New Funding Initiatives Propel U.S. Towards Greater Self-Sufficiency in Critical Minerals

USA News Group Commentary
Issued on behalf of Ares Strategic Mining Inc.

VANCOUVER, BC, May 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- In an effort to bolster the domestic supply chain for critical minerals and materials, the Biden Administration recently announced a $17.5-million investment to develop more affordable, sustainable production processes throughout the USA. The announcement came just days after the Center for Strategic & International Studies's (CSIS) Project on Critical Minerals Security launch, meant to build the resilient supply chains needed for national, economic, and energy security. These initiatives are meant to build out a more robust supply of the 50 mineral commodities within the current United States Critical Materials List, each representing materials essential to economic and national security, however, for 43 of these critical minerals, the USA imports more than half of its supply. The mining industry is pushing forward to develop these types of commodities with miners making progress, including Ares Strategic Mining Inc. (CSE: ARS) (OTCQX: ARSMF), MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP), Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE-A: UUUU) (TSX: EFR),  Arcadium Lithium plc (NYSE: ALTM), and Freeport-McMoran Inc. (NYSE: FCX).

Among the more overlooked commodities on the critical minerals list is fluorspar, the only non-metallic commodity on the list that's 100% imported into the USA—according to the USGS. This lesser-known miner plays an important role in the green energy solution, given its wide use within the lithium-ion battery supply chain, as it's important in the manufacturing of lithium-ion battery electrolytes, cathode, anode and separator bindings, as well in the processing of natural graphite.

However, there is a new domestic fluorspar supply in the horizon in the form of Ares Strategic Mining Inc.'s (CSE:ARS) (OTC:ARSMF) Lost Sheep Fluorspar Project, located in Utah. Consisting of 353 claims spanning a 5,982-acre area, the Lost Sheep Mine is in the process of construction towards commercial production. Back in March, Ares announced the completion of its mine planning, and the commencement of its mine's installation construction.

"Seeing the project get closer to production is extremely encouraging and motivating," said James Walker, President and CEO of Ares. "The visually confirmed fluorspar mineralization from the current drill program was an unexpected bonus and provided us with still further confidence in our upcoming operation. The ramp currently under construction is the biggest development towards the largest fluorspar operation ever seen at the Spor Mountain Range, which has almost 100 years of mining history. The Company and its staff are excited at the tangible near-term and long-term prospects and are looking forward to commencing operations and being the only domestic supplier of metspar and acidspar in the United States."