Ares Strategic Mining Inc. (CSE: ARS) (OTCQX: ARSMF) (FRA: N811) officially opened its Fluorspar Lumps Plant in Delta, Utah, on Friday, October 9, 2026, marking the return of commercial fluorspar production to the United States after more than three decades of complete reliance on foreign imports. 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 ceremony drew a significant crowd, including U.S. Representative Mike Kennedy, Utah State Senator David P. Hinkins, and other state and federal officials. According to NEWMEDIAWIRE, the event 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.
In the early 1970s, cheaper foreign fluorspar imports caused domestic production to wane, and commercial production ceased entirely by 1995. The U.S. became 100% reliant on foreign fluorspar 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 to industry for more than eighty years, with ore hauled into Delta by the district's earliest operators, including local Delta families. Ares is reviving that legacy by mining the Spor Mountain, trucking ore to Delta, and processing it on site. The ceremony also highlighted the raw fluorspar ore that is central to the operation, as shown in this image.
U.S. Representative Mike Kennedy emphasized 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."
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 maintains 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 the company's transition into revenue generation.
The Lumps Plant sits on approximately 7 acres within a fully owned 50-acre site off Highway 6 in Delta, Utah. Ares aims to expand its Delta footprint with a complementary Acidspar Flotation Plant, for which machinery is already on site and construction has commenced. Once both plants are operational, the company can shift between producing 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 one of the company's 353 claims in the district. Recent geophysical surveys confirmed a further 49 preliminary fluorspar targets near the mine's existing infrastructure.
Additionally, Ares intends to further develop its program, 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. "There's a new American industrial base hiding in plain sight. Metals like gallium, germanium and indium are essential to our energy, communications, space and defense industries," 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 and opening of the Delta Lumps Plant, Lost Sheep Mine and Processing Facility is the result of dedicated efforts across engineering, capital partnerships and site operations. The company recognized its engineering partners, KC Harvey and Aspect Engineering, as well as its shareholders and strategic partners, including Sorbie Bornholm. Special thanks were given to Mr. 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."
