Ares Strategic Mining Inc. (CSE: ARS) (OTCQX: ARSMF) (FRA: N8I1) has announced that fluorspar ore mined from its Lost Sheep Mine in Utah is now being transported by truck to the company's processing facility in Delta, Utah, where the material has begun entering the Metallurgical Lumps Plant for processing. This milestone represents a fundamental shift in the company's operations, as it transitions from infrastructure development to an integrated mining and processing business.
The arrival and feeding of mined Lost Sheep ore into the plant signifies the culmination of years of mine development, engineering, construction, and commissioning. The company has now connected the two principal components of its operation: ore is being extracted from the mine, transported to Delta, and introduced into the processing plant. Over the coming week, Ares' operations team will use increasing quantities of actual mined material to tune and optimize the Lumps Plant around the specific physical and processing characteristics of Lost Sheep ore. This live-material ramp-up phase is intended to progressively refine plant settings and operating parameters before moving toward sustained production rates.
James Walker, President and CEO of Ares Strategic Mining, commented, "There is an enormous difference between constructing and commissioning a plant and actually seeing trucks of your own ore arriving and that material entering the processing circuit. We have now connected the mine to the plant. This is the physical supply chain we have spent years building. Over the next week, our engineers and operators will use real Lost Sheep material to fine-tune the plant and understand exactly how the ore behaves through each stage of the process. We can optimize around the material we are actually mining rather than theoretical feed characteristics. Every truckload gives our team more operating information and takes us another step toward establishing consistent production."
The company had previously completed integrated commissioning of the Lumps Plant, bringing its electrical, conveyor, control, crushing, and drying systems online. The introduction of mine-run ore now allows the team to optimize those systems under real operating conditions. During this next stage, operators will evaluate and refine plant performance, including ore feed rates, crushing performance, conveyor loading, drying parameters, PLC/HMI operations, material flow, and final product quality. The purpose is to establish how the complete facility performs when processing representative Lost Sheep ore continuously and to make the necessary operating adjustments for reliable production.
The Lumps Plant is designed to manufacture metallurgical-grade fluorspar (metspar), used primarily as a flux in steelmaking and other metallurgical applications. The plant has substantial capacity to allow for future production expansion. The significance of this milestone extends beyond plant operations; it provides shareholders with a visible representation of the company's transition from an infrastructure-development program toward an operating mining and processing business. Walker added, "Our shareholders have watched the underground workings being built, the processing plant rise from concrete foundations, the steel structures go up, the conveyors and electrical systems come online, and thousands of tons of ore accumulate at the mine. Now they can see that ore on trucks and entering the plant. For our team, this is one of the most satisfying stages of the project because all of those separate workstreams are beginning to operate as one business. We are mining a critical mineral in Utah and we are now processing that material in Utah. That is exactly what this Company was created to accomplish."
The timing of Ares' operational ramp-up is strategically important for U.S. mineral security. Fluorspar remains on the 2025 U.S. List of Critical Minerals, reflecting its importance to the American economy and national security. According to the U.S. Geological Survey's 2026 Mineral Commodity Summaries, the United States was 100% net import reliant for fluorspar in 2025, and significant domestic mine production had not been reported for decades. Ares believes the commencement of mine-to-plant operations at Lost Sheep represents tangible progress toward rebuilding a domestic industrial capability that has been largely absent for a generation. The U.S. Defense Logistics Agency's Strategic Materials organization has identified the development of domestic sources of strategic materials as part of its mission, and Ares has secured a multi-year Defense Logistics Agency framework for future supply of acid-grade fluorspar.
The Metallurgical Lumps Plant is the first major processing component of Ares' broader strategy. The company is also advancing its adjacent Flotation Plant, designed to manufacture higher-purity acid-grade fluorspar (acidspar), which contains at least approximately 97% calcium fluoride and is the principal feedstock for hydrofluoric acid production. Ares' strategy addresses two distinct markets: near-term production of metspar through the Lumps Plant and subsequent development of acidspar production through the Flotation Plant. Operating both facilities alongside its own mining operation provides increased control across extraction, processing, product quality, and delivery, establishing a scalable platform to serve U.S. industrial and strategic-material customers.
Ares has previously announced commercial arrangements covering its anticipated initial metspar output, providing an established route to market. The company's immediate operational priority is to use the current live-material campaign to optimize plant performance, progressively increase ore feed, assess finished product specifications, and establish repeatable operating parameters. Additional operational updates will be provided as the plant advances through the live-feed ramp-up program.
