Ares Strategic Mining Inc. (CSE: ARS) (OTCQX: ARSMF) (FRA: N811) officially opened its Fluorspar Lumps Plant in Delta, Utah, on Friday, October 9, 2026. The plant processes raw fluorspar from the company's fully permitted Lost Sheep Mine into metallurgical-grade 'lumps,' an essential ingredient for steel and aluminum production. The opening establishes Ares as a vertically integrated producer, 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. The ceremony was attended by 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. The event also marked the historic return of the commercial fluorspar industry to the U.S.
In the early 1970s, cheaper foreign fluorspar imports caused domestic production to wane, and commercial production ceased entirely by 1995. For over three decades, the U.S. has been 100% reliant on foreign fluorspar imports. "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 to industry for more than eighty years, with ore hauled into Delta and shipped out by the district's earliest operators, including local Delta families. Ares is reviving that legacy by mining Spor Mountain, trucking ore to Delta, and processing it on site alongside the local community. Raw fluorspar ore - the star of the ceremony.
U.S. Representative Mike Kennedy delivered the keynote address, highlighting ongoing state and federal 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, and who are actually making our country more secure. 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," Kennedy said.
Market demand for fluorspar remains strong. In addition to the company's $168.9m contract from the U.S. Department of Defense for its future acidspar product, Ares holds a signed Memorandum of Understanding with global commodities trader Cremer Erzkontor Inc. to distribute its metspar product across North America. 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 facility occupies approximately 7 acres on a fully owned 50-acre site off Highway 6 in Delta. Ares aims to expand its Delta footprint with a complementary Acidspar Flotation Plant; machinery is already on site and construction has commenced. Once both plants operate, the company can shift between metspar for steel and aluminum industries and acidspar for EV batteries, semiconductors, and technology applications. The Lumps Plant will initially be fed by ore from the Lost Sheep Mine, which represents just 1 of the company's 353 claims in the district. Recent geophysical surveys confirmed 49 additional preliminary fluorspar targets near existing infrastructure, and Ares intends to supply both plants from these surrounding claims. The company also plans further development, in collaboration with Found Industries, for the recovery of gallium, germanium, and other strategic critical materials from Ares-owned or controlled feedstocks associated with the Lost Sheep Mine.
