PMET Completes Phase 2 Caesium Testwork With Koch Technology Solutions

PMET Resources Inc. reported that its Phase 2 bench-scale caesium testwork program, carried out by Koch Technology Solutions, has been completed successfully, according to a company press release issued through PR Newswire. The program examined pollucite concentrate from the company's Shaakichiuwaanaan Project and indicated a possible route toward a simpler and more selective processing pathway for producing a range of high-purity caesium-based chemical products.

Koch Technology Solutions, part of Koch Inc., continues to work with the company on evaluating downstream processing pathways for value-added caesium chemical products. The Phase 2 results demonstrated a pathway for producing multiple caesium products, and the proprietary technology involved could substantially simplify and reduce the costs of producing a wide variety of high-purity caesium products from pollucite.

The testwork was conducted under an arrangement with Koch Technology Solutions announced on April 15, 2026. Koch Technology Solutions develops, commercializes, and licenses critical minerals extraction technologies, and the arrangement allows the company's testwork program to draw on demonstrated capabilities in engineering, development, and commercialization of such technologies.

After Phase 1 was completed, as reported in a news release dated July 12, 2026, the Phase 2 bench-scale program was designed to assess the application of a proprietary flowsheet technology that uses highly selective media. The approach targets simplification of the existing, more conventional caesium recovery methodology by significantly increasing selectivity for caesium, which would allow much of the impurity removal stage or stages to be bypassed. Existing approaches require additional stages to obtain the desired caesium product purity. If successful, the approach using the proprietary flowsheet offers an opportunity to significantly lower the cost of recovery into a final high-purity caesium product.

The recent bench-scale testwork results established the potential for a wide variety of caesium end-products to be produced by the Koch Technology Solutions process, demonstrating high selectivity for caesium and a much-reduced impurity profile. Further work is required to validate the process through to marketable samples, but the confirmation of high selectivity for caesium using Shaakichiuwaanaan pollucite concentrate is a significant milestone.

The pollucite concentrate used as feed for the caesium extraction testwork program weighed approximately 6 kg and was produced by X-Ray Transmission ore sorting of drill core material from the Vega Caesium Zone at the CV13 Pegmatite, as reported in a news release dated October 9, 2025. The material assayed 12% Cs2O.

A follow-up testwork program is now being designed and is anticipated to comprise a complete bench-scale proof-of-concept for processing pollucite concentrate from Shaakichiuwaanaan through to gram quantities of marketable caesium products, such as caesium formate and caesium carbonate, as well as an initial assessment of operating and capital expenditure. This program will use a larger quantity of concentrate, currently targeted to be produced from the ongoing BerryPick Program, as reported in a news release dated September 8, 2026.

The pollucite sample collection methodology in the BerryPick Program is designed to produce more than 500 kg to potentially more than one tonne of pollucite concentrate to support ongoing development and downstream caesium chemical testwork initiatives. This includes future chemical testwork programs with Koch Technology Solutions, as well as with others as the company furthers its engagement with strategic partners in the caesium industry downstream, as reported in a news release dated April 15, 2026.

The company continues to advance discussions with strategic caesium players downstream, including deepening its existing relationship with Koch Technology Solutions, for future chemical processing opportunities. Caesium and tantalum are anticipated co-products at Shaakichiuwaanaan, with the potential for future revenue to be credited against the cost of lithium production. A Preliminary Economic Assessment, targeted for the fourth quarter of 2026, will provide the first economic evaluation of the caesium credit.

In addition to being one of the largest lithium-tantalum pegmatite Mineral Resources and lithium pegmatite Mineral Reserves globally, the property hosts the world's largest in-situ pollucite-hosted caesium pegmatite Mineral Resource, comprising 0.69 Mt at 4.40% Cs2O (Indicated) and 1.70 Mt at 2.40% Cs2O (Inferred). The CV13 Pegmatite, host to the caesium Mineral Resource, is located less than 3 km along trend from the CV5 Pegmatite, which is situated approximately 13 km south of the regional Trans-Taiga Road and powerline infrastructure corridor, and is accessible year-round by road.

Mineral deposits of pollucite-hosted caesium are very rare globally and represent the most fractionated component of LCT pegmatite systems, which are effectively the only known primary economic source of caesium supply. Economic deposits of caesium pegmatite are typically on a smaller scale of less than 10 kt to 350 kt in size compared to deposits of lithium pegmatite that typically range in the millions of tonnes in size, from less than 10 Mt to over 100 Mt.

The market for caesium compounds and metals is niche and largely opaque because it is not publicly traded like copper or gold, but rather through private bi-lateral and term contracts. Product prices vary depending on their contained caesium form, purity, and end-product use. As an example, caesium carbonate (Cs2CO3 at 99% or higher) as an indicative spot price currently trades at around US$250/kg, excluding VAT, according to price sourcing from Shanghai Metal Markets.

Caesium is currently supply constrained, with only limited sources supplying the global market. A discovery at the size, grade, and scale of Shaakichiuwaanaan has the potential to be a primary source of supply for global markets over the long term. This includes existing applications for caesium in oil and gas drilling, medical imaging, emissions reduction, atomic clocks, and precision GPS navigation, as well as new and potentially growing applications in the terrestrial solar panel industry. Caesium has been found to play a vital role in significantly improving next generation solar panel efficiency, stability, and life span. Additionally, the use of caesium in lithium-ion batteries to improve performance is actively being explored through use as an additive in certain cathode, anode, and electrolyte chemistries.

Koch Technology Solutions is a global leader in technology development, commercialization, and licensing. It works with owners, developers, and investors in the process, manufacturing, and critical minerals sectors to solve complex technical and investment challenges before large capital is committed, helping clients make confident decisions from early concept through EPC-ready design. With a global network and a history of domain experience and expertise, Koch Technology Solutions gains additional strength from its position within Koch Engineered Solutions.

PMET Resources Inc. trades under the symbols TSX: PMET, ASX: PMT, OTCQX: PMETF, and FSE: R9GA.