Flash Metals USA advances critical minerals recovery plant in Texas

[Ben Graham]

Metallium Limited (ASX: MTM; OTCQX: MTMCF) reported on Monday that its subsidiary Flash Metals USA has made substantial progress on its Technology Campus in Chambers County, Texas – the site of its first commercial Flash Joule Heating metal recovery plant in the US. 

The method called ‘flash Joule heating,’ which was originally developed to produce graphene from carbon sources like food waste, was adapted in 2021 by researchers at Rice University to recover rhodium, palladium, gold and silver from electronic waste. 

The company said it is pursuing commercial opportunities across a range of critical metal feedstocks, including antimony, rare earth element (REE) magnets, heavy REE-enriched e-scrap, and selected mining concentrates. 

Metallium also released on Monday its proven technology performance from US -sourced e-waste feedstocks: Gold – 100% recovery from e-waste feedstock grading 551 g/t Au, over 100x higher than typical primary ores; silver – 97% recovery at 2,804 g/t Ag and antimony – 98% recovery from feedstock grading 3.13% Sb.  

Since securing its Texas site, Metallium said it has significantly progressed the redevelopment of the site infrastructure to enable commissioning to commence in December 2025.  

Alongside equipment procurement and site works, the company said it is advancing air quality, water quality, and waste management permitting; has engaged VaporPoint to implement best-practice monitoring and compliance systems and is finalising balance-of-plant engineering, structural analysis, and integration design. 

Metallium also said it has engaged engineering firm Hunt, Guillot & Associates for plant integration, implementation engineering, and structural assessments and that it is working with the local power utility Entergy Texas to finalise supply arrangements and capacity for long-term operations. 
 
A key commissioning milestone has also been achieved, Metallium said, with the order of 60 tonnes of printed circuit board (PCB) scrap e-waste.  

“We are progressing on all fronts to deliver our first U.S. facility as planned. With critical equipment ordered, site works advancing, and commissioning feedstock secured, the 
project is materially de-risked,” Metallium CEO Michael Walshe said in a news release. 
 
“Our ambition is to leverage the FJH modular system design so that we can rapidly expand this model across the United States, targeting pre-permitted sites strategically located near major e-waste collection centres,” Walshe said.  

“Every step we are taking now, from engineering to feedstock readiness, is about building a robust, scalable platform capable of processing a diverse range of critical and precious metals, positioning Metallium as a leader in U.S.-based metals recovery and refining.”  

The company is targeting a December 2025 commissioning for the facility.