Critical Minerals

Treatment of Critical Mminerals

Modern economies are increasingly dependent on a suite of critical minerals—rare earth elements, lithium, cobalt, nickel, tellurium, gallium, scandium, and more—for clean energy, advanced electronics, battery storage, and defense technologies. As traditional deposits become harder to access, mining firms and governments are focusing on secondary and non-traditional sources of critical minerals: tailings, mine waste, low‐grade ores, brines, and industrial byproducts In this landscape, a reagent like RZOLV™, capable of dissolving over 20 such minerals, can play a transformative role.

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Because RZOLV™ is designed to function under relatively mild, aqueous conditions without relying on extreme temperatures, strong acids, or harsh oxidants, it offers a gentler and more flexible pathway for leaching critical minerals from complex matrices. Unlike many conventional methods—where specialty acids, high heat, or high-pressure vessel systems are required—RZOLV™ can be adapted to treat tailings, slag, low-grade stockpiles, flotation residues, and even industrial waste streams with minimal reengineering. Importantly, its design for closed-loop reagent regeneration helps control operating costs and reduce consumable losses, making even low-grade or dilute sources more economically viable.

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The benefits of deploying RZOLV™ in critical minerals recovery are multifold:

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• Unlocking latent value: Many mine and processing wastes still host measurable concentrations of rare and critical elements, which conventional processing has left behind. By extracting these, operators convert liabilities into revenue streams.

• Reduced environmental footprint: Because RZOLV™ avoids highly corrosive or toxic reagents and can be applied under ambient conditions, its use can reduce chemical hazards, simplify tailings management, and minimize remediation burdens.

• Flexibility across commodities: With capacity to dissolve over 20 different critical minerals, a single RZOLV™ circuit can be tuned to target multiple elements depending on feed composition—providing adaptability in evolving markets.

• Support for circular economy and resource security: Governments are increasingly encouraging recovery of critical minerals from waste and domestic sources. RZOLV™ could help mining jurisdictions and processors capture strategic value and reduce dependence on imports.

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In terms of market and technical scope, the critical minerals leach segment is still nascent but growing rapidly. Hydrometallurgical recovery (leaching + solvent extraction/ion exchange) is already the preferred strategy for many elements. Research also shows increasing interest in leveraging waste streams, tailings, and mine dumps as feedstock for critical minerals recovery. Because RZOLV™ can be deployed modularly and in smaller scale settings, it is especially well suited for projects where conventional processing may not reach scale or where capital constraints limit deployment of large facilities. Over time, as demand for battery- and electronics-grade critical minerals escalates, RZOLV™’s adaptability and lower barrier to entry could make it a preferred pathway to monetizing what today is largely considered “waste.”

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