Ekion Opens US$3.25M Seed Round to Mine Metals Without Excavation

Highlights

• We are officially launching our US$3.25M seed funding round. We have secured a pilot site in Western Australia to trial the extraction of gold from tailings, with operations set to commence mid-2026.

• Our first field-scale experiments will be co-funded by the Mineral Research Institute of Western Australia through a non-dilutive MRIWA METS grant.

• We have completed the Founders Factory / Rio Tinto accelerator program, which included A$250k Pre-Seed funding.

• We have been admitted to the Endless Frontier Labs mentorship program for 2025-2026.

Technology Development and Testing

• Upscaled EK-ISR experiment: Over the last few months, we have operated an upscaled metal extraction experiment (500kg tailings sample). This required redesigning and testing of many key elements of our lab-scale EK-ISR hardware. Our new hardware solutions and software protocols can now be readily adopted for our pilot trial.

• Techno-Economic Model: We are finalizing the development of our proprietary Techno-Economic Model, TEMC5. This AI-powered platform will automatically generate scoping studies from new sites, samples and experimental results, enabling us to rapidly evaluate new opportunities.

• Techno-Economic Assessment: Class 5 estimates for a tailings reprocessing project indicate a Net Present Value (NPV) > US$50M @ 8%; further lab experiments and a class 4 estimate study are ongoing.

Commercial

• Fundraising: Our seed round for US$3.25M is now open. The seed funding will cover our first field trials in both tailings and hard rock environments and get us to commercial readiness.

• Pipeline: Beyond the site we selected for our first field trial, we are screening EK-ISR amenability for several other gold and a copper tailings site in preparation for our first commercial operation.

• Active LOIs: 4

Next Steps

Over the coming months, we will focus on:

• Preparing to execute our first EK-ISR field trial.

• Closing the seed round.

• Deploying the TEMC5 platform.

• Concluding the class 4 TEM assessment for a tailings dam.

• Performing a second lab-based 500kg sample leaching test to confirm field readiness of selected EK-ISR hardware components.

• Finalizing the preparations for the field trial, including lab-scale leaching tests.

We are also growing the Ekion team and are now actively looking for:

• An enthusiastic lab/field technician;

• A hydrometallurgist.