Flash Metals USA (“Flash Metals”), a subsidiary of MTM Critical Metals (ASX: MTM; OTCQB: MTMCF), has achieved a major milestone with the on-time completion of the process design for its one tonne-per-day (1TPD) Flash Joule Heating (FJH) Demonstration Plant. This step locks in the technical blueprint for our innovative metal recovery technology, bringing Flash Metals closer to revolutionising how critical metals like gallium, germanium, and rare earths are processed. With procurement of key equipment already underway, Flash Metals  is on track to start operations by the end of 2025, paving the way for larger-scale production and game-changing industry partnerships going forward. Flash Metals'  design partner KnightHawk Engineering has successfully completed the FJH 1TPD process design, leveraging established engineering principles, industry best practices, and insights gained from extensive prototype testing over the past several months. This milestone defines the core operational framework for the plant. Through the procurement and fabrication stages, there will be ongoing refinements to ensure seamless integration with commercially available “off-the-shelf” equipment. Based on the current timeline, final commissioning is anticipated by Q4 2025, aligning with the finalization of feedstock supply and offtake agreements to support future commercial operations. 

Flash Metals is actively engaging with technology parks and economic development authorities across Texas and Louisiana, to secure a pre-permitted site. This strategic focus leverages the region’s pro-business environment, skilled workforce, and world-class infrastructure, ensuring rapid deployment of this U.S.-invented technology.

“Finalizing the process design marks a major step in bringing our FJH technology to market,” said Michael Walshe, Managing Director & CEO of MTM. “It provides us with a clear technical roadmap for the one tonne-peroday plant and ensures we can advance with procurement, permitting, and site selection on schedule. With our long-lead equipment procurement now in progress and strong engagement from industrial premises owners in Texas and Louisiana, we remain firmly on track to begin operations by the end of 2025. The facility will generate critical operational data to optimize full-scale deployment and support future offtake agreements with industrial partners. This project is not just about demonstrating the commercial viability of our technology — it’s about reshoring critical metals production to the USA and strengthening America’s supply chain for strategic materials like gallium, germanium, and rare earths. By doing so, we’re positioning Flash Metals  as a leader in sustainable innovation for a resource-secure future.”

Process Design and Process Design Criteria for 1TPD Demonstration Plant 

The process design and associated process design criteria for Flash Metals’ one ton-per-day Demonstration Plant represent the most critical engineering milestone, establishing the operational framework for scaling  Flash Metals’ proprietary technology for metal recovery and mineral processing. This defines the sequence of unit operations, material flows, equipment selection, and process control strategies necessary to efficiently extract and refine target metals at the 1TPD of incoming feedstock scale. It ensures that the technology operates within optimized safety, energy, and material efficiency parameters, delivering consistent, high-purity metal outputs while validating its commercial scalability. 

KEY ELEMENTS OF THE PROCESS DESIGN: 

• Material Feed Handling – Preparing and introducing feedstock (e.g., metal-bearing waste, mineral concentrates) into the FJH system. 

• Proprietary Reactor Design – Optimising energy input, residence time, and reaction kinetics to achieve selective phase transformation and impurity removal. 

• Gas and Byproduct Management – Managing emissions, capturing valuable off-gases, and ensuring environmental compliance. 

• Metal Recovery and Refining – Separation of targeted metal chlorides or oxides or metals, followed by further post-processing (if required) to produce a saleable product. 

• Process Integration & Scalability – Designing modular systems for potential scale-up to commercial production utilising off-the-shelf material where possible to complement Flash Metals’ proprietary design components. 

• Process Control & Automation Philosophy – Implementing real-time monitoring for key process parameters such as temperature, energy usage, reaction time, and gas composition.

KEY PROCESS DESIGN CRITERIA: 

• Throughput Capacity – one tonne-per-day of feedstock processed through the FJH plant. 

• Feedstock Composition – Mineral concentrates or secondary feedstocks containing REEs, Gallium, Indium, Germanium, and other critical metals with defined impurity levels. 

• Reaction Efficiency – Optimization of FJH pulse parameters to maximize impurity removal and enhance metal recovery rates. 

• Chlorination & Carbochlorination Efficiency – Carefully controlled reactions to convert target metals into recoverable products. 

• Operating Conditions – Defined temperature, energy, reaction duration, catalysts, additives and atmosphere composition for optimal processing. 

• Product Quality Specifications – Purity and phase composition of recovered metals or metal chlorides, ensuring alignment with downstream processing requirements. 

• Emissions & Waste Management – Compliance with environmental regulations for gas emissions, byproduct disposal, and reagent recycling. 

• Instrumentation & Control Systems strategy – Real-time data acquisition for process monitoring, safety interlocks, and automation integration. 

• Safety systems, hazard identification, and risk mitigation strategies. 

Strategic Commitment & Alignment from Engineering Partner KnightHawk 

Flash Metals' long-standing partnership with KnightHawk Engineering (KHE) continues to strengthen, with KHE demonstrating its commitment to the successful execution of the 1TPD Demonstration Plant. As a key engineering partner, KHE has supported Flash Metals with favorable commercial terms tied to milestone achievements, reinforcing confidence in the project’s trajectory. 

Further aligning interests, KHE proposed converting a portion of its deferred success fees into equity in Flash Metals, reflecting its belief in the potential from the FJH technology and the project's long-term success. This strategic initiative enhances collaboration and ensures that engineering efforts remain closely aligned with Flash Metals objectives with a commitment from KHE to additional investment into Flash Metals through on-market purchases in non-blackout periods. 

KHE has been engaged to assist in scaling up and commercializing Flash Metals’ FJH technology, as well as designing and supplying the 1TPD Demonstration Plant. The design and supply contract included a success component, representing 15% of the total engineering fee, payable at completion of various milestones, the first being upon design sign-off. KHE has offered to discount this success fee by 50% as their commitment to the relationship, and accept the remaining deferred success fee amount in equity, based on the OTCQB (MTMCF) share price at the end of 2024 (equivalent to A$0.275 per share). To satisfy this equity consideration, Flash Metals will allot 345,012 MTM shares to KHE under its existing 7.1 capacity.

KnightHawk CEO and Chief Engineer Cliff Knight commented: “KnightHawk Engineering is proud to support MTM and Flash Metals USA in scaling FJH technology for metal recovery. We see this as a truly disruptive innovation with game-changing potential across multiple industries. Our decision to take part of our fees in equity reflects our confidence in the technology, the Flash Metals team, and the commercial pathway ahead.”

Site Selection & Engagement with Industrial Partners 

Flash Metals is advancing site selection efforts, prioritizing Texas and Louisiana due to their significant industrial infrastructure and services, business-friendly policies, and streamlined permitting processes. The opportunity for Flash Metals to tap into America’s industrial heartland is significant, and it provides an opportunity to speed up deployment and access to key industrial supply chains. 

Engagement with technology parks and economic development agencies is ongoing to secure a pre-permitted site, expediting deployment and reducing timeline risks. The design specifications will enable Flash Metals to take advantage of “Permit by Rule” regulations which provide a streamlined permitting process for industrial facilities that are built in certain parts of Texas. A final site selection decision is expected in Q2 2025. 

Advancing Towards Commercialization 

The 1TPD Demonstration Plant is a key step in Flash Metals’ commercialization roadmap, validating the scalability of FJH technology for processing high-value metal-bearing feedstocks. The facility will generate critical operational data to optimize full-scale deployment and support future offtake agreements with industrial partners. This milestone brings Flash Metals closer to unlocking the full potential of FJH, transforming how critical metals are sourced and supplied globally.

Figure 7 above illustrates one of many feedstocks tested using Flash Metals' prototype FJH reaction system. In this case, the process extracts impurities (iron, aluminium, and other elements) from a rare earth element (REE)-rich feedstock (monazite concentrate) while converting the REEs into chlorides. The resulting REE chlorides are highly water-soluble, enabling easy recovery through water-washing of the residual solids.

For further information, please contact: 

Lauren Condoluci

Lauren@distinctiveedge.partners

About Flash Metals USA
Flash Metals USA, headquartered in Houston, Texas, is a wholly owned subsidiary of MTM Critical Metals, a publicly traded Australian company. Flash Metals specializes in advanced metal recovery technologies and possesses exclusive licensing rights to the innovative Flash Joule Heating (FJH) technology, developed in partnership with Rice University in Houston. FJH is an advanced electrothermal process that enhances metal recovery and mineral processing compared to traditional methods. By rapidly heating materials in a controlled atmosphere, FJH efficiently extracts metals like lithium from spodumene, gallium from scrap, and gold from e-waste, among others. This technology has the potential to revolutionize metal recovery by reducing energy consumption, reagent use, and waste, offering a more economical and environmentally friendly alternative.

To learn more, visit: https://www.flashmetalsusa.com/