outlined a high-purity product concept that reflects real downstream conversations rather than generic “mixed carbonate” ambiguity. “It’s a very high-purity product,” Tory said, “with cerium and lanthanum completely removed.” What remains, by his account, is a chemistry that markets tend to reward: “That leaves an 87% NdPr and about 12% heavies.” When Lifton clarified the figures, Tory confirmed: “Yes—in the carbonate.” He added a detail designed to resonate with pricing credibility: “When Argus reviewed the final product, it valued it significantly higher than any other project globally, including the heavies.”

A new Ontario law is turning digital cleaning records from a niche software feature into a compliance requirement, and Visionstate Corp. (TSXV: VIS) is positioning its technology at the centre of that shift.Visionstate is a growth-oriented company that invests in the research and development of technology in the realm of the Internet of Things, big data and analytics, and sustainability. Through its wholly-owned subsidiary Visionstate IoT Inc., it helps businesses improve operational efficiencies, reduce costs and elevate customer satisfaction with devices that track and monitor guest activities and requests. Its WANDA™ smart device has been deployed in hospitals, airports, shopping centres and other public facilities across and beyond North America, forming the foundation of a Software-as-a-Service model built around monitoring how facilities are cleaned and maintained.In an interview with InvestorNews.com host Tracy Hughes, CEO and Director John Putters linked that existing product set directly to Ontario’s Bill 190, which mandates digital cleaning records in certain public washrooms. “Bill 190 is essentially legislating digital cleaning records for health and safety,” he said. “So Bill 190 is really to protect people, to make sure that there’s access to the cleaning records and what’s been done and when and by whom and all the rest of it, which is essentially what Wanda did in the first place.” Putters noted that “our product and that legislation meet in the middle at a very nice point,” and said the company has “been capitalizing on it.”Public-health concerns provide the backdrop. “Obviously, we live in a world now where disease and infections can become pandemics,” Putters said, adding that “in Canada we’ve even lost our status as measles-free.” While he was careful not to overstate the impact of any single technology—“I’m not going to say Wanda is going to address that”—he connected clean, well-kept facilities with efforts to reduce the spread of disease and framed digital records as a way to provide verifiable evidence of what has been done.The company is using Bill 190’s January 1st effective date to drive new customer adoption. Putters acknowledged that the law represents a burden for operators: “Nobody likes legislation, right? Nobody likes to be legislated. You know, I’m doing things and the government comes along and says there’s new legislation that you’ve got to comply with, and if you don’t comply with it, it’s going to be a $10,000 fine.” Visionstate’s response has been to remove an immediate cost barrier. “We decided we’ll onboard all these companies up until December 31st and not bill them until January 1st, which is when the legislation comes into effect,” he explained. “This has been extremely effective as a strategy. So it does forego some revenue in the short term, but as a Software-as-a-Service model, these contracts can go on for years and years and years, and we have an 80% margin on our software once it’s out there.”That approach, Putters said, is already visible in the company’s metrics. “Our acquisition rate has gone up year over year probably 200 to 300% as a result of that strategy, and all of those companies will be billed starting January 1st,” he told Hughes. He described the emphasis on scale and data as deliberate: “Our whole strategy is to get as much of the market as possible as quickly as possible to increase the value, and frankly to increase the ability to collect data—because it’s all about the data at the end of the day, which is why the five largest companies in the world are all essentially data companies, whether that’s Meta or X or whatever.”

Spartan Metals Corp. (TSXV: W | OTCQB: SPRMF) is advancing its flagship Eagle Project in eastern Nevada, a past-producing tungsten district being repositioned as a multi-metal critical minerals asset centered on tungsten, rubidium, silver and copper. The company’s strategy is to build a portfolio of strategic defense minerals in top-tier Western U.S. jurisdictions, with a focus on tungsten, rubidium, antimony, bismuth and arsenic.In an interview with InvestorNews.com host Tracy Hughes, President, CEO, and Director Brett Marsh described Eagle as a largely untested modern exploration target built on a historic production base. The project hosts the past-producing Tungstonia and Rees/Antelope tungsten mines, which together recorded historic production of 8,379 units at grades between 0.6% and 0.9% WO₃ between 1915 and 1956. The 20-square-kilometer land package lies about 120 kilometers northeast of Ely, Nevada, in the Kern Mountains and covers 4,936 acres across 244 unpatented Federal lode mining claims.Spartan’s current program at Eagle is built around three deposit types identified on the property—porphyry, skarn and carbonate replacement—hosting tungsten (W), silver (Ag) and rubidium (Rb), with associated copper, antimony, gold, lead, zinc, bismuth and arsenic. Company materials describe Eagle as an opportunity to delineate one of the largest and highest-grade tungsten and rubidium districts in the United States, including potential recovery of tungsten, rubidium and silver from legacy mill tailings at Tungstonia. Marsh noted that Spartan has completed 34 holes into the tailings for assay and two additional holes for metallurgical work to test whether they can provide an early source of cash flow.Rubidium, one of the less familiar critical minerals in Spartan’s portfolio, was a particular focus. Marsh highlighted its use in quantum computing, next-generation telecommunications, and atomic clocks that underpin advanced weapon systems and precision timing. As he put it, rubidium “has its fingers in a lot of different aspects of the industry, from high-tech into military applications.”A November 3, 2025, news release outlined the polymetallic potential at Eagle. Surface work and a review of historic rock-chip sampling have identified high-grade silver and base-metal replacement mineralization extending roughly 2.5 kilometers along the contact between the Tungstonia granite intrusion and carbonate host rocks south and southwest of the Tungstonia vein system. The mineralization is associated with previously unrecognized quartz veins with similar strike and spacing to those around the past-producing Tungstonia Mine, and rock-chip results include elevated silver, lead, copper and zinc typical of carbonate replacement deposits.Spartan sees similar potential on the Rees claim block, which also hosts two past-producing mines: Rees, another tungsten producer, and Antelope, a polymetallic silver-copper-antimony-arsenic deposit. At Antelope, historic production reports cited copper head grades of up to about 4% with significant silver, while recent fieldwork at Eagle has identified additional carbonate replacement-style targets with copper in the 1.5–2% range and silver up to about 900 grams per tonne.Spartan has broadened its investor base by securing a U.S. listing, with its common shares now trading on the OTCQB Venture Market under the symbol SPRMF as of November 17, 2025, complementing its TSX Venture Exchange listing under the symbol W.

Critical minerals are no longer a niche subset of the periodic table; they are the wiring diagram of geopolitical power, and Canada is sitting on a toolkit it still hasn’t decided how to use.As Co-Chair of the Critical Minerals Institute (CMI), Jack Lifton has spent decades mapping that wiring diagram, from obscure byproduct metals to the politics that decide where refineries get built. CMI, which I help lead, has created as a “brain trust” for this emerging economy: a global hub that connects companies, capital markets and policymakers, backed by masterclasses, a weekly Critical Minerals Report, and an annual summit that now draws ministers, institutional investors and C-suite executives to Toronto.When I asked Lifton what he plans to discuss at PDAC 2026 in Toronto, he did not start with lithium or copper, but with the quiet metals hidden in their shadow. “They’ve asked me to give an introductory talk and then chair a panel on the sourcing of critical minerals for the electronics industry in Canada,” he said. But his real focus is on the companion metals that fall out of existing operations: “The metals for electronics, the critical metals, come as companion metals in copper mining, aluminum mining, zinc mining, silver mining. So what they are is, for example, gallium, germanium, tellurium, selenium, cadmium, metals like that, and of course silicon.”This is not a theoretical list. Lifton’s point is that the raw material base for an advanced electronics industry already exists inside Canada’s established mining complex. “All of these metals or metalloids can be produced in Canada as byproducts of major mining,” he told me. He ticks through the map: Rio Tinto Group (LSE: RIO) (NYSE: RIO) in Quebec processing bauxite into aluminum and, as a result, being able to produce gallium and scandium; Teck Resources Limited (TSX: TECK.A / TECK.B) (NYSE: TECK) mining zinc in Western Canada, with germanium as a companion; high-quality silicon deposits in Manitoba now attracting junior developers; tellurium and selenium emerging as byproducts of copper. “You have the entire suite of critical electronic minerals, which are byproducts,” he said. “All could be produced in Canada, and as far as the measures, they will be produced in Canada.”If that sounds like a blueprint for an industrial policy, that is exactly how Lifton frames it. In his view, the missing step is not geology but intent. “Canada should take a hard look at enticing the electronics industry—manufacturing of chips and basic electronic devices like chips—because everything is there,” he argued. The PDAC panel he will chair is expected to include representatives from Rio Tinto, Anglo American and Teck alongside him. “This is interesting to me because normally I don’t talk to the majors,” he admitted. “These critical minerals for electronics are things that the majors can produce but really don’t know a lot about.”That gap—between what can be produced and what is strategically understood—is precisely where CMI has tried to position itself. Recent membership additions such as Quantum Critical Metals Corp. (TSX.V: LEAP | OTCQB: ATOXF | FSE: 86A1) show how the ecosystem is evolving around metals that, until recently, would barely have merited a line item in an annual report. Quantum, a junior explorer with projects focused on gallium, rubidium, cesium, antimony and germanium in Québec and British Columbia, joined CMI this fall, citing the Institute’s role in “support[ing] the clean energy transition, address[ing] supply chain vulnerabilities and strengthen[ing] national security.”

The United States is advancing one of its most significant government-backed critical minerals initiatives in years, and Pini Althaus, Managing Partner of Cove Capital LLC, has emerged as a central figure in its execution. In a discussion with InvestorNews host Tracy Hughes, Althaus described recent meetings in Washington, D.C., where U.S. President Donald J. Trump and senior cabinet officials reviewed the tungsten supply-chain agreement between the United States and Kazakhstan. “It’s definitely a new dawn in Washington,” Althaus said. “The approach that this administration is taking to securing critical mineral supply chains is unprecedented,” noting direct involvement from the President, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Secretary of the Interior Ryan Bergman. “We’re seeing practical outcomes,” he said, as agencies adopt what he called “a very commercial approach” to long-term supply-chain security.Cove Capital, founded in 2015 and focused since 2018 on critical minerals, has been developing projects intended to supply U.S. and allied industrial, technological, and defense needs. While the sector’s attention has largely focused on rare earth elements, lithium, copper, and cobalt, Althaus emphasized that tungsten remains indispensable for national-security applications. “Tungsten—the uses are numerous, but especially for military applications, like munitions and armor-piercing ammunition,” he said. Because of its high melting point and density, tungsten is also used in space, nuclear systems, and industrial manufacturing. China controls more than 80 percent of global tungsten supply, and, as Althaus noted, “earlier this year also enacted a ban on tungsten exports to the United States… right around the time that President Trump took the oath of office.” This left the U.S. without a long-term supply source.The Kazakhstan project at the center of the new bilateral agreement contains what Althaus described as “in excess of 10% of global tungsten reserves.” The Northern Katpar and Upper Kairakty deposits, held through Severniy Katpar LLP, have been extensively studied, with a 2023 feasibility study reporting 1.4 million tonnes of JORC-compliant tungsten trioxide (WO₃). According to the data provided, the deposits represent roughly 70% of Kazakhstan’s known tungsten resources. Planned output of 12,000 tonnes per year equates to about 15% of current global production. “At even a 12,000-ton-per-annum rate,” Althaus said, “it’s over a 50-year supply for the United States for tungsten.”The agreement was formalized through an MOU signed by President Trump and Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. Althaus described it as “a government-to-government deal” in which the U.S. Export-Import Bank (EXIM) and U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) issued Letters of Interest. EXIM’s letter supports up to USD $900 million in financing. Total project development costs are estimated at USD $1.1 billion. According to the structure described, Cove Kaz Capital Group LLC will hold 70% of Severniy Katpar LLP, and Kazakhstan’s national mining company, JSC Tau-Ken Samruk, will hold 30%. Cove Kaz will market 100% of production under an LOI with the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration.Althaus confirmed that the project will use a public-private model. “I anticipate that what we’ll see out of the U.S. government is the debt side. We’ll be bringing the equity side,” he said. Based on the feasibility study and current tungsten prices, he cited “almost $80 billion of minerals in this one project.” He stated that development will be led by Dominic Heaton, former CEO of Masan Resources, whose team developed the Nui Phao tungsten project in Vietnam. Cove plans to complete an updated Definitive Feasibility Study, with mine and plant construction targeted to begin within 24 months.

The U.S. clean-energy and defense supply chain may be on the cusp of a major shift — and not on American soil. In a recent interview with InvestorNews host Jack Lifton, Pini Althaus, managing partner of Cove Capital LLC, detailed his firm’s expanding footprint in Central Asia as it seeks to supply critical minerals to the United States and its allies.Althaus described how, following his tenure at USA Rare Earth, Inc. (NASDAQ: USAR, he turned his focus outward: “The United States itself doesn’t have enough developed projects for critical minerals here. … Whilst we endeavour to have a domestic supply chain … we’re going to have to look overseas.” According to him, the firm “saw Central Asia … as the lowest-hanging fruit.” He said that since early 2023, the company has been active in Kazakhstan, and that they are “the first, and I believe still only, U.S. company to have critical minerals licenses there.”The centerpiece of the strategy is the tungsten deal. Althaus told Lifton that on November 6 the company “was awarded … the largest tungsten project in the world, which contains in excess of 10 % of global tungsten reserves.” The venture is structured as a 70/30 joint-venture between a Cove Capital portfolio company and Kazakhstan’s national mining company, JSC Tau-Ken Samruk, with development costs estimated at roughly USD $1.1 billion. U.S. government backing includes a letter of interest for USD $900 million from the Export-Import Bank of the United States. According to Reuters reporting, construction is expected within two years, with production beginning in about 3½ years, and refining operations also in Kazakhstan.Althaus emphasized that the agreement is not only about mining ore: “We will be taking it further downstream, all the way down to metals, tools, etc. And Kazakhstan has the ability to do this.” He added that their technical team is led by Dominic Heaton, the former CEO of Masan Resources, which developed the Nui Phao tungsten mine and refinery in Vietnam.Lifton pointed out the strategic implications — noting that China currently controls more than 80 % of global tungsten reserves and enacted export controls to the U.S. earlier this year. Althaus agreed, framing the project in broader supply-chain terms: “Slowly but surely, chipping away at the monopoly. … The U.S. government is not going to develop the projects itself, but it is supporting them in a structured, commercial way.” He suggested that Washington is now taking a “very commercial approach” to the issue of critical-minerals sourcing, moving beyond the memorandum-of-understanding era.Beyond tungsten the firm is exploring other critical minerals in Central Asia. “In Kazakhstan we have lithium, beryllium, niobium, tin. And we are looking at opportunities in the other C5 countries. I’ve made several trips to Tashkent this year. I’ve met President Mirziyoyev four times already in 2025.” He added that Uzbekistan has also “enacted business reforms and reforms to its mining code, making it easier for companies like us to develop projects.”Althaus reflected on how the regulatory and political environment in Washington has evolved. “When I first went to Washington … there were only a handful of members of Congress who knew what a critical mineral was. … I think now this is one of the only bipartisan issues in Washington. And I don’t see the momentum stopping.”The interview underscores how a private-sector investment firm is stepping into a space traditionally dominated by state actors — deploying capital, negotiating with foreign governments, lining up downstream commitments, and aligning with U.S. policy objectives. The Kazakhstan tungsten agreement is reported to target production of approximately 12,000 metric tonnes per annum, representing about 15 % of current global output. The resource base is judged sufficient to support a 50-plus-year mine life.

“Shipping means revenue, means cash for the shareholders.” That was how Peter Clausi, Director and Vice President of Capital Markets at Silver Bullet Mines Corp. (TSXV: SBMI | OTCQB: SBMCF), described the company’s latest operational milestone. In a discussion with InvestorNews host Tracy Hughes, Clausi confirmed that following a first shipment of approximately 4,000 pounds of gold concentrate from the KT Gold Mine and about 2,000 pounds from the SC Mine, Silver Bullet has prepared about 2,500 pounds of concentrate from the KT Gold Mine for its second shipment.The company’s news release, issued November 17, 2025, noted that payment for initial shipments will be made 60 days from receipt at the refinery, and that future shipments are targeted every two weeks, each ranging between roughly 2,500 and 4,000 pounds of concentrate. In the interview, Clausi reiterated the cadence: “Every two weeks. Every two weeks. Every two weeks.”Clausi emphasized the importance of assay results in determining the value of the shipments. “We’re not talking dollar amounts yet,” he stated. “The buyer will run its own assays. We will share … our assay results, and then we will figure out … what that shipment is worth and we’ll be paid.” He added that the independent lab results for the SC Mine material had exceeded detection limits across the board—“every single sample ran over the detection limits … It’s an excellent problem to have.”Regarding processing, Clausi explained the technical process in simple terms: “If there’s, let’s say, X amount of gold in the host material … you go through the process … you’re stripping away anything that isn’t gold, so what you have left … is gold in the concentrate.” He also clarified that Silver Bullet is concentrating its efforts on the KT Mine because “we believe that there’s a lot more value per ton in the KT material—gold—than there is in the SC material—silver.” He confirmed that material from the KT Mine is already in the mill and on the ground undergoing processing into gold concentrate in preparation for the next shipment. He also pointed ahead to the next quarter: “Our announcement of what the KT material from the first and second shipments assays at … how that translates into ‘X’ dollars of revenue. That’ll be a very exciting news release.… we’re also doing work up in Idaho, and there should be additional news about the great progress we’re making up there.”

From the moment you touch down in the desert‐sculpted Erongo region of Namibia, you sense the tectonic shift underway — and ReeXploration Inc. (TSXV: REE) is positioning itself at the heart of it. This Canadian exploration company is focused on meeting the surging global demand for secure, responsible supplies of critical minerals essential to the clean-energy transition, advanced technologies and national defence. Its flagship Eureka Project in central Namibia hosts rare earth element (REE) mineralisation in monazite, rich in neodymium (Nd) and praseodymium (Pr) magnet metals, with bench-scale testing confirming it can produce a clean, Western-standard concentrate. Supported by a Namibia-based technical team and guided by global critical minerals experts, ReeXploration is advancing discovery-led growth for REEs and other critical minerals — and is building a credible, ESG-aligned platform positioned to benefit from the global race to diversify and secure responsible supply chains."Namibia is arguably one of the most stable and best jurisdictions in Africa, and they have a long, proud history of mining," Drysdale begins when asked why the company is there. He continues: "They’ve got three of the world’s largest uranium deposits … Namibia is head and shoulders above a lot of other jurisdictions in Africa." He adds matter-of-factly that: “Up until recently, it has been relatively under-explored for critical minerals … we came across one called the Eureka Project. So that’s why Namibia — it’s by far one of the best jurisdictions to be based in.”Proximity and infrastructure matter as much as the geology. “So the Walvis Bay Port, which is about 180 kilometres away from our project on a main road,” Drysdale explains, “is arguably the best port on the west coast of Africa. … With it being positioned on the west coast of Africa, it has a direct link to North America and Europe … without having to go around Africa or around the Horn or through the Suez Canal.” He is clearly sizing up geopolitical supply chains as much as rocks and ore.Yet what distinguishes this company perhaps most clearly is what Drysdale calls a “metallurgy-first” development approach. "From a crustal abundance point of view, rare earths are abundantly available but extracting them and getting to a Western-amenable product … was the problem," he says. “So, we decided to flip exploration on its head … we would look at rare earth projects and be able to solve the metallurgy and extract a product first at scale, before looking for scalability of the deposit.” He points out key criteria: “it has to have a low thorium content, so it doesn’t have high radioactivity; it allows for simple shipping; it has products that are easily winnable through conventional processing.” Only after ticking those boxes did they proceed to explore scalability.That strategy now seems to be bearing fruit. Drysdale reviews the recent developments at Eureka: “We’ve got geochemistry up to 8.75 % TREO in surface samples, with confirmed visible monazite in carbonatite on surface. And this really is an undrilled monster that hasn’t been previously tested in any of our drilling.” He emphasises two things: “We’ve identified a new area — from a scale and TREO perspective — that is bigger and better than what we’ve previously seen, with visible monazite on surface.” Adding: “Our historical work is now giving us shape to a deep-seated system that shows scalability and size potential.”He breaks down the key target: “We are mainly looking for neodymium and praseodymium — a monazite-hosted NdPr project. … NdPr are extremely critical in high-frequency magnets, drivetrains, and defence. … These are the minerals currently controlled by China … For us … our simple monazite with easy metallurgy … and that product being a high-value NdPr product … makes us very confident we’re in the right space and looking for the right mineral.”

In a rare alignment between a junior exploration company and a national research institution, Canuc Resources Corporation (TSXV: CDA | OTCQB: CNUCF) has found its flagship East Sudbury Project (Northeastern Ontario, Canada) under the direct scrutiny of Natural Resources Canada (NRCan). The federal agency has commissioned a seismic survey on Canuc’s McLaren Lake Fault Zone (MLFZ)—a move that company President and CEO Christopher Berlet describes as both validating and transformative.“For me, it started in 2024 when I was on site,” Berlet recalled in his conversation with InvestorNews host Tracy Hughes. “There were a number of geoscientists there from all over the world—IOCG specialists, iron oxide copper gold deposit-type specialists from Australia, the Netherlands, South Korea. I recall being astounded at the number of places where they had come from.” The experts, Berlet explained, were evaluating where NRCan could “spend money for maximum impact for very large deposit-type discoveries.” Their final assessment singled out Canuc’s McLaren Lake Fault Zone as the most deserving of deeper research.The seismic survey—scheduled for late March or early April 2026—will be executed by Optiseis Solutions Ltd. of Calgary, one of Canada’s leaders in subsurface imaging. Its objective is to illuminate fluid pathways and fault structures associated with Metasomatic Iron Alkali Calcic (MIAC) and Iron Oxide Copper Gold (IOCG) systems, both of which are known to host valuable copper, gold, and critical mineral concentrations. “We were delighted by the commitment from Natural Resources Canada to proceed, spend money on the project, and conduct this seismic survey,” Berlet said. “The result of their work—and they reviewed many properties across the country—was that this McLaren Lake Fault Zone on Canuc’s ground was the property that most deserved further work and research.”Berlet emphasized that Canuc will be closely involved in the data interpretation process. “There will be several specialists involved in interpretation, and it will provide very specific actionable intelligence for follow-up drilling,” he said, noting that results could be available within one month of survey completion.The McLaren Lake development is part of Canuc’s East Sudbury Project (ESP)—a 19,710-hectare land package located roughly 20 kilometers northeast of the prolific Sudbury Mining Camp. The company believes the ESP hosts multiple centers of mineralization consistent with IOCG and affiliated critical and precious metal systems. Berlet sees these targets as “company-makers,” comparing their potential to the globally renowned Candelaria and Olympic Dam deposits.“We have a very compelling case for a silver-dominant IOCG in Mexico on our San Javier claims,” he said, referring to Canuc’s parallel project in Sonora State, Mexico. “We’ve found up to bonanza grades of silver. We’ve found massive magnetite anomalies—magnetic anomalies. And we have one in particular that looks like on either side, veins daylight with bonanza grades of silver. There’s silver in soils above this magnetic anomaly. It’s a kilometer long, about 800 meters wide, and could support a very substantial silver metal inventory in magnetite, which is the IOCG model.”Supporting exploration with sustainable cash flow is central to Berlet’s operating philosophy. “In the instance of Canuc, we have these long-life natural gas wells in Texas,” he said. “We’ve added a 4% royalty on the tailings that we’re processing on the site of the Scadding tailings rehabilitation project in East Sudbury. And now we’re drilling for a high-grade gold lens… that can support a more substantive—still small scale for a mining company—but robust capital opportunity.”

From the moment you learn that one of North America’s most under-the-radar metals might be hiding a multi-million-ton treasure beneath a quiet landscape of New Brunswick, Canada, you sense there is more than exploration at play — there’s a strategic pivot. Antimony Resources Corp. (CSE: ATMY), an exploration company singularly focused on antimony, has just filed a NI 43-101 technical report for its Bald Hill Antimony Project in New Brunswick, a project now claiming “potential” for approximately 2.7 million tonnes of mineralization at grades of 3 %–4% antimony (Sb).In a wide-ranging interview with host Tracy Hughes of InvestorNews .com, CEO and Director James “Jim” Atkinson walks through the details of the model, the significance of the grades, and how antimony finds itself suddenly elevated to a critical mineral. “One of the things we also did … was create a three-dimensional model of the mineralization. … We ended up with 2.7 million potential tons. And then … at a grade between 3 % and 4 %.” Atkinson emphasizes: “What it gives us is 2.7 million tons of antimony mineralization … between 80,000 and 100,000 metric tons of contained antimony.” He is quick to caution: “I would say … remember this is not a resource. This is potential … it’s not known if the project will prove to be economic.”He further explains the power of the model: “When you generate a model and you don’t have information; the model tends to pinch it off … where the model is pinched off is often not because there’s no mineralization there; it’s because there’s no information there.” In that context, he reveals that “with our Phase Two Program … we’re finding … antimony in every drill hole we’re drilling.” This underlines not only the continuity but the expansion potential of the deposit.Atkinson does not shy away from comparison when defining “high-grade” in antimony terms. “I’d say the grade we have at Bald Hill … is the highest-grade antimony deposit certainly in North America, and it might be the highest in the world. … Often, we get 20–30 % antimony. That’s common in our drilling.” He contrasts this with another project -- Perpetua Resources Corp. (NASDAQ/TSX: PPTA)in Idaho, whose average grade is around 0.6 % antimony: “Their PEA says … 0.4 % antimony. Our grade averages ten times higher than that.” The implications for potential mine economics are clear: a higher grade lowers cost per unit of metal.When asked about timeline, Atkinson says: “What we’re doing right now is finishing this Phase Two Program … 15,000 metres of drilling in what we call the Main Zone.” Then: “We will also be starting another drill program in the first quarter … about 10,000 metres … that will also be definition drilling.” He projects that only after this drill density is achieved will the company evaluate “do we have enough information … to start talking about determining a resource?” That evaluation, he notes, is a decision slated for the first quarter. He projects “realistically, we’re looking at three years or so before we get to the point where there’s any kind of decision on mining.” Meanwhile, environmental baseline work and permitting consultations have already begun: “We’ve started environmental baseline work … with the first sampling in the spring. We’re also consulting with the New Brunswick government … we’re also starting to talk about what we need for a prefeasibility study.”Atkinson situates antimony’s relevance in the broader critical-metals context: “No, I think it’s become much more of a known item … the United States government is very knowledgeable—they’re putting money into antimony projects in the U.S. We think antimony is not only a critical metal, it’s a strategic metal. Antimony is so important to the military that if you don’t have antimony, we think you don’t have an army.” This statement both underscores supply-chain urgency and highlights Canada’s role in developing domestic North American sources of this lesser-known metal.

In the world of critical minerals, cesium rarely makes headlines—but Robin Dunbar, President and CEO of Grid Metals Corp. (TSXV: GRDM | OTCQB: MSMGF), is working to change that. “It’s a very exciting time for the company,” he said in an interview with InvestorNews.com host Tracy Hughes. “We’re currently drilling about 60 holes at Falcon West to put together a resource and define where the mineralization is and how big it is.”Cesium, used in everything from atomic clocks to advanced electronics, is among the rarest elements on Earth—and one that China controls with near-total dominance. “Sinomine, the Chinese company that controls 85% of the world’s cesium market, has a Canadian operation at the Tanco Mine,” explained Dunbar. “That chemical plant is one of only two in the world outside of China.” For Grid, proximity is opportunity: “Worst case, we have a place to send material an hour away by truck,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of conversations with the Tanco and Sinomine people over the years about potentially processing material.”That processing option is crucial as Western governments push to build independent supply chains for critical minerals. “There’s a real focus in Canada on how to create a North American supply chain,” Dunbar noted. “Our recent strategic investor is very interested in that—they’re an industry player.”Grid’s Falcon West cesium project sits just outside Winnipeg, adjacent to the Trans-Canada Highway—an advantage few explorers can claim. The project has already delivered eye-catching drill intercepts, including 2.2 meters at 15.0% Cs₂O and 3.2 meters at 4.6% Cs₂O. “What’s interesting is the cesium zone we’re drilling is almost right at surface,” Dunbar said. “When we go to mine it, it’ll be relatively inexpensive to extract because it’ll be like a quarry—near surface, no tailings, no big mill. You mine it, crush it, and use ore sorting to create a high-value concentrate.”While Falcon West advances, Grid is also expanding its nickel ambitions through its Makwa project—a joint venture with Teck Resources Limited (TSX: TECK.A | TSX: TECK.B | NYSE: TECK). “We compare Makwa to the Ring of Fire’s Eagle’s Nest project,” Dunbar said. “We have nickel on surface, we’ve flown it, and now we’re drilling it. We think there are a lot of similarities between where we are in Manitoba and the Ring of Fire.” Under the agreement, Teck can earn up to a 70% interest by spending CAD$17.3 million on exploration and development.For Dunbar, who has decades of experience in mining finance and exploration, the next few months will be decisive. “Right now, we have drills going at both projects,” he said. “We’re drilling about 60 holes at Falcon West before Christmas and about 2,500 meters at Makwa with Teck. We’re really at the discovery phase for both. This gives us a really good potential for a re-rating of the company’s stock.”The company’s November 2025 update confirmed that both programs are fully funded, following a C$4 million financing led by a new strategic investor. “A big part of running small juniors is looking for opportunities, capitalizing on them, and then leveraging those opportunities,” Dunbar said. “We’ve got the properties, we’ve got them permitted—and now we’re letting our exploration team do their thing.”

When Brian Leeners talks about solar glass, it isn’t just a technical discussion—it sounds more like a revolution in the making. “It’s a milestone event, to say the least,” said the CEO and Director of Homerun Resources Inc. (TSXV: HMR | OTCQB: HMRFF), in an interview with InvestorNews.com host Tracy Hughes. “You can actually produce high-efficiency, great-quality solar glass without using antimony.”For a global solar industry long reliant on China’s dominance, that statement lands with the weight of a seismic shift. China currently manufactures roughly 95% of the world’s solar glass, and virtually all of it is doped with antimony—a toxic, expensive metal that improves clarity but complicates recycling. “The glass has always been the problem,” said Leeners. “In recycling solar modules, nobody wants that glass.”Homerun’s discovery that its Brazilian silica can create antimony-free solar glass could dramatically change that equation. “Our silica has the lowest iron content in a large silica sand deposit in the world,” Leeners explained. “It’s like mother nature got together with a solar glass engineer and decided, ‘Let’s make the perfect product.’”This unique resource, located in Bahia, Brazil, gives Homerun not only a cost advantage but a strategic one. With antimony prices surging and Western regulators pushing to eliminate its use in clean energy manufacturing, the company’s announcement has sparked international interest. “When we put out that news, we got a lot of incoming traffic,” Leeners said. “It was definitely well understood within the alternative energy community.”The timing is no accident. On November 13, Homerun announced it had engaged Germany’s DTEC PMP GmbH to complete a Bankable Feasibility Study (BFS) for what will be Latin America’s first dedicated high-efficiency solar glass manufacturing facility. The BFS, which will use Homerun’s high-purity low-iron silica from Bahia, is expected to be completed in Q1 2026—compressing a process that typically takes three to five years into just one. “The BFS is the deliverable for financing,” said Leeners. “It’s the point where you go from ‘we want to be in cash flow’ to ‘you are going to be in cash flow, subject to financing.’”The engagement with DTEC marks a turning point in Homerun’s vertical integration strategy. “Engaging DTEC represents a powerful milestone,” Leeners said. “We’re moving decisively toward making Brazil home to Latin America’s first dedicated high-efficiency solar glass manufacturing facility.” According to the company, the BFS will include market analysis, cost modeling, ESG frameworks, and technical assessments that will support project financing with both Brazil’s national development bank (BNDES) and international backers.But the company’s ambitions extend beyond solar glass. Homerun is also advancing research into using its ultra-pure silica in rare earth element separation—an industry Leeners believes is ripe for disruption. “In typical Brian-Leeners fashion, I want to disrupt that process,” he said. “We’re introducing new concepts with our partner. Brazil has a huge endowment of ionic adsorption clays—the same type found in China and Myanmar—but you can’t do in-situ leaching there. We’re looking at new techniques using silica gel for ion exchange.”This innovation-driven approach defines Homerun’s broader mission. As Leeners put it, “We have 10 to 15 material deliverables in process as we speak—high-grade silica, antimony-free solar glass, and rare earth extraction technologies. My mandate was to speed up the process.” For Leeners and his team, the road ahead is crowded with milestones. Homerun’s vertically integrated model—spanning silica supply, solar glass production, energy storage, and advanced energy solutions—is built to serve one goal: transforming Brazil’s abundant natural resources into the materials that power a cleaner, circular economy.

When Pat Ryan speaks about rare earths, he doesn’t talk about rocks—he talks about control. “Samarium is the most critically vulnerable rare earth, or the most critically vulnerable critical mineral,” said Ryan, CEO and Chairman of Ucore Rare Metals Inc. (TSXV: UCU | OTCQX: UURAF), in an interview with InvestorNews.com host Tracy Hughes. “That’s important to the Vacuumschmelze relationship.”At a time when global supply chains are being redrawn under the shadow of China’s export bans, Ucore has positioned itself as a linchpin in the West’s bid for rare earth independence. Its recently signed Memorandum of Understanding with Germany’s Vacuumschmelze GmbH & Co. KG (VAC) and eVAC Magnetics LLC represents what Ryan calls “an alliance between Canada, the USA, and Germany — three countries connecting.” The partnership, timed for the G7 summit, links Ucore’s rare earth refining technology with one of the world’s most established magnet producers — one that supplies critical materials for defense systems, electric vehicles, and renewable energy applications.VAC’s U.S. subsidiary, eVAC Magnetics, has just completed construction of a permanent magnet facility in Sumter County, South Carolina, backed by the U.S. Department of War and a $111.9 million Advanced Energy Project Tax Credit. Ucore’s role is to supply these plants with high-purity rare earth oxides—materials separated using its proprietary RapidSX™ technology, which Ryan says is “70% faster than solvent extraction and done with 60% less footprint.” The system’s agility allows Ucore to shift production targets in hours instead of weeks. “If you’re looking to target something specific like samarium or gadolinium, you can actually do that economically,” he said. “You can chase that particular group of vulnerable rare earth minerals and make it happen for someone like Vacuumschmelze.”For Ryan, this is not about incremental progress but strategic autonomy. “We’re funded by the Department of War, and they are as well — so it makes a good connection,” he explained. “It’s about rebuilding the Western supply network.”That network is also backed by Canada. Following China’s April export restrictions on rare earths including samarium and gadolinium—elements essential for high-temperature magnets used in F-35 fighter jets and Virginia-class submarines—the Canadian federal government announced a C$36.3 million grant to Ucore. “It culminated with a program announced at the G7,” Ryan said. “Minister Hodgson signed the agreement with Ucore right on center stage.” The funds—C$26 million from Natural Resources Canada and C$10 million from FedDev Ontario—will support a samarium-gadolinium production line in Canada. “It’s a full grant, not a loan,” Ryan emphasized. “So, yes, we’re feeling good about it.”As Washington and Ottawa divide responsibilities—Louisiana focusing on heavy rare earths, Canada on samarium-gadolinium—Ucore is also cementing upstream alliances. The company has re-engaged with Hastings Technology Metals Ltd. (ASX: HAS), an Australian rare-earth producer now free of prior Chinese entanglements. “Hastings aligning with Ucore brings together Canadian technology and U.S. manufacturing in Louisiana,” Ryan said. “We’re moving quickly… to get it into play by 2027.”Ryan’s tone is calm but unmistakably strategic. “To build a supply chain, you’ve got to have nodes that connect,” he said. “You can’t have one-off MOUs that don’t bring a full solution.” With facilities advancing in Alexandria, Louisiana, and Kingston, Ontario, and downstream partners like VAC and eVAC, Ryan sees Ucore’s role as more than just a participant. “If ‘command center’ means delivering product and solving deficiencies in the supply chain to rebuild the Western supply network,” he said, “then we’ll take that title.”The phrase hangs in the air—a reminder that the rare earth race is no longer about who can dig the deepest, but who can connect the dots fastest.

The global race to build the infrastructure for artificial intelligence has reached a fever pitch — and few understand the overlap between crypto and compute power better than Sheldon Bennett, CEO and Director of DMG Blockchain Solutions Inc. (TSXV: DMGI | OTCQB: DMGGF). Sitting down with InvestorNews.com host Tracy Hughes, Bennett described a company that began with Bitcoin mining and is now positioning itself at the intersection of blockchain, defense, and AI sovereignty.“This is a really interesting announcement for our company,” Bennett said of DMG’s recent move into the U.S. market. The company has signed a letter agreement to purchase a 27,600-square-foot facility on eight acres in Oregon, its first U.S.-based data center — a move that places it directly in the heart of an emerging artificial intelligence corridor. “That location has five, six, maybe seven massive AWS — Amazon Web Services — data centers. They’re huge buildings taking huge amounts of power, backup generation, and water cooling for Amazon… So, this is one of the epicenters of compute for AWS.”For a company that has spent nearly a decade defining its place in blockchain infrastructure, the leap across the border represents more than geographic expansion. It is a strategic recognition that the new currency isn’t just digital — it’s processing power. “Every company that I talk to, which are mainly crypto companies that have moved into AI, have all said they can’t convert enough space — and by space, I mean power — to AI quickly enough for the amount of demand that is out there,” Bennett noted. “Currently in the U.S., the demand is so great you can’t build enough capacity or get enough GPUs fast enough.”In many ways, DMG’s decision mirrors its careful, data-driven ethos. Founded as a vertically integrated blockchain and data-center technology company, DMG has long balanced growth with restraint. “We pride ourselves on being stewards of capital,” Bennett emphasized. “When you buy a share in DMG, I’m a ‘steward of your capital’ — you’ve put your money into our company, and I’m trying to ensure you get the most out of it and a good return. One of our greatest successes is saying no.”The Oregon acquisition marks a milestone in that philosophy: an entry into the U.S. high-performance computing (HPC) market while preserving the company’s Canadian focus. “Our focus in Canada is initially to serve the Canadian government’s goal to build AI data centers that keep the models and data within Canadian sovereign borders,” Bennett said. “In parallel, DMG intends to service the enterprise data center market… but over time to service the larger opportunity in the U.S. In order to be able to capitalize on that larger opportunity, DMG needs to start building now.”Back home, DMG is also shaping Canada’s emerging sovereign AI ecosystem through two parallel initiatives. “Track one is working with the Canadian military,” Bennett explained. “We’ve gone after the Canadian military because we know there’s a large amount of upgrades and expansion they want to do around AI and quantum compute.” The company has proposed pre-fabricated, skid-rated data centers that can be “purchased immediately — they don’t have to wait for them to be built — and deploy wherever they’d like.”“Track two,” he added, “is the enterprise look at AI in Canada… The government is looking at whether universities have access to sovereign AI — AI in which their IP developed on these chips stays in Canada and is safe from other eyes.” The company’s ability to integrate energy partnerships, data-center design, and chip-supply chain access has positioned it as a serious contender in both defense and enterprise markets.

“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.