$200K investment to advance technology that tackles the challenge of arsenic in mineral processing.

In Northern Ontario, a small Canadian mining company is turning toxic waste into battery-grade metals using a shipping container-sized chemical system that could rewrite the rules of tailings management in old and new mines alike.

Nord Precious Metals has received a $200,000 grant from Canada's Mining Innovation Commercialization Accelerator (MICA) Network to further develop its Re-2Ox technology – a process designed to safely extract valuable metals from mine waste and ores that contain toxic arsenic.

The funding will support a 1,000-hour pilot program designed to advance the Re-2Ox technology from a controlled environment to real-world industrial conditions and move it closer to full commercial application.

The pilot will be conducted at Nord's testing facility in Cobalt, Ontario, where the company is carving out a strategic niche in the historic Cobalt Camp by operating the region's only permitted high-grade milling facility and holding extensive exploration ground anchored by the past-producing Castle Mine.

With an outstanding silver discovery at Castle East boasting 7.56 million ounces in inferred resources, Nord is combining its strengths in precious metals with a forward-looking, integrated approach that blends silver recovery and battery metal extraction.

"The mining sector has a fundamental arsenic problem that constrains global mineral processing capacity," said Frank Basa, CEO of Nord. "Current solutions either avoid arsenic-bearing feeds entirely or incur prohibitive disposal costs. Re-2Ox is able to process arsenic-bearing feeds and represents a paradigm shift by transforming a substantial per-tonne liability into a margin-positive operation while recovering critical minerals essential to the energy transition."

This technology, along with Nord's existing infrastructure and processing capabilities, positions the company to weather global price shifts while serving the clean energy economy's push for supply chain resilience.

Escaping the valley

Cosmos Mariner / Historical Marker Database

Nord operates the only permitted high-grade milling facility in Ontario's historic Cobalt Camp.

As Nord advances its Re-2Ox technology toward commercial use, it is approaching a milestone often referred to as the "valley of death" in innovation – the risky phase where many promising technologies stall due to lack of funding or technical proof under operational stress.

The company's 1,000-hour pilot at its Temiskaming Testing Labs (TTL) facility in Cobalt, Ontario, is designed to provide the data needed to reassure investors, regulators, and potential customers that the Re-2Ox system works not just in the lab, but in live processing environments where arsenic and other contaminants often obstruct mineral recovery.

One of the most significant challenges in mineral processing is arsenic, commonly found in old mine waste and certain ore bodies; traditional smelters cannot safely handle high arsenic content without costly mitigation, leaving much of this material unprocessed.

Nord's Re-2Ox technology addresses this issue by safely capturing arsenic while recovering valuable metals such as cobalt, nickel, silver, and manganese.

If the pilot succeeds, it could enable broader deployment of the technology across mining regions struggling with similar waste processing challenges, transforming toxic liabilities into new sources of critical minerals.

"The 1,000-hour pilot at our TTL facility will demonstrate continuous operation in a production environment," explained Basa. "This isn't laboratory validation – it's real-world proof of a technology that can be deployed globally wherever arsenic constrains mineral processing."

Global market opportunity

The potential for Re-2Ox reflects the scale of mining's legacy waste problem. Across the globe, mining operations have generated more than 280 billion metric tons of tailings, with another 14 billion added each year – much of it containing metals that cannot be economically recovered using today's technology.

Starting in its own backyard, Nord is targeting 18 million tons of arsenic-rich tailings in Ontario's Cobalt Camp as the first step in demonstrating the technology's effectiveness. By proving its capabilities in a well-understood region, the company aims to lay the groundwork for global deployment to similar sites, unlocking value from billions of tons of overlooked material and contributing to domestic battery metal supplies for countries working to reduce reliance on overseas sources.

Supporting this goal is the Re-2Ox process, designed for both efficiency and flexibility. Unlike energy-intensive traditional smelting, which requires massive infrastructure, Re-2Ox uses a chemical process that cuts energy use by about 80%.

Its modular design – built inside 40-foot shipping containers – allows deployment at remote sites with basic electricity and water infrastructure.

This setup meets the needs of modern mines facing the challenges of remote locations or environmentally sensitive areas, providing a way to reduce waste, lower carbon emissions, and recover materials long dismissed as too costly or risky to process. The small footprint and clean output also simplify permitting and deployment.

Alignment with policy

Fitting squarely into broader Canadian and international goals, Nord's project supports the development of domestic critical mineral supply chains, encourages innovation among small and mid-sized companies, and reduces mining's environmental impact.

For policymakers, backing companies like Nord advances efforts to lessen reliance on foreign sources for key battery metals while boosting economic development in regions such as Northern Ontario. For Nord, this alignment provides access to both funding and credibility, helping secure future partnerships, grants, and contracts to scale the technology.

Building on this foundation, the company plans to submit its Recovery Permit application by July 1, 2025, taking advantage of Ontario's faster 80-day review process.

If approvals proceed as expected, pilot plant operations will begin later this year, followed by third-party validation and financing early next year. Nord anticipates its first commercial unit will be operating by mid-2026, with additional systems to follow in other regions.

In practical terms, Re-2Ox could be producing battery-grade metals at commercial scale within that timeline, creating future growth opportunities through technology licensing or third-party processing without requiring the company to build and operate each site directly.

From niche to foundational

Smelters impose heavy penalties for arsenic content or refuse it entirely, while newer chemical processing systems such as ion exchange or electrowinning require clean inputs to operate efficiently.

Alternatives like bioleaching work slowly and often struggle to recover valuable metals. Addressing these gaps, Re-2Ox is designed specifically for dirty, complex feeds that conventional technologies cannot handle. By processing what others can't, Nord is not merely competing – it is establishing a first-mover advantage in a market with little direct competition.

Supporting this position is an integrated strategy that combines ownership of both the resource and the technology needed to process it.

This approach enables Nord to generate near-term revenue while refining and demonstrating its system for future licensing or expansion. Blending traditional mining with clean-tech innovation, the company maintains flexibility to meet rising demand for silver and battery metals through multiple revenue streams.

"We're not competing with existing technologies - we're addressing the feeds they can't or won't process," notes Basa. "Every tonne of high-arsenic material that conventional processors reject becomes our opportunity. With proven chemistry, validated economics, and a deployment model that minimizes capital risk, Re-2Ox is positioned to unlock value from resources the industry has written off."