This Mining Tech Play Wants to Turn Stranded Deposits Into Metal

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Wednesday, August 12, 2026

Mining economics have traditionally favored scale. Large deposits justify large mines, centralized mills and the enormous capital required to build them. That leaves another category of mineralization stranded: deposits with attractive grades that may simply be too small, narrow or difficult to mine economically using conventional methods. New technologies that selectively extract ore and pair it with smaller processing systems could change that equation.

Mining technology company RZOLV Technologies Inc. (TSX-V: RZL) (OTCQB: RZOLF) said Wednesday morning that it has inked a strategic memorandum of understanding with Novamera Inc. to evaluate a new mine-to-metal pathway combining precision mining with RZOLV's proprietary non-cyanide mineral processing technology.

Novamera's Surgical Mining™ platform uses precision drilling and subsurface guidance to selectively extract mineralized material while targeting reductions in dilution, waste movement, surface disturbance and capital intensity. RZOLV's water-based hydrometallurgical technology is designed to dissolve and recover precious and critical metals without using cyanide during the leaching stage.

Together, the companies will evaluate whether those technologies can connect two traditionally separate stages of mine development. The concept is to precisely target mineralization, selectively extract it, process the resulting higher-grade and lower-dilution material through modular infrastructure, and ultimately recover a saleable or refinery-ready metal product.

The potential target market includes narrow-vein, high-grade, brownfield, satellite and other deposits that may struggle to support the economics of a conventional mine-and-mill development. If validated, smaller modular processing facilities could be matched to selective production rather than requiring the large centralized infrastructure typically associated with mine development.

"We believe many mineral deposits may remain undeveloped or stranded not because the target metal is absent, but because conventional mining methods can introduce excessive dilution, waste movement, capital requirements or permitting complexity," said Duane Nelson, President and CEO of RZOLV Technologies.

The first formal step contemplated under the MOU is a Joint Technical Evaluation Protocol. The companies plan to establish criteria for selecting candidate deposits, characterize geology and metallurgy, evaluate whether Surgical Mining can generate suitable feed material, optimize RZOLV's leaching chemistry and test downstream recovery methods including activated carbon, ion exchange resin and electrowinning. Environmental validation and comparative project economics would also be evaluated before projects advance.

Importantly, this remains an evaluation-stage partnership. The MOU is largely non-binding, and project-specific testing and engineering will be required to establish technical and commercial viability. No joint venture, license, reagent-supply obligation or commercial transaction arises unless documented in a definitive written agreement.

If successful, however, the collaboration could fit directly into RZOLV's partner-led commercialization strategy, which contemplates potential revenue through paid testing, reagent supply, technical services, licensing, royalties and processing fees.

Shares of RZL are flat at C$0.32 in early Wednesday trading following the news, while RZOLF is unchanged at $0.2107.

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