Metallium has completed a 12-hour campaign using three Flash Joule Heating reactors to process platinum-group-metal-bearing catalytic converter material under reactive chlorination conditions. The milestone advances the company’s scale-up program, but recovery results, product economics and feedstock grades remain unverified.
- Three-reactor, 12-hour reactive chlorination campaign completed
- Vendor-reported feedstock grades of 153 ppm platinum, 518 ppm palladium and 63 ppm rhodium
- Approximately 50 samples collected across three particle-size distributions
- Initial PCB metal-product revenue still targeted for the first half of 2027
- Tim Cooper commenced as chief financial officer ahead of PCAOB audit and proposed Nasdaq uplisting
Three reactors move into reactive processing
Metallium Limited (ASX:MTM) has completed a 12-hour campaign using three Flash Joule Heating reactors at its Texas Technology Campus, taking the platform from inert commissioning into reactive chlorination with a platinum-group-metal-bearing feedstock. The campaign marks a more commercially relevant test of the company’s multi-unit operating architecture, although it did not yet produce disclosed recovery, purity or financial results.
The campaign involved 12 test cycles across three feed particle-size distributions and generated approximately 50 samples for analysis of thermochemical performance, metal deportment and feedstock-specific processing behaviour. Metallium said the operating and engineering data will be used to refine reactor configuration, process controls, feed preparation and downstream recovery.
High-value feedstock still awaits verification
The spent catalytic converter material carried vendor-reported grades of 153 parts per million platinum, 518 ppm palladium and 63 ppm rhodium. Those figures have not been independently verified by Metallium, with full acid digest analysis still underway. The company is also yet to establish the complete processing route, including feed preparation, product collection and downstream recovery.
That distinction matters. The announcement demonstrates sustained operation across three processing trains under chlorination conditions, not a completed commercial recovery process. Metallium says further campaigns will examine reagent use, throughput, product recovery, purity, reactor durability and end-to-end flowsheet performance.
PCB revenue target remains dependent on qualification
Metallium continues to anticipate initial metal-product revenue from printed circuit board processing in the first half of calendar 2027, with staged commercial ramp-up currently planned to begin in the second half. The company expects to produce saleable metal chlorides and other intermediates before June 2027, subject to successful development work, customer qualification and downstream acceptance.
The filing makes clear that saleable product, initial commercial sales and full operating capacity are separate milestones. Products will need to meet customer requirements for composition, impurity levels, consistency and processing suitability. Metallium is also preparing a preliminary assessment of standalone PCB processing modules, including proposed capacity and indicative financial metrics.
CFO appointment supports US expansion plans
Tim Cooper commenced as chief financial officer on 1 October, adding financial and commercial leadership as Metallium progresses corporate development and finalises its audit under Public Company Accounting Oversight Board standards. The work is part of preparations for a proposed Nasdaq uplisting of the company’s American depositary receipts; the announcement does not provide a timetable or assurance that the uplisting will proceed.
Metallium’s next technical tests
Further multi-unit chlorination campaigns, feedstock optimisation and customer product qualification now sit between this operating milestone and commercial deployment. Metallium is also continuing its MXene program with Environmental Clean Technologies and evaluating additional feedstocks with US government agencies and selected industry participants.
The next meaningful evidence will be less about reactor runtime and more about what the samples show: independently confirmed feed grades, recovery and purity data, processing costs, and the economics of a standalone PCB module. Until those results arrive, the campaign is a useful scale-up signal rather than proof of a commercial metal-recovery business.
Bottom Line?
The three-reactor campaign reduces an important operating uncertainty, but the investment case still hinges on metallurgical results, product qualification and the economics of the proposed PCB modules.
Questions in the middle?
- What recoveries, product purities and downstream yields will the campaign samples demonstrate?
- Will the preliminary PCB module assessment show commercially credible capacity and financial metrics?
- Can Metallium complete qualification, audit and funding work in time to support its first-half 2027 revenue target?