Ares Strategic Mining Inc. will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, October 9, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. at its ARES Processing Facility in Delta, Utah, officially opening the company's new Lumps Plant. The event signals a significant milestone in the return of domestic fluorspar processing to the United States, a development with implications for national supply chains and critical-mineral independence.
The new facility processes raw fluorspar from Ares' fully permitted Lost Sheep Mine into metallurgical-grade fluorspar, known as metspar. Metspar is used principally in steel and aluminum production, where fluorspar acts as an important fluxing material. The plant's opening is especially significant because Ares is developing the supply chain from the ground up: mining ore at Lost Sheep, transporting it to Delta, processing it through company-built infrastructure, and preparing finished product for commercial markets. Ore is already being trucked to the facility and introduced into the processing circuit, with the operations team optimizing the plant around the characteristics of Lost Sheep ore as production ramps up.
The ceremony will bring together federal and state officials, strategic partners, industry leaders, and local stakeholders. Confirmed attendees include U.S. Representative Mike Kennedy, Carson Brown from the Office of U.S. Senator John Curtis, Utah State Senator David P. Hinkins, Emy Lesofski, Director of the Utah Office of Energy Development, Dana Dean, Acting Director of the Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining, James Walker, President and CEO of Ares Strategic Mining, and Peter Godart, President and CEO of Found Industries. Ares is also coordinating attendance from representatives of the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Energy, and Defense Logistics Agency.
James Walker, President and CEO of Ares, said, "We have reached the moment when years of permitting, mine development, engineering, construction and financing have become a working U.S. mine-to-plant operation. Ore is being mined, trucked to our facility and run through the plant. Friday gives us the opportunity to recognize the team, shareholders, public-sector partners and local community who helped turn that plan into physical infrastructure. For Ares, this is the beginning of an entirely new chapter."
The Delta Lumps Plant represents a significant step toward rebuilding a domestic supply capability for a mineral that has long been strategically important to U.S. manufacturing. Fluorspar is classified as a critical mineral by the U.S. government, and the country has relied heavily on imports. Ares has previously announced a Memorandum of Understanding with global commodities trader Cremer Erzkontor Inc. relating to distribution of its metspar product across North America.
State support helped make the facility possible. During the 2025 General Session of the Utah State Legislature, legislation broadened the legal definition of a "throughput infrastructure project" to include infrastructure required for extracting and processing critical minerals. Ares subsequently received an $11 million state-supported loan through the Utah Community Impact Board to advance its Utah operations. Walker added, "The support we have received in Utah has allowed Ares to move from plans and engineering drawings to mine development, processing infrastructure and physical production."
The Lumps Plant is the first major processing component of Ares' broader Utah strategy. The company is also advancing construction of its complementary Acidspar Flotation Plant, which is intended to produce higher-purity acid-grade fluorspar for chemical, technology, energy, and strategic-material applications. With mining underway and the Lumps Plant entering live-material operations, the ribbon cutting provides a formal public marker of Ares' transition into an operating mine-and-processing business. Ares expects to provide a further update following the ceremony. For more details, see the original release on www.newmediawire.com.
