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 its processing facility in Delta, Utah, where the material has begun entering the Metallurgical Lumps Plant for processing. This milestone represents the culmination of years of mine development, engineering, and construction, connecting the mine to the plant and initiating live-material ramp-up.
The arrival and feeding of mined Lost Sheep ore into the plant marks a fundamental change in Ares' operations. The company has progressed through underground development, construction of the Delta processing facility, installation of conveyors and electrical systems, and integrated commissioning of the Lumps Plant. Now, ore is being extracted, transported, and processed, moving the company from an infrastructure-development program to an operating mining and processing business.
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 characteristics of Lost Sheep ore. This live-material ramp-up phase will refine plant settings and operating parameters before moving toward sustained production rates. James Walker, President and CEO, stated: "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."
The introduction of mine-run ore allows the team to optimize systems under real operating conditions, evaluating ore feed rates, crushing performance, conveyor loading, drying performance, and PLC/HMI sequences. The purpose is to establish how the complete facility performs when processing representative Lost Sheep ore continuously and to make adjustments for reliable production. The Lumps Plant is designed to manufacture metallurgical-grade fluorspar (metspar), used primarily as a flux in steelmaking.
This milestone is strategically important for U.S. mineral security. Fluorspar remains on the 2025 U.S. List of Critical Minerals, and the U.S. was 100% net import reliant for fluorspar in 2025, according to the U.S. Geological Survey's 2026 Mineral Commodity Summaries. Ares' progress represents tangible progress toward rebuilding a domestic industrial capability that has been largely absent for a generation. The company has also secured a multi-year Defense Logistics Agency framework for future supply of acid-grade fluorspar.
The Lumps Plant is the first major processing component of Ares' broader strategy. Material processed will establish metspar production, while the adjacent Flotation Plant is designed to manufacture higher-purity acid-grade fluorspar (acidspar), containing at least approximately 97% calcium fluoride, used in hydrofluoric acid production. Operating both facilities alongside its own mining operation provides increased control across the supply chain.
Ares has previously announced commercial arrangements for its anticipated initial metspar output, providing an established route to market. The immediate priority is to use the current live-material campaign to optimize plant performance, increase ore feed, and establish repeatable operating parameters. Additional updates will be provided as the plant advances through the ramp-up program.
For shareholders, this milestone provides a visible representation of the company's transition. Walker added: "Our shareholders have watched the underground workings being built, the processing plant rise from concrete foundations, and now they can see that ore on trucks and entering the plant. 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."
