- 01Alta JSA to test Ashram rare-earth refining.
- 02Kuujjuaq outreach drew 160 participants.
- 03Joined US defence supply-chain consortium.
The three months to end September delivered further progress for Mont Royal Resources (ASX: MRZ) as it works to establish its flagship Ashram rare earths and fluorspar project in Canada as a strategically important long-term supplier of rare earths into Western critical minerals supply chains.
The company signed a joint study agreement (JSA) with Alta Resource Technologies Inc to evaluate a technical pathway for applying Alta’s engineered-protein technology to separate mixed rare earth carbonates (MREC) from Ashram into separated, high-purity rare earth oxides (REO).
The JSA will assess the potential for a commercial refining facility, intended as an initial step toward a potential joint venture to support the long-term production of North American REOs for permanent magnets, advanced technologies, and defence applications.
Alta’s technology has previously been demonstrated on a variety of feedstocks including the intralanthanide separation of permanent magnet REOs (neodymium-praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium) and SEG+ medium rare earths (samarium, europium, gadolinium, and yttrium) at greater than 99.5% purity and 90% yield.
The JSA will determine whether comparable results can be achieved from Ashram MREC.
Local Community Meeting
Mont Royal hosted its first public information meeting in the village of Kuujjuaq, marking an important step in the company’s commitment to information sharing and dialogue relating to the Ashram project.
Managing director Nicholas Holthouse and vice president (government affairs and sustainability) Cindy Valence presented an overview of progress and participated in discussions with 60 in-person attendees and a further 100 community members online.
The company plans to maintain a presence in Kuujjuaq on a quarterly basis to foster regular communication with the community and local organisations.
Public information meetings will be held twice a year to share project updates and respond to community questions.
DIBC Membership
During the quarter, Mont Royal was accepted into the US government’s Defence Industrial Base Consortium (DIBC) established to accelerate innovation and strengthen domestic and allied industrial capability across strategically important sectors.
Membership provides the company with access to a collaborative network comprising US defence agencies, prime contractors, research institutions, and technology developers working to strengthen North American industrial capability and develop resilient supply chains.
Governments across North America and allied jurisdictions have prioritised sovereign supply of rare earth elements and industrial minerals essential to defence technologies, aerospace, permanent magnets and advanced manufacturing.
Mont Royal believes the Ashram project is well positioned to contribute to these long-term strategic objectives, and continues to engage with government agencies and potential industrial strategic groups on non-dilutive equity for ongoing project studies and works packages.
Northern Lights Sampling
Mont Royal conducted a helicopter-supported till sampling survey across the Chateaufort property as part of its summer exploration program, in the process satisfying annual minimum expenditure requirements at its Northern Lights lithium-gold project in Canada.
The survey was designed to assess gold potential through the use of gold-grain dispersion analysis in quaternary deposits.
The summer program comprised two sampling lines spaced approximately two kilometres apart, with 10 samples collected over the northern part of the property at 300-metre intervals.
Northern Lights lies along strike from Benz Mining Corp’s (ASX: BNZ) Eastmain gold project in the Upper Eastmain Greenstone Belt in the prolific James Bay region of northern Québec.
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