Metallium subsidiary inks MOU with Glencore for electronic scrap, metal offtake

Metallium Ltd., an Australian company developing technology to recover critical and precious metals from mineral concentrates and high-grade material streams, has announced that its United States-based subsidiary, Flash Metals USA Inc., has executed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a division of Swiss mining and commodity trading company Glencore PLC centered around the supply of electronic scrap.

According to Metallium, the MOU is effective immediately and creates a framework for a potential long-term collaboration in e-scrap supply and metal offtake in the U.S. The commercial agreement is subject to negotiation and execution of final definitive agreements. The MOU runs until the end of this year, unless extended or replaced by definitive agreements.

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In addition to its mining activities, Glencore also is a recycler of electronics, lithium-ion batteries and other products containing critical metals.

“Executing an MOU with Glencore marks a defining milestone for Metallium,” says Michael Walshe, managing director and CEO of Metallium. “Glencore ranks among the world’s most successful diversified natural resource companies, and its Horne Smelter in Quebec is North America’s largest processor of electronic scrap containing copper and precious metals.”

Walshe adds that the agreement secures critical feedstock supply, covering a significant share of Metallium’s Stage 1 requirements for its Flash Metals facility in Houston, “and supports our planned expansion to Stage 2, positioning Metallium alongside one of the most influential players in global recycling as we build a natural network of plants near major collection hubs and data center corridors.”

Metallium says both parties are working toward a definitive binding agreement by the end of this year. Key details of the agreement include:

• Feedstock supply: Glencore will be a major supplier of feedstock to Metallium’s first commercial facility.
• Technical assistance: Glencore will provide technical services for incoming feedstock, including assaying.
• Offtake: Glencore will purchase up to 75 percent of Metallium’s production of marketable recycled products, including metallic metals, metal chlorides and metal hydroxides.
• Specialty metals excluded: Metallium says it will retain the option to independently market “high-value niche products” such as gallium, germanium, indium and rare earth elements.
• Exclusivity: Glencore holds exclusive negotiation rights over the to-be-contracted offtake volumes under the MOU.

Metallium says it is working to commercialize a low-carbon, high-efficiency approach to recovering critical and precious metals through its patented Flash Joule Heating (FJH) technology. The company claims its process enables the extraction of high-value materials, including gallium, germanium, antimony, rare earth elements and gold from feedstock such as refinery scrap, e-scrap and monazite.