Astron (ASX:ATR) said on Monday (October 20) that Australia has granted major project status to the Donald rare earths and mineral sands project, its joint venture with Energy Fuels (TSX:EFR,NYSEAMERICAN:UUUU).

Donald is located approximately 300 kilometers northwest of Melbourne in Minyip, Victoria, Australia, and is regarded as “one of the world’s most significant rare earths resources outside China.”

It currently holds a total mineral resource of 1.81 billion tonnes grading 4.6 percent.

“This (designation) will streamline our engagement with federal agencies and accelerate our pathway to development,” commented Astron Managing Director Tiger Brown in a press release. “The Donald project will create significant employment opportunities and deliver long-term economic benefits to the Wimmera region of Victoria as well as strengthen Australia’s sovereign capability in critical minerals and advanced technology supply chains.”

Donald has a planned mine life of 58 years, with expected annual output of 9,000 tonnes of rare earths in Phase 1.

In a separate announcement, Energy Fuels said Export Finance Australia (EFA) has expressed support for the project and will provide AU$80 million via senior debt financing. The total amount needed to develop Donald is AU$520 million.

Energy Fuels CEO Mark Chalmers said that the support is a “key additional step” in the project’s financing pathway and a “strong vote of confidence” in the project’s capacity and potential.

“(It) reflects our on-going progress toward delivering one of Australia’s most important rare earth projects, including valuable NdPr, and exceptional concentrations of Dy, Tb and other ‘heavy’ rare earth oxides, which upon project development will be processed and separated into high-purity products at our White Mesa Mill in Utah,” he added.

According to a work plan for Donald published in June, the progression towards a final investment decision for the project is expected within 2025. Commencement of production at Donald is scheduled for 2027.

Rare earths have been heavily spotlighted this month after China dramatically expanded its control over rare earth exports, a sector crucial to global tech and defense industries.

The October 10 announcement from the Ministry of Commerce adds five new elements — holmium, erbium, thulium, europium and ytterbium — along with key refining technologies to its export control list.

The new rules carry a global reach: any foreign company producing rare earth materials or magnets using Chinese-origin equipment or technology must now obtain an export license from Beijing.

Crucially, applications for defense-related or advanced semiconductor projects, including cutting-edge AI with military potential, will face intense scrutiny and are likely to be denied.

Securities Disclosure: I, Gabrielle de la Cruz, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Chris Vermeulen, chief market strategist at TheTechnicalTraders.com, weighs in on gold’s record-setting price run and what could be next for the metal.

Vermeulen also discusses the outlook for silver, platinum and palladium.

Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

IAMGOLD (TSX:IMG,NYSE:IAG) is tightening its grip on one of Québec’s most promising gold districts with back-to-back acquisitions aimed at consolidating control over a vast stretch of the Chibougamau region.

In the span of two days, the mid-tier gold producer announced definitive agreements to acquire Northern Superior Resources (TSXV:SUP,OTCQB:NSUPF) and Mines d’Or Orbec (TSXV:BLUE).

Collectively the deals will expand its landholding to more than 100,000 hectares.

The larger of the two transactions will see IAMGOLD acquire all issued and outstanding shares of Northern Superior Resources in a cash-and-stock deal valued at approximately C$267.4 million.

The acquisition will fold Northern Superior’s Philibert, Chevrier and Croteau projects into IAMGOLD’s existing Nelligan and Monster Lake holdings, creating what the company has branded the Nelligan Mining Complex.

Together, these properties host estimated measured and indicated mineral resources of 3.75 million ounces of gold and inferred resources of 8.65 million ounces, positioning the district as Canada’s fourth largest pre-production gold camp.

“The addition of Northern Superior’s assets to IAMGOLD’s Nelligan Mining Complex in the Chibougamau region of Québec is extremely exciting for IAMGOLD, the region and our mutual shareholders,” said Renaud Adams, IAMGOLD’s president and CEO. “This acquisition aligns with our strategy to become a leading Canadian-focused mid-tier gold producer, bolstering our organic pipeline in Québec where we have maintained a longstanding presence.”

A day earlier, IAMGOLD struck a deal to acquire Mines d’Or Orbec, a junior explorer advancing the Muus project southwest of Chibougamau. IAMGOLD already holds a 6.7 percent equity interest in Orbec and expects to issue roughly 369,000 new shares to complete the purchase. The transaction will bring Muus under IAMGOLD’s control.

Located at the intersection of the Fancamp and Guercheville deformation zones, which are two major mineralized corridors that also host IAMGOLD’s Monster Lake and Nelligan deposits, the 24,979 hectare Muus project has been viewed as a geological link between the company’s existing holdings.

“Over the past several years, we have advanced the Muus project into one of Québec’s most promising gold exploration plays,” Orbec CEO John Tait said.

With the addition of both Northern Superior and Orbec, IAMGOLD is set to more than double its regional footprint.

The company has signaled its intent to pursue a “hub-and-spoke” development strategy in the region, envisioning a central processing facility fed by multiple ore sources within a 17 kilometre radius.

Pending regulatory and shareholder approvals, both acquisitions are expected to close in late 2025 or early 2026.

The price of gold has surged to unprecedented levels this month, reaching an all-time high of around US$4,370 per ounce amid heightened safe-haven demand and expectations of US interest-rate cuts.

However, on Tuesday (October 21), a correction began to set in as the yellow metal pulled back sharply. It fell as much as 5.5 percent to about US$4,115 as profit taking kicked in and the US dollar strengthened.

Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Torchlight Innovations Inc. (TSXV: TLX.P) (‘Torchlight’ or ‘the Company’), doing business as RZOLV Technologies, is pleased to announce positive preliminary results from its metallurgical testing program focused on rare earth and critical mineral leaching using its proprietary RZOLV reagent system.

Modern economies are increasingly dependent on a broad suite of critical minerals and rare earth elements—including lithium, cobalt, nickel, praseodymium, tellurium, gallium, scandium, and others—that are essential to clean energy, advanced electronics, battery storage, and defense technologies.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), these minerals are ‘crucial to the performance of batteries, permanent magnets, and other clean energy technologies.’ The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) similarly notes that critical minerals ‘are vital for a wide range of industries, including clean energy and defense,’ powering systems such as solar panels, wind turbines, and electric vehicle batteries. As traditional high-grade deposits become harder to access, attention is shifting toward secondary and unconventional sources such as tailings, mine waste, low-grade ores, brines, and industrial by-products. (Sources: https://www.iea.org/topics/critical-minerals| https://www.energy.gov/fecm/articles/developing-domestic-supply-critical-minerals-and-materials)

In this emerging landscape, a reagent like RZOLV, capable of dissolving over twenty such elements, represents a potentially transformative advancement in sustainable mineral recovery.

Key Highlights

• Multi-Element Recovery: RZOLV dissolved over 25 critical and rare earth elements under mild, non-toxic conditions, with standout recoveries of cerium (73%), manganese (64%), and cobalt (60%).
• REE and Base Metal Versatility: Consistent recoveries (40-45%) for mid-series rare earths such as samarium, europium, and gadolinium demonstrate RZOLV’s broad leaching capability across both transition and lanthanide elements, validating its cross-commodity potential.
• Proven Chemistry: The reagent’s redox-complex system mobilizes metals without cyanide or harsh acids, enabling clean, efficient extraction.
• Cross-Commodity Flexibility: Consistent recoveries across both base and rare earth elements confirm broad market potential.
• Proven Compatibility: Leach solutions integrate easily with standard ion-exchange and solvent-extraction systems for scalable downstream recovery.
• Compatibility with Standard Hydrometallurgy: RZOLV leach solutions are compatible with ion-exchange (IX) and solvent-extraction (SX) systems, providing efficient and selective pathways for downstream metal recovery and purification.
• Sustainable Advantage: Operates at ambient temperature and low pH-lowering environmental risk, reducing cost, and unlocking value from tailings and low-grade sources.

Multi-Element Leachability Assessment of Critical and Rare Earth Samples Using the RZOLV Reagent System

Overview

Laboratory metallurgical investigations were undertaken to evaluate the leachability of multiple metallic and rare earth elements (REEs) from mineralized feedstocks obtained from two U.S.-based mining projects. The objective of this program was to assess the broader metal-solubilization potential of the RZOLV lixiviant system and to characterize its selectivity and efficiency across a diverse elemental suite.

Testing was performed using the standard RZOLV formulation without process optimization or reagent adjustment. As such, future results may vary depending on feed composition, mineralogy, and site-specific conditions.

Methodology

Representative composite samples were subjected to a series of bottle-roll leaching tests under controlled laboratory conditions. Each test employed the proprietary RZOLV non-cyanide leach reagent under standardized parameters designed to simulate low-intensity, ambient-temperature leaching environments.

Tests were conducted in sealed 1-liter HDPE vessels agitated continuously for 72 hours to ensure uniform contact between solids and solution. Post-leach solids (tails) were separated by vacuum filtration and washed thoroughly with deionized water to remove entrained solution. Pregnant leach solutions (PLS) were analyzed by Atomic Absorption Spectrometry, while head and residue samples were submitted to ALS Laboratories, an ISO-accredited analytical facility, for 61-element inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) analysis. Elemental recoveries to solution were calculated by mass balance, comparing head and residue assays for each element to quantify percentage dissolution.

Results and Discussion

The following table summarizes the unoptimized relative solubility of key metals and rare earth elements under the test conditions. Head and residue MS-ICP assays were compared to determine recovery to solution.

Interpretation

The results confirm that the RZOLV system promotes substantial solubilization of rare-earth elements, particularly cerium (73%), manganese (64%), and cobalt (50%), validating its oxidative and complexation capacity under mild acidic conditions.

Mid-series lanthanides (Sm, Eu, Gd) achieved recoveries of 40-45 %, consistent with partial liberation from refractory oxide or phosphate phases.

Lower recoveries of niobium (18%), scandium (17%), and lithium (23%) reflect incorporation within stable mineral matrices (e.g., columbite-tantalite, zircon, or silicate lattices) that require stronger oxidative or thermal activation for efficient leaching.

Recovery of Metallic and Rare Earth Elements from RZOLV Leach Solutions

Following the successful leaching of multiple metallic and rare earth elements (REEs) using the RZOLV lixiviant system, downstream recovery methods were considered to determine viable pathways for selective metal capture, concentration, and purification. The focus of this stage of investigation was to assess the suitability of ion exchange (IX) and solvent extraction (SX) systems for recovering valuable metals and REEs from pregnant leach solutions (PLS) generated under standard RZOLV leach conditions.

The RZOLV reagent produces a low-pH, moderately oxidizing solution characterized by high solubility for transition metals and trivalent rare-earth species. This chemistry aligns well with conventional hydrometallurgical separation methods, provided resin or extractant compatibility is maintained under the mildly acidic matrix.

Preliminary evaluations indicate that ion exchange and solvent extraction could be highly effective downstream recovery methods for RZOLV-derived leach solutions. Ion exchange offers rapid, high-capacity capture of base and rare-earth metals, while solvent extraction provides refined selectivity for high-purity product separation. Both methods are compatible with RZOLV’s low-toxicity matrix, enabling environmentally responsible and economically viable metal recovery.

Environmental and Process Implications

The multi-element solubilization profile underscores the potential of RZOLV as a selective and environmentally benign lixiviant for both precious-metal and critical-mineral recovery.

The reagent’s design eliminates the need for cyanide, chloride, or nitrate oxidants—minimizing hazardous effluents—while its regenerative electrochemical cycle enables near-closed-loop operation. Because RZOLV functions under mild aqueous conditions, without extreme temperatures, concentrated acids, or high-pressure systems, it offers a flexible and energy-efficient pathway for extracting critical minerals from complex matrices.

This adaptability allows deployment in diverse applications including ores, tailings, slag, low-grade stockpiles, flotation residues, concentrates, and industrial waste streams, with minimal process re-engineering. Closed-loop regeneration further reduces reagent consumption and operating costs, improving economic viability even for dilute or low-grade sources.

Key Benefits

• Unlocking latent value: Enables recovery of valuable elements from waste or tailings, converting liabilities into revenue streams.
• Reduced environmental footprint: Operates at ambient conditions with non-toxic reagents, reducing chemical hazards and remediation needs.
• Cross-commodity flexibility: Capable of dissolving over twenty critical minerals, adaptable to multiple feed types and market shifts.
• Support for circular economy and resource security: Facilitates domestic recovery of critical minerals and aligns with global sustainability objectives.

Conclusions

Bottle-roll test results and ICP-MS analyses confirm that RZOLV promotes significant dissolution across multiple elemental groups through synergistic redox-complexation chemistry. High recoveries of Ce, Mn, and Co highlight its oxidative power, while consistent REE mobilization demonstrates its capacity for complex formation under mild conditions. The results validate RZOLV as a versatile, low toxicity lixiviant for both precious and critical mineral extraction. Ongoing research is focused on refining reagent concentration, pH, and electrochemical regeneration to further enhance recovery efficiencies for refractory elements.

This research is preliminary in nature. Assay results are based on head/tails ICP-MS performed by ALS Labs. Test materials have been subjected to the standard RZOLV formula with no reagent optimization. Results will vary based on minerology and this data provides no guarantee of future success or economic viability.

About Torchlight Innovations Inc. (doing business as RZOLV Technologies)

Torchlight Innovations is a clean-technology company with a mission to transform the global mining industry through safer, sustainable, and high-performance extraction technologies. The Company has developed RZOLV, a proprietary non-toxic, water-based hydrometallurgical formula that replaces cyanide in gold leaching.

While cyanide has been the industry standard for over a century, its toxicity has led to widespread environmental concerns, costly permitting, and outright bans in several jurisdictions. RZOLV offers equivalent recovery efficiency and cost performance with a non-toxic, reusable, and environmentally responsible profile.

The Company is currently focused on validating its technology through industrial-scale pilot programs, after which full commercialization and licensing activities will begin. The Company has safeguarded RZOLV through 2 international patent filings and a comprehensive intellectual-property framework that includes protection for its chemical formulation, regeneration processes, and specific applications in heap leaching, vat leaching, tank leaching and concentrate treatment.

Contact

Duane Nelson
President and CEO
Torchlight Innovations Inc.
Email: duane@innovationmining.com
Phone: 604-512-8118

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Statements

This News Release contains ‘forward-looking information’ and ‘forward-looking statements’ within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation. Statements contained herein that are not based on historical or current fact, including without limitation statements containing the words ‘anticipates,’ ‘believes,’ ‘may,’ ‘continues,’ ‘estimates,’ ‘expects,’ and ‘will’ and words of similar import, constitute ‘forward-looking statements’ within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking information may include, but is not limited to, information with respect to our Research and Development activities Wherever possible, words such as ‘plans’, ‘expects’, ‘projects’, ‘assumes’, ‘budget’, ‘strategy’, ‘scheduled’, ‘estimates’, ‘forecasts’, ‘anticipates’, ‘believes’, ‘intends’, ‘targets’ and similar expressions or statements that certain actions, events or results ‘may’, ‘could’, ‘would’, ‘might’ or ‘will’ be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative forms of any of these terms and similar expressions, have been used to identify forward-looking statements and information. Statements concerning future revenue or earnings estimates may also be deemed to constitute forward-looking information. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is subject to a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is based on the expectations and opinions of the Company’s management on the date the statements are made. The assumptions used in the preparation of such statements, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise. We do not assume any obligation to update forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by applicable law. For the reasons set forth above, prospective investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

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