Fulcrum Metals plc says it has secured the site for its standalone, multi-project pilot facility in Mississauga, Ontario, and signed a Pilot Scale Demonstration Agreement with Extrakt Process Solutions LLC and Test Design Implement Solutions LLC to investigate the recovery of precious and critical metals from mine waste using Extrakt’s cyanide-free technology.
Together, these major milestones secure the site, technology and delivery framework for Fulcrum’s funded pilot facility and initial Teck-Hughes program. Successful pilot testing at Teck-Hughes is a key condition of the proposed $20 million gold royalty financing with Chancery Royalty Ltd, providing a potential non-dilutive pathway towards commercial development.
Extrakt’s technology, according to Fulcrum, enables the recovery of precious metals from refractory ore without the use of cyanide. High level testing on tailings from Fulcrum’s Teck Hughes and Sylvanite projects has demonstrated very positive non-optimised results, with gold recovery rates of up to 59.4% and leach times as low as three hours.
A non-optimised conceptual study at Teck Hughes, based on 2,000 t/d of tailings processed over a nine-year operation, a 59.4% gold recovery rate, a six-hour leach time and a gold price of $2,899/oz, suggests a pre-tax NPV (7.5% discount) of approximately $33 million, Fulcrum previously said.
Fulcrum’s relationship with Extrakt extends beyond the Teck-Hughes and Sylvanite projects. Fulcrum holds exclusive rights to deploy Extrakt’s proven cyanide-free technology across legacy gold mine waste sites within the Timmins and Kirkland Lake mining districts of Ontario. These two gold camps have collectively produced more than 110 Moz of gold over the past century and are estimated to contain more than 70 documented legacy mine waste sites, providing a significant pipeline of potential future reclamation and metal recovery opportunities.
The Mississauga premises comprise approximately 12,526 sq.ft (1,164 sq.m) of dedicated industrial space in the Greater Toronto Area, with Fulcrum’s wholly owned subsidiary, Fulcrum EnviroTech Corp, having entered into a six-year lease commencing on October 1, 2026, with an option to extend for a further six years.
The scale and configuration of the premises provide flexibility to modify and expand pilot operations as program requirements develop. The premises are intended to accommodate the pilot equipment, supporting infrastructure, sample handling and operational requirements for the initial Teck-Hughes program and subsequent agreed programs.
The planned pilot facility will have a capacity of up to 2.4 t/d, processing batches of approximately 600 kg. Fit-out and commissioning remain targeted by the end of the year.
The facility is designed to move projects using Extrakt’s cyanide-free technology from laboratory testing towards commercial development decisions. Pilot programs are intended to validate integrated recovery performance, optimise operations and test repeatability, generating the operating, engineering, environmental and economic inputs required to evaluate scale-up. As a multi-project facility, the same infrastructure and operating capability can be applied across successive programs without requiring a separate pilot facility for each project. This can reduce the time and capital required, advance permitting and support earlier decisions on process design, economic assessment, financing and commercial development.
The Demonstration Agreement supplements the Piloting Agreement and Equipment Lease entered into by Fulcrum EnviroTech and TDI in June 2026. Under the agreement, Extrakt grants TDI permission to deploy, operate and demonstrate Extrakt’s proprietary technology at the Mississauga Facility for the initial Teck-Hughes pilot program and any subsequent programs agreed under the relevant program agreements. TDI will deploy and operate the pilot equipment and deliver the services governed by each applicable program agreement. Fulcrum will provide and maintain the premises and will own the project-specific data and results required for the evaluation, development, financing, permitting and commercialisation of its projects, subject to the agreed protections for Extrakt’s technology and TDI’s intellectual property.
Ryan Mee, Chief Executive Officer of Fulcrum, commented: “This is not a one-project pilot. It is a multi-project development accelerator that moves projects using Extrakt’s technology from laboratory testing towards commercial development decisions without building a separate pilot facility for each project. Teck-Hughes and Sylvanite are the first projects; our exclusive rights and partner-led opportunities provide the pathway to scale.”
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