Found Industries, an MIT spinout focused on critical materials and energy technologies, has opened its new headquarters and Found Metals Process Development Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The facility is designed to scale laboratory breakthroughs into continuously operating industrial processes using real-world feedstocks.
The center will develop systems to recover gallium and other critical metals from industrial streams, supported by programs from the U.S. Department of Energy, Department of Defense and Massachusetts Clean Energy Center. Found is also collaborating with ARES Strategic Mining (OTC: ARSMF) under a memorandum of understanding to evaluate recovery of gallium, germanium and other materials from ARES-controlled feedstocks at the Lost Sheep Mine in Utah.
Found Industries and ARES Strategic Mining (OTC:ARSMF) signed an MOU to evaluate recovering gallium, germanium and other critical materials from feedstocks linked to Utah's Lost Sheep Mine, the only currently permitted U.S. fluorspar mine.
The 5,982-acre asset holds 353 claims and underpins a five-year U.S. DoD IDIQ contract with an estimated initial value of about $168.9 million and a total ceiling up to $250 million, subject to task orders.
Ares Strategic Mining has completed the fabrication of its state-of-the-art flotation plant and taken possession of the facility. This plant, which will be the only one of its kind in the United States, will produce acid grade fluorspar (acidspar), a critical mineral used in various industrial applications including Lithium-Ion batteries, aluminum production, and refrigerants. The plant will be housed in a specially designed 2-storey structure and will be shipped to Utah for assembly. Experienced international operators will assist with installation and optimization. The U.S. government has classified fluorspar as a Critical Mineral, facilitating faster permitting periods. Ares' plant aims to reduce reliance on foreign sources and strengthen domestic supply chains. The Lost Sheep Fluorspar Project in Utah, fully permitted and owned by Ares, will support the plant's operations.