Ares Strategic Mining Inc. (CSE: ARS) (OTCQX: ARSMF) (FRA: N811) officially opened its Fluorspar Lumps Plant in Delta, Utah, on October 9, 2026, according to NEWMEDIAWIRE. The plant processes raw fluorspar from the company's fully permitted Lost Sheep Mine into metallurgical-grade lumps, a critical ingredient for steel and aluminum production. The opening establishes Ares as a vertically integrated company controlling the critical mineral from the ground to market-ready forms.
The ceremony drew state and federal congressional representatives, key regional and local stakeholders, including the Delta City Council, the entire Ares and Provo Mining teams, and local Delta families, as shown in photos from the event. The event also marked the historic return of the commercial fluorspar industry to the U.S. after decades of reliance on foreign imports. In the early 1970s, cheaper foreign fluorspar imports caused domestic production to wane, and commercial production ceased entirely by 1995, leaving the U.S. 100% dependent on imports for over three decades.
\"Ares was built on a simple idea: become the leading fluorspar mining company in North America and return fluorspar manufacturing to the U.S. Opening this plant is the start of that realization,\" said James Walker, CEO of Ares Strategic Mining. The Spor Mountain district once supplied fluorspar for more than eighty years, with ore hauled into Delta by early operators, including local families. Ares is reviving that legacy by mining at Spor Mountain, trucking ore to Delta, and processing it on site. Raw fluorspar ore was the star of the ceremony, as depicted in this image.
U.S. Representative Mike Kennedy delivered the keynote address, emphasizing ongoing federal and state support. \"The Federal government is committed to helping great people, like Ares, who are re-domesticating industries like fluorspar that we've put to the side for decades,\" Kennedy said. \"The State of Utah supported Ares with an $11m loan, and we know that working together, both State and Federal, we can make our country more secure, stable and prosperous.\"
Market demand for fluorspar remains robust. Ares holds a $168.9m contract from the U.S. Department of Defense for future acidspar product and a signed Memorandum of Understanding with global commodities trader Cremer Erzkontor Inc. to distribute metspar across North America. As the only commercial fluorspar operation in the U.S., Ares is favorably positioned. At the Lumps Plant's 165,347-ton annual capacity and current metspar prices between $350 and $520 per metric ton, potential gross product value exceeds $25 million annually, signaling a transition into revenue generation.
The Lumps Plant occupies approximately 7 acres on a fully owned 50-acre site off Highway 6 in Delta. Ares aims to expand with a complementary Acidspar Flotation Plant; machinery is on site and construction has commenced. Once both plants operate, the company can shift between metspar for steel and aluminum and acidspar for EV batteries, semiconductors, and technology applications. The Lumps Plant will initially be fed by ore from the Lost Sheep Mine, one of 353 claims in the district. Recent geophysical surveys confirmed 49 additional preliminary fluorspar targets near existing infrastructure. Ares also plans to develop, with Found Industries, recovery of gallium, germanium, and other critical materials from its feedstocks. \"There's a new American industrial base hiding in plain sight,\" said Peter Godart, President and CEO of Found Industries. \"Ares is building a domestic supply chain for fluorspar and in doing so is creating an opportunity to recover other critical metals from the same resource.\"
The successful commissioning of the Delta Lumps Plant, Lost Sheep Mine, and Processing Facility resulted from efforts across engineering, capital partnerships, and site operations. Ares recognized engineering partners KC Harvey and Aspect Engineering, shareholders, and strategic partners including Sorbie Bornholm, and particularly Roy Durr of Provo Mining & Construction and his operations team. \"I am proud of this project, and prouder still of the crew that built it,\" Durr said. \"Opening day belongs to them.\"
