Aim-listed critical minerals recovery company Fulcrum Metals has secured a site for its standalone multi-project pilot facility in Mississauga, Ontario.

The company secured an initial six-year lease for a 12 526 square feet facility, which it says provides space and flexibility to modify and expand operations.

Commissioning of the 2.4 t/d pilot facility is targeted before the end of the year, with Fulcrum having signed a pilot scale demonstration agreement with Extrakt Process Solution for its proprietary cyanide-free technology and Test Design Implement Solutions for the operation of the plant.

The pilot facility, as a multi-project development accelerator, moves Extrakt's technology-led projects from laboratory testing to commercial deployment decisions without project-specific pilot builds.

In turn, the pilot facility allows Fulcrum to build a scalable platform for the recovery of precious and critical metals, particularly using mine tailings from the historic Teck-Hughes operation, in Kirkland Lake, Ontario.

Fulcrum's successful pilot testing will unlock $20-million in non-dilutive funding from Chancery Royalty, which can propel the company to commercial development. Chancery will retain a 5% net smelter return royalty over future gold production from Teck-Hughes.

“Securing the site and signing the pilot scale demonstration agreement are major execution milestones that move our funded pilot facility and initial Teck-Hughes programme into physical delivery.

"Fit-out and commissioning remain targeted by end of the fourth quarter, while the scale of the premises provides the flexibility to modify and expand the pilot capability as the project pipeline develops," says Fulcrum CEO Ryan Mee.

He adds that this is not a one-project pilot, rather, it is a multiproject 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," Mee concludes.