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Australian Rare Earths Limited (ASX: AR3) is advancing its Koppamurra pilot programme at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) to generate the technical results and customer samples needed to support rare earth offtake agreements. In an InvestorNews interview with Tracy Hughes, Managing Director and CEO Travis Beinke explained how the work will help prospective buyers evaluate the company’s mixed rare earth oxide product while informing its definitive feasibility study. An existing non-binding offtake memorandum of understanding with Neo Performance Materials Inc. (TSX: NEO | OTCQX: NOPMF), covering half of planned Stage 1 production, gives AR3 a commercial relationship to build on as it advances customer qualification and financing discussions.“Yes, we do have a non-binding MOU for offtake for half of our Stage 1 production with Neo Performance Materials,” Beinke said. Neo became a shareholder when AR3 listed in 2021 and has provided technical support as Koppamurra has developed. The relationship gives AR3 access to downstream expertise as it advances discussions about the eventual sale of its production. The memorandum of understanding remains non-binding, with definitive commercial arrangements still to be secured.The pilot programme is centred on ANSTO’s purpose-built facility for clay-hosted rare earths, where AR3 is the first industry participant. Approximately 30 tonnes of Koppamurra material are being used in a campaign designed to validate the full processing flowsheet and generate mixed rare earth oxide samples for prospective offtakers. Beinke said access to an existing facility reduces the capital and time the company would otherwise need to establish its own pilot plant. “It also saves us a significant amount of time, being able to utilize the great facility that’s been built at ANSTO,” he said.AR3’s September 10, 2026 update showed the programme advancing into downstream product recovery. Its first heap leach column cycle, using approximately eight tonnes of ore, had generated rare earth-bearing solution that was subsequently processed through a mixed rare earth hydroxide precipitation circuit. That hydroxide is an intermediate product to be further refined into the mixed rare earth oxide samples intended for customer assessment. The campaign is scheduled to continue through December 2026, collecting operating and engineering data for the definitive feasibility study, which the company is targeting for completion in 2027.For the larger construction funding requirement, Beinke identified potential debt support from Export Finance Australia and possible investment by offtakers as options the company is exploring. “We do think there are going to be opportunities with the likes of Export Finance Australia to provide the debt component for the project,” he said. He also sees scope for customers interested in securing the proposed rare earth product to consider financial participation in its development. Those possibilities remain financing options the company is evaluating as it works toward a construction funding package.Asked how AR3 allocates capital between its projects, Beinke was unequivocal about Koppamurra’s priority. “The vast majority of our capital, our resources and our focus is on delivering this project into production as quickly and efficiently as we can,” he said.Disclaimer: Video interviews and other video content published by InvestorNews are produced as part of paid media services. The issuer or company featured in this video has compensated InvestorNews for the creation and publication of such content. The views expressed in these interviews are those of the interviewees or guests and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of InvestorNews, its writers, or its affiliates. For full details, please refer to our complete disclaimer at www.investornews.com/disclaimer

The tungsten grades that attracted Union Carbide to Lentung more than four decades ago are showing up again in drill core from Rackla Metals Inc. (TSXV: RAK). The company’s October 13 drilling results included a 17.95-metre downhole interval grading 2.28% tungsten trioxide (WO₃), adding fresh evidence to the historical record at its Northwest Territories project. The mineralization’s proximity to surface gives management another reason to examine its development potential. In an InvestorNews interview with world renowned critical minerals expert Jack Lifton, CEO Simon Ridgway explained how Rackla plans to combine these results with Union Carbide’s extensive drilling database to establish a current mineral resource.Union Carbide Exploration Corporation acquired the property, previously known as Lened, in 1976 and completed 26,900 metres of drilling in 178 holes between 1977 and 1982. Rackla’s January 2026 account of that work cites a 1980 historical estimate of 2.82 million tonnes grading 1.27% WO₃ across the Western Skarn and Stephens Ridge zones. That estimate predates NI 43-101 and must not be treated as a current mineral resource. Its value today lies in the geological information available for verification and the development questions it allows Rackla to investigate.In early 1982, Union Carbide submitted the project to the federal Environmental Assessment and Review Process seeking a mine permit, then withdrew its application as tungsten prices declined. The Bhopal disaster followed in December 1984, while Dow’s acquisition of Union Carbide was completed in February 2001. Those events belong to a longer corporate history; the documented reason for suspending the project in 1982 was deteriorating tungsten prices. The investment question is whether modern technical work and sustainable market conditions can now support development.Rackla arrived at tungsten through gold exploration. During its regional work in 2025, the company evaluated intrusions around Lened for gold potential, found that much of the historical drill core remained recoverable, and staked the property. The geological connection is meaningful: Lentung’s scheelite mineralization occurs in altered limestone beside Cretaceous intrusions belonging to the Tungsten Suite. For a company exploring the broader Tombstone Gold-Tungsten Belt, the opportunity emerged from following the geology into a different commodity.Ridgway described the hillside geometry as “a very simple mining scenario,” reflecting his interest in an open pit concept. The reported drill intervals are not true widths, however, and favourable geometry is only one part of a mine design. Modern engineering and metallurgical work must establish how the mineralization could be mined and processed, with recoveries, slope stability and costs determining the economics.The next major milestone is a current mineral resource estimate. Rackla’s October corporate presentation targets the first or second quarter of 2027, consistent with Ridgway’s interview comments about initially aiming for the first quarter before acknowledging that “it will likely be the second quarter.” That gives investors a defined milestone to follow. The estimate should help establish the scale, grade and geological confidence available to support subsequent engineering and economic work.To read the full column, go to: https://bit.ly/3TM3IT3Disclaimer: Video interviews and other video content published by InvestorNews are produced as part of paid media services. The issuer or company featured in this video has compensated InvestorNews for the creation and publication of such content. The views expressed in these interviews are those of the interviewees or guests and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of InvestorNews, its writers, or its affiliates. For full details, please refer to our complete disclaimer at www.investornews.com/disclaimer

Element One Hydrogen & Critical Minerals Corp. (CSE: EONE) is evaluating a potential U.S. magnesium supply opportunity at Twin Sisters in Washington State, following assays of up to 28.46% magnesium. In a recent InvestorNews interview with host Tracy Hughes, Brad Kitchen, President, CEO and Director, explained how access to existing quarry material could support the company’s development plans while its hydrogen research progresses. The strategy combines a proposed magnesium operation with efforts to generate hydrogen from rock and explore for naturally accumulated hydrogen.At Twin Sisters, eight samples returned magnesium values ranging from 26.39% to 28.46%, alongside nickel values of 2,660 to 3,305 parts per million. Element One’s memorandum of understanding with Millbank Materials provides the right to purchase up to 50,000 tonnes of material annually, with an option to increase that amount to 100,000 tonnes. Kitchen said sourcing material from an established operator could reduce the work required to develop a new mine and associated infrastructure. “They just deliver it effectively to our front door,” he said.Asked which magnesium product Element One intends to bring to market first, Kitchen was direct: “We will be producing magnesium oxide.” He described a proposed closed-loop process designed to recover valuable minerals while limiting waste, with nickel and silica also discussed as potential products. Kitchen sees the Washington State opportunity as a possible earlier source of revenue while the company develops its hydrogen business. His objective is to reach cash flow within approximately two years, a management target that remains dependent on successful development.The next step at Twin Sisters is to establish recoveries and product quality through testing with Revora Materials Inc. in New York. In its September 25 update, Element One said the work would evaluate mineral separation, processing inputs and costs using Revora’s IonMet electrochemical platform. Recovery rates, product specifications and economic viability have yet to be established, and the company had made no decision to construct a pilot or commercial facility. The feedstock volumes contemplated by the MOU therefore describe potential access to material, rather than forecast production.Element One’s hydrogen research centres on accelerating reactions in ultramafic rocks, which contain minerals that can participate in hydrogen-generating processes. Kitchen said laboratory work with Dr. Greeshma Gadikota and her team at Columbia University is focused on improving hydrogen extraction rates and refining the conditions needed for those reactions. Under a two-year sponsored research agreement announced in May, Element One committed US$1.67 million to research into hydrogen stimulation and the potential co-recovery of critical metals. The agreement provides that Columbia retains ownership of inventions and research results generated under the program, subject to Element One’s option to negotiate licenses to certain resulting inventions or information.Disclaimer: Video interviews and other video content published by InvestorNews are produced as part of paid media services. The issuer or company featured in this video has compensated InvestorNews for the creation and publication of such content. The views expressed in these interviews are those of the interviewees or guests and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of InvestorNews, its writers, or its affiliates. For full details, please refer to our complete disclaimer at www.investornews.com/disclaimer

When Silver Bullet Mines Corp. (TSXV: SBMI | OTCQB: SBMCF) began extending its access road from the Columbia Mine toward the Gold Queen Mine, the objective was straightforward: reach the second of two past-producing mines within its Columbia / Gold Queen Complex. Along the way, the company discovered a third.The Steamboat Mine appears in historical records, but its precise location had been lost over time. Silver Bullet's field team rediscovered it unexpectedly while clearing the new road, uncovering remnants of an earlier mining operation, including underground rail tracks, mule harnesses, bags and empty dynamite boxes."This was a serious mine," Peter Clausi, Vice President of Capital Markets and a Director of Silver Bullet Mines, told InvestorNews host Tracy Hughes during a recent interview. "And if they were using mules, history will tell you there's a certain grade of gold that goes with that."The discovery came as Silver Bullet reported four newly identified zones it considers prospective for high-grade gold, all located beside the new access road. The company has also identified what it believes are thousands of tons of mineralized material in historical surface stockpiles, likely associated with previous operations at the Gold Queen Mine.The potential significance of those discoveries remains subject to assay results. Clausi acknowledged the distinction between what the field team can observe and what Silver Bullet can establish through technical analysis and disclose under Canada's NI 43-101 framework."The eye sees a lot," he said. "But let's see what the assay lab tells us."Results from samples taken from the first of the newly identified zones are expected shortly, according to Clausi. Some samples are being submitted to an independent ISO-certified laboratory in addition to testing conducted through the company's own facilities.Of the new developments, the historical stockpiles could have the most immediate implications for Silver Bullet's economics. Unlike material that must first be drilled, blasted and removed from underground, stockpiled material has already been mined and brought to surface, potentially eliminating a substantial portion of the extraction costs associated with conventional mining."It reduces our processing cost because the cost of extraction has already been incurred by somebody else," Clausi explained. Disclaimer: Video interviews and other video content published by InvestorNews are produced as part of paid media services. The issuer or company featured in this video has compensated InvestorNews for the creation and publication of such content. The views expressed in these interviews are those of the interviewees or guests and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of InvestorNews, its writers, or its affiliates. For full details, please refer to our complete disclaimer at www.investornews.com/disclaimer

Quantum eMotion Corp. (NYSE American: QNC | TSXV: QNC) is preparing for a significant expansion of its cybersecurity business following its definitive agreement to acquire Plurilock Security Inc. (TSXV: PLUR | OTCQB: PLCKF). The proposed transaction brings together Quantum eMotion’s proprietary quantum technology and Plurilock’s established commercial operations, creating an opportunity to accelerate the introduction of quantum cybersecurity solutions to government agencies and major corporations.During a recent InvestorNews interview hosted by Tracy Hughes, Dr. Francis Bellido, President, CEO and Director of Quantum eMotion, and Ian Paterson, CEO of Plurilock Security, discussed the strategic rationale behind the acquisition, the commercial opportunities emerging from quantum computing and the growing urgency surrounding cybersecurity threats.For Bellido, the acquisition addresses one of the greatest challenges facing technology companies: transforming years of research and development into commercial revenue. Quantum eMotion has invested substantially in developing proprietary quantum random number generation technology, but establishing a commercial sales organization requires different expertise. Plurilock offers an existing platform with customer relationships, technical advisory capabilities and an established record of commercial execution.Paterson explained that Plurilock has grown substantially since going public in 2020, lifting annual revenue from roughly C$500,000 to nearly C$61 million in 2025. He said about half its business comes from public-sector customers, with the rest from large commercial enterprises. In August, its Integra Networks subsidiary was named one of the contract holders under a five-year NATO cybersecurity procurement framework, giving the company its first position to compete for NATO task orders.The combination is particularly attractive because Plurilock already works with institutions evaluating emerging cybersecurity technologies. Rather than building a new commercial organization, Quantum eMotion intends to introduce its proprietary products through established customer relationships. Paterson believes this approach could substantially accelerate commercialization while allowing Plurilock to expand beyond distributing third-party solutions into selling technology owned by the combined organization.The transaction also has important financial implications. Paterson highlighted Quantum eMotion’s stronger balance sheet, access to major U.S. capital markets and the potential for improved margins through proprietary technology sales. Plurilock has been working toward profitable growth, and the acquisition could provide additional resources to support that transition. For Quantum eMotion, the objective is to accelerate revenue generation while reducing some of the commercial risks associated with bringing new technology to market. Hughes also questioned Bellido about the recent appointment of Bernard Crotty, former Chairman and CEO of Certicom, as an independent director. Bellido explained that the appointment reflects Quantum eMotion’s efforts to strengthen corporate governance following its NYSE American listing. Crotty brings extensive experience in cryptography, corporate leadership and law, including his involvement with Certicom, which was acquired by Research In Motion, now BlackBerry.To access the complete InvestorNews.com column - https://bit.ly/4hXEsBkDisclaimer: Video interviews and other video content published by InvestorNews are produced as part of paid media services. The issuer or company featured in this video has compensated InvestorNews for the creation and publication of such content. The views expressed in these interviews are those of the interviewees or guests and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of InvestorNews, its writers, or its affiliates. For full details, please refer to our complete disclaimer at www.investornews.com/disclaimer

The critical minerals boom may be real, but Christopher Ecclestone believes the market is approaching a more discriminating phase, one in which simply owning a project containing a strategically important metal will no longer be enough. During a recent InvestorTalk interview hosted by Tracy Hughes, Ecclestone, Principal and Mining Strategist at Hallgarten + Company, discussed the central argument behind his latest monthly resource review, Critical Metals, Trump Demand. His thesis is potentially uncomfortable for a sector enjoying extraordinary political attention. Some of today’s critical mineral shortages are structural, some are temporary, and others may prove considerably less severe than the prevailing narrative suggests.“A lot of this is being driven at the moment by Trump,” Ecclestone said, pointing particularly to the Trump administration’s focus on China and the vulnerability of Western mineral supply chains. But political attention, he cautioned, should not be confused with permanent commodity fundamentals. The challenge is determining which commodities face enduring supply constraints capable of supporting new mines and processing capacity over many years, and which are experiencing shortages that could disappear before many development-stage projects ever reach production.That distinction is particularly important in mining, where projects conceived during periods of exceptionally high prices may require years of permitting, financing, construction and commissioning before producing their first commercial material. If a shortage disappears during that period, the economics that originally attracted capital can change dramatically. “What we need to do now is work out which of these investments in critical metals have a long-term good prospect because the shortage is going to be long-term,” Ecclestone said, “and which of them is just temporary.”For Ecclestone, antimony may be providing an early warning. He described it as the “canary in the coal mine,” pointing to the sharp retreat in prices after the extraordinary surge that followed China’s export restrictions. His concern is not that antimony has ceased to be strategically important, but that the price movement demonstrates how quickly the economics surrounding a supposedly acute shortage can change. A geopolitical supply disruption can create extraordinary prices, but those same prices encourage alternative sourcing, substitution, inventory adjustments, recycling and new production.Ecclestone applied similar skepticism to gallium and germanium. China dominates global gallium production and has used export controls as part of its broader critical minerals policy, yet semiconductor and other downstream manufacturing outside China has continued. For Ecclestone, that raises questions about how impermeable such restrictions really are and whether material is continuing to find its way into international markets through alternative channels. His broader point is that Chinese dominance remains strategically important, but global supply chains can be more adaptive than the most dramatic shortage scenarios imply.The conversation also turned to the remarkable resurgence of mining finance in Canada. TMX Group reports that mining companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange raised approximately C$16 billion in equity capital during 2025, with 54 new mining listings during the year. Ecclestone was actually less impressed by the number of new listings than by the amount of capital raised, arguing that conventional listing statistics do not necessarily capture the full level of activity because resource companies frequently reach the public markets through Capital Pool Companies and reverse takeovers.To read the full column, go to: https://bit.ly/4dVZLBQ

Cesium occupies an unusual corner of the critical minerals market. It is extraordinarily rare, strategically important and used across industries ranging from energy and telecommunications to defense, yet it remains unfamiliar even to many experienced resource-market participants. For Grid Metals Corp. (TSXV: GRDM | OTCQB: MSMGF), that scarcity is becoming increasingly important following the announcement of a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate at the Lucy South pegmatite on its Falcon West Property in southeastern Manitoba.During a recent InvestorNews interview hosted by Tracy Hughes, Robin Dunbar, President, CEO and Director of Grid Metals, discussed the significance of the new resource and the company's plans to move Lucy South toward development. Grid reported an open-pit measured resource for the Lithium-Cesium-Tantalum Zone of 51,500 tonnes grading 2.58% Cs₂O and 1.47% Li₂O, containing 1,322 tonnes of Cs₂O. Within it is a higher-grade Pollucite Zone containing 15,600 tonnes grading 5.19% Cs₂O and 1.76% Li₂O. The resource averages approximately 20 metres below surface, remains partly open in several directions and, according to Grid, establishes Lucy South as the second-largest cesium resource being actively developed globally by Western-domiciled exploration and development companies.“It's probably about half of one year's global supply of cesium feedstock, so significant,” Dunbar told Hughes. “And the deposit is also significant. It's near surface in a great location, easy to extract, easy to process.” Those characteristics take on additional importance because cesium supply is highly concentrated and new primary sources are exceptionally uncommon. Grid estimates that only six cesium-bearing pollucite deposits have been discovered globally and only three primary cesium mines have ever operated.A Rare Metal with Strategic ApplicationsThe cesium market is broadly divided between cesium formate, used as a high-density drilling and completion fluid in demanding oil and gas wells, and a collection of specialized technology applications. Dunbar pointed to uses in petrochemical refining, optical and medical technologies, defense applications, night-vision equipment and atomic clocks associated with GPS and telecommunications networks. He also highlighted emerging applications such as perovskite solar cells, where cesium could play a role in future generations of photovoltaic technology.“The world would use more cesium if you had it,” Dunbar said. “But it's incredibly rare.” That rarity is closely connected to geology. Pegmatites themselves are common, but economically interesting concentrations of cesium occur only in highly fractionated pegmatites, with pollucite representing the preferred mineral feedstock for the cesium chemicals industry. Cesium has consequently been designated a critical mineral by both Canada and the United States, where supply-chain vulnerability has elevated interest in potential Western sources.Location and Processing Could MatterTo read the full column, go to: https://bit.ly/4ebqU3JDisclaimer: Video interviews and other video content published by InvestorNews are produced as part of paid media services. The issuer or company featured in this video has compensated InvestorNews for the creation and publication of such content. The views expressed in these interviews are those of the interviewees or guests and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of InvestorNews, its writers, or its affiliates. For full details, please refer to our complete disclaimer at www.investornews.com/disclaimer

In critical minerals, ambition is often described as a straight line from the orebody to the finished magnet. Mark C. Jensen, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of American Resources Corporation (NASDAQ: AREC), is deliberately building something less linear and potentially more adaptable.“I’m not a mine-to-magnet guy,” Jensen said in a recent InvestorNews interview. “There is very little chance that one company is going to solve all these problems.” That conviction sits behind American Resources’ “platform orchestration” strategy: a network of specialist businesses, investments and commercial partners addressing different links in the critical minerals supply chain.The distinction matters. American Resources owns approximately 17% of ReElement Technologies Corporation, the refining business it founded and later separated, and 100% of Electrified Materials Corporation, which aggregates and preprocesses end-of-life magnets, batteries and other recyclable materials. American Resources is also pursuing interests in mines and unconventional feedstock sources.Under Jensen’s model, mining specialists run mines, refining specialists run refineries and manufacturers make finished products. American Resources seeks economical material and strategic positions; ReElement concentrates on separation and purification; and commercial partners provide feedstock, industrial scale, offtake or downstream manufacturing. It is horizontal expansion within each area of competence, joined vertically through contracts, equity interests and partnerships.The strategy grew out of a problem rather than a fashionable investment thesis. Jensen and his business partner acquired distressed coal operations and inherited significant environmental obligations. Their team began recovering metals from mine-affected water to reduce treatment costs, only to discover that concentrating the material was easier than refining it economically.Conventional solvent extraction did not solve that cost problem. The search for another route led to chromatography work associated with Penn State and Purdue University and to the expertise of Dr. Linda Wang. An attempt to lower environmental costs became ReElement’s technological foundation just as Western governments and manufacturers began confronting their dependence on China-dominated refining capacity.ReElement’s chromatographic platform is designed for mineral concentrates, recycled permanent magnets, battery black mass and manufacturing byproducts. Its Noblesville, Indiana, qualification facility produces rare earth oxides and critical battery materials, while the larger Marion campus is intended to expand commercial output. Jensen said Marion’s planned lines encompass germanium, gallium, magnet materials and mixed rare earth carbonate feedstocks.The commercial validation is increasingly difficult to dismiss. After a lengthy technical review, POSCO International moved from evaluating ReElement’s capabilities to a formal partnership. In May 2026, POSCO International announced that it and ReElement had signed an agreement to establish a U.S. joint venture. The parties plan to invest a combined US$200 million in a rare earth separation and purification facility with targeted annual capacity of 6,000 tonnes, followed by integrated permanent magnet production. Pilot production is planned for late 2027 and mass production for 2028. Disclaimer: Video interviews and other video content published by InvestorNews are produced as part of paid media services. The issuer or company featured in this video has compensated InvestorNews for the creation and publication of such content. The views expressed in these interviews are those of the interviewees or guests and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of InvestorNews, its writers, or its affiliates. For full details, please refer to our complete disclaimer at www.investornews.com/disclaimer

From the deck of Argus, Stensgaard details the push to turn Greenland’s mineral wealth into Western supply as a new security agreement redraws the Arctic mapGreenland Mines Ltd. (Nasdaq: GRML) President Bo Møller Stensgaard spoke with InvestorNews host Tracy Hughes from aboard the ice-class support vessel Argus, anchored about 500 metres offshore at the company’s Skaergaard Project in southeast Greenland. Behind him, a helicopter ferried personnel and supplies between the vessel and the field sites. The Arctic setting was more than a dramatic backdrop; it underscored the logistical demands facing a company seeking to advance two substantial but geologically distinct mineral assets.That work is unfolding as Greenland’s geopolitical position changes in real time. Today, President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The three leaders are expected to sign a trilateral security agreement permitting a larger U.S. military presence in Greenland. Danish officials have said the arrangement places Arctic security under NATO’s collective watch while preserving the Kingdom of Denmark’s sovereignty and Greenland’s right to self-determination.For Stensgaard, the corporate relevance lies in what he described as reduced geopolitical uncertainty and a clearer commitment by Western allies to Greenland. He argued that stronger security cooperation could also improve the climate for infrastructure and resource investment, particularly for projects with strategic supply implications. The agreement does not provide a mine permit or project financing, but it could materially change the context in which investors, governments and industrial partners assess Greenland.Greenland Mines’ portfolio is anchored by two principal mineral assets. Sarfartoq, in southwest Greenland, is a rare earths project focused on neodymium and praseodymium, essential inputs for high-performance permanent magnets. In southeast Greenland, the company holds an 80% interest in Skaergaard, a palladium, gold and platinum project. A July 2026 S-K 1300 Mineral Resource Estimate for Skaergaard reports 15.0 million contained palladium-equivalent ounces in the Indicated category and 17.49 million in the Inferred category. Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability.Sarfartoq moved to the centre of the story after Greenland Mines completed its acquisition of the project on September 1 from Neo Performance Materials Inc. (TSX: NEO | OTCQX: NOPMF) and other shareholders. The US$35 million consideration comprised US$20 million in cash and US$15 million in Greenland Mines shares. Neo retained an equity interest and offtake rights for up to 60% of future ore or mineral concentrate, connecting a prospective Greenland source to a company with established rare earth separation and magnet capabilities in Europe.Disclaimer: Video interviews and other video content published by InvestorNews are produced as part of paid media services. The issuer or company featured in this video has compensated InvestorNews for the creation and publication of such content. The views expressed in these interviews are those of the interviewees or guests and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of InvestorNews, its writers, or its affiliates. For full details, please refer to our complete disclaimer at www.investornews.com/disclaimer

In an InvestorNews interview hosted by Tracy Hughes, John Passalacqua, CEO and Director of First Phosphate Corp. (Nasdaq: PHOS | CSE: PHOS | OTCQX: FRSPF | FSE: KD0), discussed another significant step in the company’s effort to finance its planned igneous phosphate mine and processing facilities in Québec. The company announced on September 16, 2026 that it had received a letter of support from Swiss Export Risk Insurance, known as SERV, for approximately US$212.5 million.The proposed support relates to the purchase of Swiss machinery and equipment for the mine, together with goods and services required to construct the processing facility in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region. Under the preliminary structure, SERV would consider supporting financing equal to 85% of an assumed eligible Swiss export contract valued at US$250 million. SERV could provide insurance or guarantees covering up to 95% of the eligible financed amount, subject to its review requirements and the completion of definitive arrangements.The Swiss support follows an April 2026 letter of intent from Denmark’s Export and Investment Fund, or EIFO, for a guarantee of up to €170 million in eligible equipment and service purchases. Passalacqua told Hughes that, taken together, the two export-credit initiatives could support approximately US$410 million to US$420 million of an estimated US$450 million to US$500 million in mine capital expenditures. On that basis, he said the remaining equity component could be reduced to less than US$70 million.The figures are important because equity dilution remains one of the central concerns surrounding capital-intensive mine development. The SERV letter and EIFO letter of intent are not final financing commitments, and both remain subject to due diligence, approvals, procurement eligibility and definitive documentation. They nevertheless establish a potential path toward funding a substantial portion of the project through government-backed export-credit structures rather than relying principally on new equity.Passalacqua attributed the progress to relationships developed through the G7, European partners and export-credit agencies interested in supporting the project. Export-credit financing is tied to the procurement of qualifying goods and services from the participating countries, giving First Phosphate a framework for matching project requirements with long-term institutional support. For the company, the strategy is also intended to address financing risk well before the project reaches a final investment decision.“So we're just kind of, you know, figuring out what we have to do when we have to do it to answer the concerns of the market,” Passalacqua said. He added that First Phosphate has placed particular emphasis on managing market expectations and responding early to questions about how the mine could be financed and how much equity might ultimately be required.The financing developments arrive shortly after First Phosphate’s American Depositary Receipts began trading on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol PHOS on August 10, 2026. Each ADR represents ten First Phosphate common shares, while the company’s common shares continue to trade on the CSE, OTCQX and Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Passalacqua said the Nasdaq listing has opened the company to a broader audience that previously could not readily purchase its securities. To learn more, visit FirstPhosphate.com.Disclaimer: Video interviews and other video content published by InvestorNews are produced as part of paid media services. The issuer or company featured in this video has compensated InvestorNews for the creation and publication of such content. The views expressed in these interviews are those of the interviewees or guests and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of InvestorNews, its writers, or its affiliates. For full details, please refer to our complete disclaimer at www.investornews.com/disclaimer

“What kills tungsten demand is absence,” Lewis Black, Chairman, President and CEO of Almonty Industries Inc. (NASDAQ: ALM | Frankfurt: ALI1), told InvestorNews host Tracy Hughes during a recent InvestorTalk interview, reiterating a warning from his August 30 market commentary. In his view, higher prices alone do not stop most manufacturers because tungsten represents a relatively small portion of the cost of a finished product. The greater danger is physical unavailability: when the material cannot be obtained, production stops and, as Black warned, “a shuttered plant rarely reopens.”That warning came as Almonty reported a sharp increase in revenue and operating profitability. Second-quarter 2026 revenue rose 498% year over year to C$43.0 million, driven by record tungsten pricing, while income from mining operations reached C$26.1 million and Adjusted EBITDA increased to C$17.6 million from negative C$4.8 million a year earlier. The company reported a gross margin of 60.7%, although its C$181.8 million in net income included C$173.1 million of non-cash gains arising from the revaluation of derivative and warrant instruments.Black called the quarter “a first look at the prospective earnings power that Almonty has spent more than a decade building toward.”Black attributed the operating performance to the return of price discovery after decades in which, he argued, tungsten’s value was held down by Chinese dominance of the market. Almonty survived the lower-price period by concentrating on operating efficiencies at its Panasqueira Mine in Portugal, which has been producing since 1896. “Price should not be used as a mask for inefficiency,” Black said. “Everyone can be heroic in a high price.”The balance sheet changed just as dramatically, but for a different reason. Almonty’s cash balance was C$1.227 billion at June 30, up from C$268.4 million at the end of 2025, principally following the June closing of a US$800 million offering of 2.25% convertible senior notes due 2031. The notes have an initial conversion price of approximately US$27.40 per share, while related capped-call transactions were structured with an initial cap price of US$41.36 to reduce potential dilution or offset certain cash payments upon conversion, subject to the terms of those arrangements.Black presented the company’s subsequent share-repurchase authorization as another element of that dilution strategy. Almonty may purchase as many as 14.4 million common shares, approximately 5% of the shares outstanding as of August 14, for an aggregate price of up to US$300 million during the 36 months ending August 24, 2029. The authorization does not require the company to buy any particular number of shares, and the timing remains at Almonty’s discretion. Black said the program could ultimately be funded partly from Sangdong earnings and emphasized that compensation at Almonty is not tied to short-term share-price performance.Almonty has also concentrated its public-market presence. Its TSX delisting took effect after trading closed on July 31, while it was removed from the Australian Securities Exchange after trading closed on September 1. The shares continue to trade on Nasdaq and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Black said trading activity had migrated overwhelmingly to Nasdaq, making the additional compliance and administrative expense of the smaller listings increasingly difficult to justify.The operational centre of the discussion was the Sangdong Tungsten Mine in South Korea. In July, Almonty extended its Phase I offtake agreement with Global Tungsten & Powders LLC, a member of Austria’s Plansee Group, from 15 to 21 years. The amendment increased contracted volume by 40% to 4.41 million metric tonne units and improved pricing across all contracted volumes by approximately 6.3%. The agreement covers approximately 90% of anticipated Phase I production.To read the full column, go to: https://bit.ly/3Vm3cv6

During a recent InvestorTalk interview hosted by Tracy Hughes, Tom Drivas, CEO and Director of Appia Rare Earths & Uranium Corp. (CSE: API | OTCQB: APAAF), introduced the company’s new President, Kurt Radtke, and outlined an increasingly active period across Appia’s rare earth and uranium portfolio.Radtke was appointed President effective September 1, 2026, bringing more than 20 years of international mining and operational leadership experience to the company. His career has included responsibility for large-scale drilling, field operations, logistics and exploration programs across several continents, including serving as Vice President of Field Operations and Logistics, Exploration and Resource Development for Saudi Arabian mining company Maaden.Asked by Hughes what attracted him to Appia, Radtke pointed to both the company’s existing work and the scale of its land position.“I looked at the company, and I was just really enthralled with what they’ve done so far and the land that they’re sitting on,” he said. “I think that Appia has just got an amazing story to tell.”Drivas said the appointment followed a year-long search for someone capable of helping move Appia’s collection of projects forward. What distinguished Radtke was not simply his executive background, but his experience managing drilling programs and converting technical plans into activity on the ground.For Drivas, Radtke’s value lies in his ability to turn plans into action. “He’s an operations guy,” Drivas said. “We have all these projects, and we would like to have somebody who can really help us move those projects forward.”One of the principal subjects of the interview was Appia’s Brazilian rare earth exposure. Appia holds a 25% interest in Ultra Rare Earth Inc., which indirectly owns 100% of the Ultra Hard Rock and Ultra Ionic Adsorption Clay projects in Goiás State. Together, the two projects cover approximately 42,932 hectares and contain two distinct forms of mineralization: hard rock rare earths associated with carbonatites and rare earths hosted in ionic adsorption clays.Drivas said Ultra currently has six drills operating in Brazil and has completed an S-K 1300 technical report covering the hard rock carbonatite portion of the property. He added that Ultra intends to complete a separate resource estimate for the ionic clay mineralization over the coming months, followed by a preliminary economic assessment and then pre-feasibility work.The pace of work reflects the importance Ultra has assumed within the broader Appia story. Appia’s 25% equity position allows the company to retain meaningful exposure to the Brazilian projects while Ultra advances an extensive drilling and development program.In Canada, management identified the 100%-owned Otherside uranium property in Saskatchewan’s Athabasca Basin as an increasingly important priority. On August 31, Appia reported that the final interpretation of two lines from its 2026 SPARTAN magnetotelluric survey had outlined several additional preliminary uranium drill targets.Drivas described the geophysical story developing at Otherside as particularly encouraging and said success there could require a substantial drilling commitment. That possibility is one reason Radtke’s background has become relevant so quickly.Radtke agreed that the property carries considerable potential but emphasized the importance of disciplined target selection. “We need to make sure that we’re putting our rigs on the right spot and getting the data that we need to have,” he said.Radtke also expressed enthusiasm for Appia’s Alces Lake rare earth property in northern Saskatchewan. The company recently completed six diamond drill holes at Alces Lake, with rare earth-bearing monazite visually identified in three of them. Three originally planned holes and ten additional targets remain available for potential follow-up work.To read the full column, go to: https://bit.ly/4yipw7g

Fox Tungsten Ltd. (TSXV: FOXT) is combining an aggressive exploration campaign with a financial structure designed to keep drilling capital focused on the ground. In a recent InvestorNews interview, President, CEO and Director Stephen Gray discussed the company’s C$2 million share payment from Metal Energy Corp. (TSXV: MERG), its fully funded 20,000 metre drill program and the path toward a Preliminary Economic Assessment targeted for the second quarter of 2027.The C$2 million payment originates from Fox Tungsten’s 2024 sale of the Highland Valley copper project to Metal Energy. Under the agreement, Fox Tungsten, then operating as Happy Creek Minerals Ltd., received C$300,000 in cash and an equity position in Metal Energy at closing, along with C$6 million in deferred consideration and a net smelter return royalty of up to 2.5%.In August, Fox Tungsten received 2,358,797 Metal Energy common shares with an aggregate deemed value of C$2 million. The shares, issued at a deemed price of C$0.85, satisfied the first two deferred consideration payments under the agreement. Fox Tungsten now holds 4,233,217 Metal Energy shares, with a further C$4 million scheduled through payments of C$1.5 million and C$2.5 million on the third and fourth anniversaries of the transaction.Gray described the payment as an important financial backstop for Fox Tungsten. Once the shares are eligible for sale following their statutory hold period, the proceeds can provide non-flow-through capital for general and administrative expenses and technical work, including the planned PEA.“When we go to the market and raise money, we are raising flow-through capital to drill and put that money into the ground,” Gray explained. “Because we have those hard dollars, we have that backstop.”That distinction matters as Fox Tungsten advances its flagship project, located approximately 75 kilometres northeast of 100 Mile House in south central British Columbia. The current NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate includes 582,400 tonnes grading 0.826% WO₃ in the Indicated category and 565,000 tonnes grading 1.231% WO₃ in the Inferred category. The company describes Fox as hosting one of the highest-grade tungsten resources in the Western world.Gray went further during the interview, stating that, to his knowledge, Fox is the highest-grade tungsten resource globally. To put the grade into terms more familiar to the broader market, he compared 1% tungsten with approximately 22 grams per tonne gold or 25% copper based on recent spot prices. The comparison illustrates the potential metal value of the grade but does not account for recoveries, processing costs, payabilities or other economic factors.“This is something special,” Gray said. “We think we are going to be able to maintain that grade as we grow, and we look forward to sharing more results with the market.”The company’s fully funded 20,000 metre drill program is the largest exploration campaign in its history. Two drill rigs are currently operating, with Gray indicating that a third is expected to be added as the program advances toward completion in late October. Assay results are expected to be released progressively through the remainder of 2026.The program is testing the company’s interpretation that the BN, RC and BK zones could form part of a larger, connected mineralized system. In a July exploration update, Fox Tungsten reported visible scheelite in all three completed exploration holes at Fox North and all seven resource expansion holes completed at the RC Zone. The company cautioned that these visual observations are preliminary and that laboratory assays are required to determine tungsten grades.To read the full column, go to: https://bit.ly/4gV3lNw

Silver Bullet Mines Corp. (TSXV: SBMI | OTCQB: SBMCF) is moving from agreement to execution as it prepares to supply mineralized material and concentrates to Ocean Partners US Inc. In a new InvestorNews interview with Tracy Hughes, Vice President of Capital Markets and Director Peter Clausi explained why the Columbia / Gold Queen Complex has become the company’s near-term production priority.Silver Bullet Mines entered into its five-year framework agreement with Ocean Partners in March 2026. The agreement contemplates the sale of up to 36,000 tons of product annually from the company’s Arizona operations, with the potential for that volume to increase.The Ocean Partners agreement itself has not changed. What has changed is Silver Bullet Mines’ decision about which property is best positioned to provide the required tonnage.“We have figured out that production can come from the Columbia,” Clausi said.The decision followed months of fieldwork, infrastructure development and operational analysis. Although Silver Bullet Mines continues to report encouraging grades from its other Arizona properties, management concluded that those mines are not presently capable of supplying the volumes required under the Ocean Partners agreement. The company therefore intends to prioritize the Columbia / Gold Queen Complex and return capital to its other properties after revenue is generated from the complex.For Clausi, the work illustrates a fundamental reality of mine development that can be overlooked amid discussions of grades and geological potential.“These are the logistics and the guts that make a mining project successful,” he explained. “You don’t just rush in. You do your science, you figure it out.”From the Columbia Mine to the Globe MillThe Columbia and Gold Queen mines are contiguous past producing properties in Arizona’s Dripping Springs Mining District, approximately 30 miles from Silver Bullet Mines’ wholly owned mill in Globe. Their proximity supports the company’s hub and spoke operating model, under which the Globe mill serves as the central processing facility for material obtained from multiple nearby properties.Silver Bullet Mines began developing this model in 2020 when it elected to construct the mill before expanding production across its portfolio. According to Clausi, owning the mill gives the company greater control over costs, processing and the selection of properties capable of providing the most attractive material.The company announced on August 26th that it had commenced processing material from the Columbia / Gold Queen Complex. Silver Bullet Mines estimated that approximately 80 tons had been delivered to the Globe mill, with additional shipments expected.The company plans to supply Ocean Partners with two products. Mineralized material transported to the Globe mill will be processed into concentrate, while direct shipping ore will be crushed at the mine site and shipped without going through the mill.“DSO is kind of the holy grail for any miner,” Clausi said. “There’s no other processing, so it’s a very low-cost form of revenue generation.” Adding that Silver Bullet Mines has ordered a portable crushing plant designed to reduce the material to the specifications required by Ocean Partners. To read the full column, go to: https://bit.ly/4gJH19nDisclaimer: Video interviews and other video content published by InvestorNews are produced as part of paid media services. The issuer or company featured in this video has compensated InvestorNews for the creation and publication of such content. The views expressed in these interviews are those of the interviewees or guests and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of InvestorNews, its writers, or its affiliates. For full details, please refer to our complete disclaimer at www.investornews.com/disclaimer

Speaking from the core shack in British Columbia’s Golden Triangle, Oreterra CEO Kevin Keough explains why bornite, chalcopyrite, magnetite and red garnet have strengthened the company’s geological interpretation—and why assays remain the decisive test.Oreterra Metals Corp. (TSXV: OTMC | OTCQB: OTMCF | FSE: D4R0) has reached one of mineral exploration’s most compelling stages: the point at which a geological theory meets the drill core. In a new InvestorNews interview, CEO and Director Kevin M. Keough joined Tracy Hughes from the Trek South camp, where the company is conducting the first drill program ever undertaken on the copper-gold prospect.The discussion followed Oreterra’s August 25 drilling update. The company reported strong porphyry-style alteration in hole TS26-06, together with local bornite, chalcopyrite and magnetite mineralization, as well as epidote and red garnet. Oreterra believes this combination may indicate that drilling is approaching the source intrusion thought to centre the Trek South porphyry system.Why the Minerals MatterBornite and chalcopyrite are copper-bearing sulphide minerals, while magnetite and garnet can form in the hotter parts of a mineralizing system. Their appearance alongside increasingly strong alteration gives Oreterra’s team additional evidence that it may be moving inward from the outer alteration halo toward the intrusive source.“I’m not interested in just drilling a bunch of pretty rock,” Keough said. “It’s got to have the right sulphides, it’s got to have copper. And that’s why we got excited.”That excitement is not confirmation of a commercially viable deposit. Keough emphasized that visual observations cannot determine whether the intervals contain economic grades. Copper, gold and silver values must be established through laboratory analysis.“Visuals alone won’t tell us whether we’ve hit an economic body,” he said. “We do think we will have values of metal in what we’ve drilled. It’ll be up to the assays to determine to what level.”Drilling From the Outside InBecause Trek South had never been drilled, Oreterra designed its initial campaign using surface geology, alteration, geochemistry and geophysical data. The company is drilling progressively from the outside of the altered area inward, with each hole helping refine the potential location of the intrusive source.Current holes are targeting depths of approximately 600 metres. The initial objective is to locate the system in plan view before potentially testing it at greater depths in a future program.“The idea is to find near surface where we really need to be,” Keough explained. “Then we will follow what we hope to be the root of this system to depth.”Drilling has progressed somewhat more slowly than anticipated because of rugged terrain, drill-pad requirements and other operational challenges. Nevertheless, Keough said the geological results have met the team’s expectations. He and Vice President of Exploration John Biczok have remained at the camp, allowing the company to adjust subsequent holes as new core is examined.Assays Will Guide the Next StageLaboratory results will determine the copper, gold and silver grades present and help Oreterra decide where to drill next. Assay timing remains uncertain because late summer is typically a busy period for laboratories.For more information, visit oreterra.com.Disclaimer: Video interviews and other video content published by InvestorNews are produced as part of paid media services. The issuer or company featured in this video has compensated InvestorNews for the creation and publication of such content. The views expressed are those of the interviewees or guests and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of InvestorNews, its writers or its affiliates. For full details, please refer to our complete disclaimer at www.investornews.com/disclaimer