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Locksley Receives Up to US$191 Million Potential Support from EXIM for U.S. Critical Minerals Push

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Locksley Resources Limited (ASX: LKY,OTC:LKYRF, OTCQX: LKYRF) announced the receipt of a Letter of Interest (LOI) from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) outlining the intent to provide up to US$191 million in potential project financing support for the Company’s Mojave Project in California. EXIM, a wholly owned independent agency of the U.S. Government, operates under a Congressional mandate to promote American economic and national security interests through project and export financing. Its recent Supply Chain Resiliency Initiative and China and Transformational Exports Program prioritize funding for critical mineral projects that reduce foreign supply dependence and rebuild U.S. industrial capability. Additional details can be found here: https:cdn-api.markitdigital.comapiman-gatewayASXasx-research1.0file2924-03017919-6A1295024&v=undefined.

‘This LOI represents a cornerstone in Locksley’s engagement with U.S. federal agencies and paves the way for detailed due diligence and underwriting to advance a comprehensive financing package for the Mojave Project,’ said Kerrie Matthews, Managing Director and CEO of Locksley. She added that the LOI provides a foundation to progress formal financing discussions while advancing the Company’s downstream and offtake plans. ‘With our 100% American made antimony ingot now produced, we are demonstrating Locksley’s capacity to deliver the next generation of U.S. critical minerals for supply chains.’

Locksley continues to accelerate development and shorten the traditional mining project timeline via government support across parallel workstreams. Upstream the company has fast-tracked development of the Desert Antimony Mine through both conventional and non-traditional methods, enabling near-term ore supply. Downstream the company is collaborating with Rice University’s Deep Solve™ program and modular processing options to establish U.S. refining capacity at speed. And, by focusing on direct alignment with U.S. defense, energy transition and industrial partners to deliver 100% Made in America antimony, the company is establishing an integrated supply chain. This multiple track approach positions Mojave as one of the fastest moving U.S. antimony developments, directly supporting U.S. national security and clean energy priorities.

Drew Horn, a former White House Advisor on Critical Minerals and Chief Executive of GreenMet, which serves as consultants to Locksley said, ‘EXIM’s Letter of Interest represents more than just financial support. It reflects a coordinated U.S. government directive to rebuild domestic critical minerals capability. We are now entering a period where nearly all federal funding in this sector is being directed under White House led initiatives and Locksley is benefitting from this effort.’

Locksley Resources (https://www.locksleyresources.com.au) is focused on critical minerals in the U.S. The company is actively advancing the Mojave Project in California, targeting rare earth elements (REEs) and antimony. Locksley is executing a mine-to-market strategy for antimony, aimed at reestablishing domestic supply chains for critical materials, underpinned by strategic downstream technology partnerships with leading U.S. research institutions and industry partners. This integrated approach combined resource development with innovative processing and separation technologies, positions Locksley to play a key role in advancing U.S. critical minerals independence.

Contact: Beverly Jedynak, beverly.jedynak@viriathus.com, 312-943-1123; 773-350-5793

Cision View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/locksley-receives-up-to-us191-million-potential-support-from-exim-for-us-critical-minerals-push-302602203.html

SOURCE Locksley Resources

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Spartan Metals Identifies High-Grade Silver-Rich CRD Target on Trend with Tungstonia Vein System at the Eagle Project

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(TheNewswire)

Spartan Metals Corp.

Vancouver, Canada TheNewswire – November 3, 2025 Spartan Metals Corp. (‘ Spartan ‘ or the ‘ Company ‘) (TSX-V: W) is pleased to announce that it has identified a silver-rich Carbonate Replacement Deposit (‘ CRD ‘) target on trend with the past producing Tungstonia Mine vein system at its 100% owned Eagle Tungsten-Silver-Rubidium Project (‘ Eagle ‘ or ‘ Project ‘) in eastern Nevada.

Brett Marsh, Spartan’s President and CEO, states ‘When hydrothermal fluids moving along the structural corridors interact with thick, carbonate-rich sedimentary packages at the contact with the Tungstonia Granite intrusion, we have the potential to develop an enriched depositional zone along preferred limestone and dolostone beds, at structural intersections, and where we see veining in our host rocks. The rock chip samples from 2024 returned several high-grade results that carry several of the primary metals commonly associated with carbonate replacement deposit mineralization including silver, lead, copper, and zinc. This strongly suggests the potential for a larger carbonate replacement deposit that could potentially contain significant critical metal concentrations at the Tungstonia Claim Block.’

Mr. Marsh continues, ‘We are equally enthusiastic about the discovery of an extensive vein system with significant silver-copper-antimony that is continuing to develop at our Rees Claim block. The initial mapping and surface sampling of the claim block appears to connect the former Antelope Mine to a series of veins, breccias, and CRD mineralization located approximately 1.0 kilometer to the east of the mine itself. The potential to discover bonanza grade silver at over 1,500 grams per tonne along with other critical metals such as antimony, arsenic, and copper over an approximate 1-kilometer strike length makes the Eagle Project a significant U.S. critical metal asset.’

Recent surface exploration and detailed review of previous surface rock chip sampling have identified high-grade silver and base metal replacement mineralization that extends approximately 2.5 kilometers (‘km’) along the contact between the Tungstonia Granite intrusion and the limestone and dolostone host rocks exposed to the south and south-west of the Tungstonia vein system. This mineralization occurs in association with previously unidentified quartz veins in the Tungstonia Claim block with similar strike and periodicity as veins observed in and around the past-producing Tungstonia Mine area (Figure 1).

Additionally, mapping and rock chip sampling at the Rees Claim block suggests a second potential CRD system (Figure 2) where mineralization at the silver (‘Ag’)-copper (‘Cu’)-antimony (‘Sb’) Antelope Mine appears to be concentrated within a limestone-dolostone hosted vein system with tetrahedrite that is orthogonal to an interpreted northeast structural corridor that extends approximately 1.0 kms.


Click Image To View Full Size

Figure 1 View of southwest portion of Tungstonia Claim block with rock chip samples showing significant Ag, Pb, Zn, and Cu mineralization. Samples shown were previously reported in July 31, 2025, NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Eagle Project


Click Image To View Full Size

Figure 2 View of southeast portion of Rees Claim block with rock chip samples showing high-grade Ag, Cu, and Sb. Samples shown (except An-25001) were previously reported in July 31, 2025, NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Eagle Project.

QA/QC Procedures

Sample An-25001 was taken as grab sample from waste dump piles by hand to obtain an approximate 2-kilogram sample. The sample was submitted to ALS Labs of Reno, Nevada, which is a certified and accredited laboratory, independent of the Company. Samples are prepared using industry standard-prep methods and analyzed using method ME-MS61 (61 element suite: 0.25g 4-acid digestion ICP-MS with Ag-OG62, Ag-GRA21, and CU-OG62 ore grade for overlimit Ag and Cu, respectively). ALS inserted blank material with An-25001 and performed its own internal QAQC analysis to ensure proper sample preparation and equipment calibration. Spartan’s QAQC includes regular insertion of CRM standards, duplicates, and blanks with a stringent review of results completed by the Company’s Qualified Person, Brett R. Marsh, President and CEO of Spartan Metals.

About The Eagle Project

The Eagle Project presents a unique opportunity to delineate one of the largest and highest-grade Tungsten (‘W’) and Rubidium (‘Rb’) districts in the United States. The Project consists of the past- producing high-grade Tungstonia and Rees/Antelope tungsten (W-Cu-Ag) mines. Operations at these mines were from 1915 to 1942 with intermittent small-scale production occurring until 1956. Tungsten production from these two mines totaled 8,379 units at grades between 0.6%-0.9% WO 3 (1).

The Project is ~20 km² in size and located approximately 120 kilometers northeast of the town of Ely, in the Kern Mountains of White Pine County, Nevada. The Project covers 4,936 acres consisting of 244 Bureau of Land Management (BLM) unpatented lode mining claims.

Three deposit types are present at Eagle; Porphyry, Skarn, and Carbonate Replacement (CRD) that contain significant or anomalous grades of Tungsten (W), Silver (Ag), and Rubidium (Rb) plus Cu-Sb±Au-Pb-Zn-Bi-As across three project focus areas that also includes the potential to recover W-Rb-Ag from the legacy Tungstonia Mill Tailings.

  1. (1) Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology (1988), Bulletin 105 p213-217

The technical information contained in this news release has been prepared under the supervision of, and approved by Brett R. Marsh, CPG. Mr. Marsh is President and CEO of Spartan Metals Corp. and a ‘qualified person’ as defined under National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects .

About Spartan Metals Corp.

Spartan Metals is focused on developing critical minerals projects in top-tier mining jurisdictions in the Western United States, with an emphasis on building a portfolio of diverse strategic defense minerals such as Tungsten, Rubidium, Antimony, Bismuth, and Arsenic.

Spartan’s flagship project is the Eagle Project in eastern Nevada that consists of the highest-grade historic tungsten resource in the USA (the past-producing Tungstonia Mine) along with significant under-defined resources consisting of: high-grade rubidium; antimony; bismuth; indium; as well as precious and base metals. More information about Spartan Metals can be found at www.SpartanMetals.com

On behalf of the Board of Spartan

‘Brett Marsh’

President, CEO & Director

Further Information:

Brett Marsh, M.Sc., MBA, CPG

President, CEO & Director

1-888-535-0325

info@spartanmetals.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release

Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains statements that constitute ‘forward-looking statements.’ Such forward looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company’s actual results, performance or achievements, or developments in the industry to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words ‘expects,’ ‘plans,’ ‘anticipates,’ ‘believes,’ ‘intends,’ ‘estimates,’ ‘projects,’ ‘potential’ and similar expressions, or that events or conditions ‘will,’ ‘would,’ ‘may,’ ‘could’ or ‘should’ occur. Forward-Looking Information in this news release, Spartan has applied several material assumptions, including, but not limited to, assumptions that: the current objectives concerning the Company’s projects can be achieved and that its other corporate activities will proceed as expected; that general business and economic conditions will not change in a materially adverse manner; and that all requisite information will be available in a timely manner.

Although the Company believes the forward-looking information contained in this news release is reasonable based on information available on the date hereof, by their nature forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.  By their nature, these statements involve a variety of assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, levels of activity and achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements.

Examples of such assumptions, risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, assumptions, risks and uncertainties associated with general economic conditions; adverse industry events; future legislative and regulatory developments; the Company’s ability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources, and/or inability to access sufficient capital on favorable terms; the ability of the Company to implement its business strategies; competition; the ability of the Company to obtain and retain all applicable regulatory and other approvals and other assumptions, risks and uncertainties.

THE FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS NEWS RELEASE REPRESENTS THE EXPECTATIONS OF THE COMPANY AS OF THE DATE OF THIS NEWS RELEASE AND, ACCORDINGLY, IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AFTER SUCH DATE. READERS SHOULD NOT PLACE UNDUE IMPORTANCE ON FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION AND SHOULD NOT RELY UPON THIS INFORMATION AS OF ANY OTHER DATE. WHILE THE COMPANY MAY ELECT TO, IT DOES NOT UNDERTAKE TO UPDATE THIS INFORMATION AT ANY PARTICULAR TIME EXCEPT AS REQUIRED IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPLICABLE LAWS.

Copyright (c) 2025 TheNewswire – All rights reserved.

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How Germany Became the World’s Worst-Performing Economy

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“The welfare state as we know it today can no longer be financed by our economy.”

With that single sentence, Chancellor Friedrich Merz broke one of Germany’s and Western Europe’s greatest political taboos, daring to question the welfare state’s sacred status at a time when its economic costs can no longer be ignored.

For decades, Germany was celebrated as Europe’s economic success story. Its postwar Soziale Marktwirtschaft — the social market economy — combined free-market dynamism with a limited welfare for those truly in need, powering West Germany’s rise from postwar devastation into one of the world’s most prosperous nations. 

Today, however, that model is faltering. Germany faces stagnating growth, declining competitiveness, and the heaviest welfare burden in its history — signs that Europe’s economic engine is seizing up under the weight of its own system.

From Economic Miracle to Welfare Trap

Germany’s rise from postwar ruin was built on Ludwig Erhard’s economic vision — a system that balanced free enterprise with a modest social safety net within a competitive framework. By liberalizing prices and trade, stabilizing the currency, and cutting taxes, Erhard unleashed competition, ended inflation, and sparked the so-called Wirtschaftswunder — the “economic miracle” that brought rapid growth, full employment, and rising living standards.

Yet Erhard’s vision of a modest safety net gradually gave way to extensive welfare expansion — proving why the state should never be trusted with the power to engineer social balance through taxpayers’ money. Once governments gain legitimacy to intervene in the economy “for fairness,” intervention rarely stops; it only grows. 

Starting with the 1957 pension reform and continuing through the 1960s and 1970s, successive governments expanded health insurance, education support, family benefits, housing subsidies, and unemployment protection — laying the foundations of one of Europe’s most generous welfare systems. Today, Germany spends 31 percent of its GDP — roughly €1.3 trillion — on social programs, one of the highest levels among OECD countries.

The pension system is the clearest example of this excess, consuming 12 percent of GDP — over twice the share spent in the UK (5.1 percent). As the population ages and the workforce shrinks, the strain on public finances has become unavoidable. In 1962, six workers supported each retiree; today, barely two do, and that number is expected to continue falling in the years ahead. A system built on such demographics cannot last — it can survive only through higher taxes, mounting debt, and growing deficits.

To sustain this model, German employers are paying the price. Under German law, they must cover half of their workers’ insurance contributions, so every welfare expansion directly raises labor costs. Since the pandemic, non-wage labor costs have risen faster than total wages, eating into profits and leaving little room for pay increases. Social security contributions — long stable below 40 percent of salaries — have now climbed to 42.5 percent and are projected to reach 50 percent within a decade. The result is predictable: squeezed employers, fewer hires, smaller raises, and declining competitiveness.

How Welfare Expansion Undermined Germany’s Prosperity 

The economic toll of Germany’s overgrown welfare state is now unmistakable. Once Europe’s growth engine, Germany has become one of its laggards. Since 2017, GDP has grown by just 1.6 percent, compared to 9.5 percent in the rest of the eurozone. By 2023, it had ranked as the world’s worst-performing major economy, shrinking by 0.3 percent and 0.2 percent in two consecutive years — the first contraction since the early 2000s — and continued to slide under the new current government, with GDP falling by 0.3 percent in Q2 2025. 

Nowhere is this decline more apparent than in the automotive sector — the backbone of Germany’s postwar prosperity. Once global pioneers, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW now lag behind leaner Chinese and American rivals. Soaring labor costs (€62 per hour, compared to €29 in Spain and €20 in Portugal), combined with heavy regulation and rigid labor rules, have eroded competitiveness. A slow transition from combustion engines to EVs has enabled BYD and Tesla, with faster innovation cycles, advanced technology, and competitive pricing, to seize the lead in the industry.

The energy crisis has deepened their woes: the sudden loss of cheap Russian gas, combined with the government’s arguably short-sighted decision to phase out nuclear power, has left German industries paying up to five times more for electricity than their American or Chinese competitors. Weighed down by high costs and slow adaptation to new technologies, automakers have been forced into painful cost-cutting measures, from plant closures to mass layoffs. Since 2019, the industry has already lost 46,000 jobs, and another 186,000 could follow by 2035.

Meanwhile, welfare and debt continue to grow. Germany’s famed fiscal discipline — once anchored in its constitutional “debt brake” — has all but collapsed. Repeatedly suspended since the pandemic, the rule has been bypassed through off-budget funds and “emergency” spending to finance welfare spending and energy subsidies. Now, Berlin plans to borrow €174 billion in 2026, three times the level of two years ago and the second-highest in postwar history — threatening not only its own stability but also the credibility of Europe’s fiscal rules.

At the root of Germany’s malaise lies a dangerous illusion: that generous welfare can coexist with high productivity. When redistribution outpaces wealth creation, prosperity tends to fade. Left unchecked, welfare states expand faster than the economies that fund them, eroding productivity and burdening future generations. Yet reform remains untouchable — aging voters resist cuts, politicians fear backlash, and the young bear the cost of a system that may not survive.Europe is watching closely. If Germany — the continent’s anchor of fiscal discipline and industrial strength — exposes the limits of its oversized welfare state, the European faith in expansive welfare systems could finally collapse. The first step is to end the denial; the next is to rediscover the realism that once fueled the Wirtschaftswunder. Germany once taught Europe how to rebuild prosperity from ruins. Now it must teach Europe how to confront the truth about welfare states — before they collapse under their own weight.

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RUA GOLD Engages ICP Securities Inc. for Automated Market Making Services

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Rua Gold Inc. (TSXV: RUA,OTC:NZAUF) (OTCQB: NZAUF) (WKN: A40QYC) (‘Rua Gold’ or the ‘Company’) is pleased to announce that it has engaged ICP Securities Inc. (‘ICP’) to provide automated market making services, including use of its proprietary algorithm, ICP Premium™, in compliance with the policies and guidelines of the TSX Venture Exchange and other applicable legislation.

The Company will pay ICP a monthly fee of C$7,500 plus applicable taxes. The agreement between the Company and ICP commenced on November 1, 2025, and has an intial term of four (4) months (the ‘Initial Term’). It will automatically renew for subsequent one (1) month terms (each an ‘Additional Term’), unless either party provides at least 30 days written notice prior to the end of the Initial Term or any Additional Term. There are no performance-based factors in the agreement and no stock options or other forms of compensation are being issued in connection with the engagement. ICP and its clients may, from time to time, acquire or hold securities of the Company.

ICP is an arm’s-length party to the Company. ICP’s market making activity will be conducted primarily to correct temporary imbalances in the supply and demand of the Company’s shares. ICP will be responsible for all costs associated with buying and selling the Company’s shares, and no third party will provide funds or securities for the market making services.

OPTION GRANT

The Company granted 200,000 options (each, an ‘Option‘) to Mr. Simon Delander of the Company in accordance with the Company’s stock option plan dated July 24, 2024. Each Option is exercisable into one Common Share at an exercise price of $1.02 per Common Share for five years following the date of grant. The Options are subject to a 2-year vesting period with 100,000 Options vesting on October 20, 2026 and 100,000 Options vesting on October 20, 2027.

ABOUT ICP SECURITIES INC.

ICP Securities Inc. is a Toronto based CIRO dealer-member that specializes in automated market making and liquidity provision, as well as having a proprietary market making algorithm, ICP Premium™, that enhances liquidity and quote health. Established in 2023, with a focus on market structure, execution, and trading, ICP has leveraged its own proprietary technology to deliver high quality liquidity provision and execution services to a broad array of public issuers and institutional investors.

ABOUT Rua Gold

Rua Gold is an exploration company, strategically focused on New Zealand. With decades of expertise, our team has successfully taken major discoveries into producing world-class mines across multiple continents. The team is now focused on maximizing the asset potential of Rua Gold’s two highly prospective high-grade gold projects.

The Company controls the Reefton Gold District as the dominant landholder in the Reefton Goldfield on New Zealand’s South Island with over 120,000 hectares of tenements, in a district that historically produced over 2Moz of gold grading between 9 and 50g/t.

The Company’s Glamorgan Project solidifies Rua Gold’s position as a leading high-grade gold explorer on New Zealand’s North Island. This highly prospective project is located within the North Islands’ Hauraki district, a region that has produced an impressive 15Moz of gold and 60Moz of silver. Glamorgan is adjacent to OceanaGold Corporation’s biggest gold mining project, Wharekirauponga.

For further information, please refer to the Company’s disclosure record on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

CONNECT AND SHARE

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rua-gold
X: https://x.com/RuaGold
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@RUA_GOLD/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruagold.inc
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruagold.inc/

Rua Gold CONTACT

Robert Eckford
Chief Executive Officer
Phone: +1 604 655 7354
Email: reckford@RUAGOLD.com
Website: www.RUAGOLD.com

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release includes certain statements that may be deemed ‘forward-looking statements’. All statements in this new release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that the Company expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words ‘expects’, ‘plans’, ‘anticipates’, ‘believes’, ‘intends’, ‘estimates’, ‘projects’, ‘potential’ and similar expressions, or that events or conditions ‘will’, ‘would’, ‘may’, ‘could’ or ‘should’ occur and specifically include statements regarding: the Company’s strategies, expectations, planned operations or future actions, including but not limited to exploration programs at its Reefton and Glamorgan projects and the results thereof. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements.

Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. A variety of inherent risks, uncertainties and factors, many of which are beyond the Company’s control, affect the operations, performance and results of the Company and its business, and could cause actual events or results to differ materially from estimated or anticipated events or results expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. Some of these risks, uncertainties and factors include: general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; risks related to the effects of the Russia-Ukraine war; risks related to climate change; operational risks in exploration, delays or changes in plans with respect to exploration projects or capital expenditures; the actual results of current exploration activities; conclusions of economic evaluations; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; changes in labour costs and other costs and expenses or equipment or processes to operate as anticipated, accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry, including but not limited to environmental hazards, flooding or unfavorable operating conditions and losses, insurrection or war, delays in obtaining governmental approvals or financing, and commodity prices. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of the Company’s forward-looking statements and reference should also be made to the Company’s short form base shelf prospectus dated July 11, 2024, and the documents incorporated by reference therein, filed under its SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca for a description of additional risk factors.

Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company’s management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management’s beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/272929

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Trump learns how to fend off the Chinese threat like he is reading Sun Tzu

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During my final overseas CIA assignment as a station chief in a South Asian war zone, our team was ruthlessly focused on detecting and preempting terrorist threats long before they could inflict harm on the U.S. homeland. We conducted plenty of clandestine operations unilaterally, but we also worked in close partnership with the host government’s intelligence service. We did not always agree on everything, but we enjoyed a robust exchange of intelligence on our mutual adversaries, shared analytical judgments and collaborated on a number of joint tactical counterterrorism operations.

On one occasion, our CIA team successfully found and fixed the location of a senior al Qaeda terrorist on the FBI Most Wanted list for having planned terrorist attacks. We shared our sensitive intelligence with the host government, whose military launched a well-planned raid and killed the al Qaeda terrorist during a firefight.

If there was one thing I learned at CIA, especially when it came to counterterrorism operations, it’s that our allies can be a tremendous force multiplier for our sacred mission of keeping our country safe from those who seek to do us harm.

Today, the Trump administration is applying a similar strategy for ensuring secure critical minerals supply chains and de-risking from Communist China, which is the world’s leading miner and processor of rare earths. China has made it a practice of extorting its commercial adversaries by restricting its exports of critical minerals.

Rare earth minerals are essential for making semiconductors, motors and fighter jets, all critical for our national security. The last thing we would want is to have to rely on Communist China for the supply.

China’s brazenly unfair trade practices involve dumping on the global market its massive, excess production of rare earths deliberately to drive prices down and force competitor mining companies out of business, thereby eliminating any long-term competition.

But the Trump administration has deployed a counter playbook to reduce China’s influence over rare earth markets. Rightly concerned that China is seeking to control the global economy by imposing its will on the high technology supply chain, Trump recently signed an $8-billion rare-earth mineral deal with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. And during his recent trip to Asia, Trump signed rare earth deals with Thailand and Malaysia.

The Trump administration also deftly applies the same principle of de-risking to critical materials and minerals including polysilicon, a pure form of silicon essential for the production of microchips and integrated circuits. Seeking to minimize the risk of China’s dominant global market share of polysilicon, the Trump administration smartly relies on NATO member Germany for the bulk of our polysilicon imports.

Trump signs deal with Australia over rare earth mining ahead of anticipated Xi meeting

Further, the Trump administration is investigating national security threats posed by imports from other countries, including, but not exclusively, those linked to China. China dominates global polysilicon through state subsidies, deliberate overproduction and other nefarious trade practices — a familiar Chinese Communist Party playbook used on strategic materials.

‘If an enemy has alliances,’ Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu wrote, ‘the problem is grave and the enemy’s position strong.’

The U.S. is leading the way by building a global network for key technology components, which are vital to protecting our national security from Communist Chinese mercantilist aggression.

Dictators like Chinese President Xi Jinping want their enemies to be weak and divided. That’s because together the U.S. and our commercial partners are stronger and more able to protect internationally recognized borders, freedom of navigation and free trade on which the U.S. and global economy rely.


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No, Reagan Was Not Pro-Tariff

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President Trump last week ended trade talks with Canada because of an advertisement sponsored by the Ontario government featuring snippets of a 1987 speech Ronald Reagan gave, explaining the dangers of protectionism. The point of the advert was clear: protectionism hurts everyone, including the country imposing the protectionist policies. In response, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute has said that “the ad misrepresents the Presidential Radio Address, and the Government of Ontario did not seek, nor receive, permission to use and edit the remarks.”

While it is presumably true that the Government of Ontario neither sought nor received permission to use and edit the remarks, the question of whether Reagan’s general view of tariffs and trade was misrepresented isn’t really open for debate. No, the ad uses Reagan’s own words to beautifully capture his principled support for free trade and exchange. Reagan would have approved the overarching message of the ad, even if we must agree with the Foundation that it does strip out some of the nuance and context of his April 25, 1987 “Radio Address to the Nation on Free and Fair Trade.” 

As Reagan emphasized in his address, he supported free trade, advocating for bilateral reductions in trade restrictions where he could and unilateral reductions where he could not.  It is true that under his watch, and to a great extent at his discretion, the US did impose tariffs and other trade restrictions. This has caused scholars like Sheldon Richman, then at the Cato Institute, to refer to Reagan as “the most protectionist president since Herbert Hoover,” Victor Davis Hanson, in 2017 to characterize the actions of President Trump during his first term as “a return to, or a refinement of, Reagan’s and the elder Bush’s principled realism: the acceptance that the United States has to protect its friends and deter its enemies,” and New Right thinkers like Oren Cass to claim Reagan as a “trade protectionist” who “basically started a trade war with Japan,” holding him up as a paragon of “trade restrictions done right.”

In doing so, however, these scholars reveal that they have fundamentally missed the forest for the trees. Ironically, they are the ones misrepresenting Reagan’s thoughts on international trade, not the Canadians.

To understand why, we need to appreciate the context within which Reagan took office in 1981.  The US economy was in a deep economic downturn, with high inflation, rising interest rates, and an overall weak economy still trying to recover from the 1980 recession. If there was any industry that was hurt the most by this, it was the American car industry and its union workers, who were hurt not just by the recession, but by the arrival of cheaper, more fuel-efficient, and higher quality Japanese cars.

Faced with mounting pressures not just from the domestic automakers and their unions, but also a protectionist (and Democrat) Congress poised to enact sweeping protectionist legislation, Reagan had a difficult choice before him.  In his autobiography, he writes, “Although I intended to veto any bill Congress might pass imposing quotas on Japanese cars, I realized the problem wouldn’t go away even if I did.” “The problem” Reagan referred to here was not “Japanese imported cars.” It was the demand for protectionist measures from Congress and the union autoworkers.  

Reagan understood that vetoing any protectionist bills that Congress sent him would only forestall the inevitable and use up valuable political capital in the process.  He understood, however, that he needed to do something, so he established the Auto Task Force.  At a meeting, Vice President George H.W. Bush reportedly said, “We’re all for free enterprise, but would any of us find fault if Japan announced without any request from us that they were going to voluntarily reduce their export of autos to America?” Thus, the idea of voluntary export restraint was born.  Reagan dispatched his trade representative, Bill Brock, to help with discussions.  

This led to a meeting in the Oval Office on March 24th, 1981 with the Japanese foreign minister, where, in Reagan’s words, “I told him that our Republican administration firmly opposed import quotas but that strong sentiment was building in Congress among Democrats to impose them. ‘I don’t know if I’ll be able to stop them,’ I said. ‘But I think if you voluntarily set a limit on your automobile exports to this country, it would probably head off the bills pending in Congress and there wouldn’t be any mandatory quotas.’” In a statement given by then-Vice President Bush on April 8, 1981, he said that the White House is not “suggesting to the Japanese what they should voluntarily do” and that “[The administration wants] to avoid starting down that slippery slope of protectionism.” 

In the end, Japan agreed to voluntarily restrict their exports to the United States, initially for a period of three years, though this was extended several times before finally being lifted in 1994.

One might argue that what Reagan was really doing was strong-arming Japan into reducing their exports by threatening the country with something worse if it did not comply.  This is revisionist history at its finest.  Reagan understood that choice is between actual options, not imagined ones.  By preventing Congress from passing a protectionist import quota, Reagan had deliberately chosen the least protectionist option of the actual options before him, as David Henderson (a member of Reagan’s Council of Economic Advisors) notes. Reagan was committed not to protectionism, but to preventing protectionism precisely because, as he notes in his now-even-more-famous Radio Address, “over the long run such trade barriers hurt every American worker and consumer.”

Another example is Reagan’s 1987 imposition of tariffs to stop the Japanese from dumping semiconductors into the US market, which was the occasion of the radio address that the Canadian advertisement drew from. But even in this instance, Reagan attempted to use tariffs as a scaffold, not as a sledgehammer. Reagan accused Japan of violating their agreement in the US-Japan semiconductor trade agreement and placed a 100 percent tariff on specific goods to limit the adverse effects on American consumers. These targeted tariffs were used as a last resort, aimed at forcing compliance with an existing trade deal. As they started to have their intended effect, Reagan was able to reduce them, first in June of 1987 (two months after they were imposed) and then again in November (six months after they were imposed); they were eliminated entirely in 1991. Still, the tariffs harmed US consumers and did little to improve US industrial competitiveness. The use of tariffs to force a country to honor its previous obligations was a dangerous tactic, and Reagan was deeply aware of the consequences if the Japanese responded in kind. The fortieth president understood that trade wars hurt everyone involved and free trade was the ideal. The trade principles and policies of President Trump — easily the most protectionist president since Herbert Hoover — couldn’t be further from Reagan’s. Trump is imposing massive and sweeping tariffs on our allies, whereas Reagan bemoaned targeted tariffs to force compliance with an existing trade deal. 

We can debate whether Reagan compromised his principles when he supported measures like voluntary export restraints or semiconductor tariffs. But we cannot honestly debate what those principles were. As Reagan himself said, “imposing such tariffs or trade barriers and restrictions of any kind are steps [he is] loath to take.”

Reagan was a free-trade advocate through and through. As America revisits trade policy in 2025, we should remember his true legacy — using every tool available to preserve and expand free trade, not to abandon it.

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Sarama Files Memorial in US$242M Damages Claim Against Burkina Faso

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Sarama Resources Ltd. (“Sarama” or the “Company”) (TSX-V:SWA, ASX:SRR) announces that it has filed its written Memorial (the “Memorial”) detailing the Company’s claim against the Government of Burkina Faso (“GoBF”) as well as damages for the sum of US$242 million, plus interest.

The proceedings arise from the unlawful expropriation of the Company’s Tankoro 2 Exploration Permit (the “Permit”) in Burkina Faso and follow the submission of its Request for Arbitration (“RFA”) to the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (“ICSID”) in December 2024 (refer news release dated 12 December 2024).

On 31 October 2025, Sarama filed its written Memorial comprising its statement of case, witness evidence, and expert reports with ICSID, a division of the World Bank Group, detailing the claim against the GoBF.

The Company retained Accuracy London, a qualified and experienced Quantum Expert, to provide an independent valuation to support the claim submitted to ICSID.

Next Steps

  • The GoBF is required to file its Counter-Memorial by 31 January 2026.
  • A case management conference is scheduled for 17 February 2026 during which the final Procedural Timetable will be determined and the date for the Procedural Hearing will be set.
  • This will be followed by a series of further written submissions, after which a hearing will be held in Washington D.C., United States where Sarama will present its case and supporting evidence to the Tribunal.

The Company is represented by Boies Schiller Flexner (UK) LLP (“BSF”), a leading international law firm with significant experience in investor-state arbitration and a strong track record in the natural resources sector and has a US$4.4 million four-year non-recourse loan facility in place to cover all fees and expenses related to the claim.

Sarama’s Executive Chairman, Andrew Dinning commented:

“The filing of our Memorial is a significant milestone in the arbitration process and provides a comprehensive and substantiated basis for Sarama’s claim for compensation. The Company has invested more than a decade of work and substantial capital in advancing the Sanutura Project, which was unlawfully expropriated.

We are pursuing this process to protect shareholder value and to seek a fair and just outcome under internationally recognised mechanisms. With our legal team, expert advisors and funding arrangements in place, we remain fully committed to advancing the arbitration to its conclusion.”


Click here for the full ASX Release

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Investor Webinar, Wednesday 5th Nov, 11:30am AEDT

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Locksley Resources Limited (ASX: LKY, OTCQX: LKYRF, FSE: X5L) (“Locksley” or the “Company”), advises that the Company will host an investor webinar to discuss the Company’s recent announcements and the next phase of its U.S expansion strategy.

DATE & TIME: Wednesday, 5th November 2025 at 11:30am AEDT / 8:30am AWST

REGISTRATION LINK: https://janemorganmanagement- au.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_2qv_ztFDQQqRqr3xkut8DQ

The webinar will cover a series of material updates, including:

  • Receipt of Letter of Interest from the U.S Export-Import Bank (“EXIM”) for up to US$191M in potential project financing support for the Mojave Critical Minerals Project in California.1
  • Commencement of the high-resolution heli-mag and radiometrics survey to accelerate drill targeting across the Mojave Project, California.2
  • Mobilisation of the Diamond Drill rig for the upcoming El-Campo Rare Earths Program, positioned along strike from MP Materials’ Mountain Pass Mine.3
  • Production of a 100% American-made antimony ingot in decades, validating the Company’s U.S Mine-to-Metal supply chain strategy.4

Newly appointed Managing Director & CEO, Ms. Kerrie Matthews5 will present on these milestones and discuss Locksley’s next-phase growth plan and U.S strategy.

Click here for the full ASX Release

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CleanTech Lithium

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Investor Insight

Executing a well-defined project development strategy for its lithium assets and advancing Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE), CleanTech Lithium is poised to become a key player in the supply of lithium carbonate and the global battery market.

Overview

CleanTech Lithium (AIM:CTL,Frankfurt:T2N) is a resource exploration and development company with three lithium assets in Chile, a world-renowned mining-friendly jurisdiction. The company aims to be a leading supplier of ‘green lithium’ to the electric vehicle (EV) market and growing Energy Storage Systems (ESS) market, leveraging direct lithium extraction (DLE) – a low-impact, low-carbon and low-water method of extracting lithium from brine. DLE enables lower grade projects to be economically viable. New projects using this method will be critical to meet the forecasted demand.

Lithium demand is soaring as a result of a rapidly expanding EV market and ESS proposed pipeline of projects. As part of Chile’s National Lithium Strategy, the company’s flagship Laguna Verde has been named one of six salars prioritized for development — positioning CleanTech Lithium as a key private partner in unlocking the country’s lithium potential.

Map of northern Chile showing Cleantech Lithium

With an experienced team in natural resources, CleanTech Lithium holds itself accountable to a responsible ESG-led approach, a critical advantage for governments and major car and battery manufacturers looking to secure a cleaner supply chain.

Laguna Verde is at pre-feasibility study stage which is to be completed imminently. Based on previous drilling campaigns from 2022 to 2024, the project has a JORC resource estimate of 1.63 Mt of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) while Viento Andino boasts 0.92 Mt LCE, each supporting 20,000 tons per annum (tpa) production with a 30-year and 12-year mine life, respectively and based on the Scoping Studies published in 2023. The latest drilling programme at Laguna Verde finished in June 2024, results from which will be used to convert resources into reserves.

The company is carrying out the necessary environmental impact assessments in partnership with the local communities. The indigenous communities will provide valuable data that will be included in the assessments. The company has signed agreements with three of the core communities to support the project development.

Stakeholders of Cleantech Lithium and members of the idigenous community during the DLE Pilot Plant inauguration

DLE Pilot Plant Inauguration event held in May 2024 with local stakeholders and indigenous communities in attendance

Salar de Atacama/Arenas Blancas comprises 140 licenses covering 377 sq km in the Salar de Atacama basin, one of the leading lithium-producing regions in the world with proven mineable deposits of 9.2 Mt.

Diagram of Cleantech Lithium

CleanTech Lithium is committed to an ESG-led approach to its strategy and supporting its downstream partners looking to secure a cleaner supply chain. In line with this, the company plans to use renewable energy and the innovative DLE process across its projects. DLE is considered an efficient option for lithium brine extraction that makes the least environmental impact, with no use of evaporation ponds, no carbon-intensive processes and reduced levels of water consumption. In recognition, Chile’s government plans to prioritize DLE for all new lithium projects in the country.

CleanTech Lithium

CleanTech Lithium’s pilot DLE plant in Copiapó was commissioned in the first quarter of 2024. To date, the company has completed the first stage of production from the DLE pilot plant producing an initial volume of 88 cubic metres of concentrated eluate – the lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) of approximately one tonne over an operating period of 384 hours with 14 cycles. Results show the DLE adsorbent achieved a lithium recovery rate of approximately 95 percent from the brine, with total recovery (adsorption plus desorption) achieving approximately 88 percent. The Company’s downstream conversion process is successfully producing pilot-scale samples of lithium carbonate . As of January 2025, the Company is producing lithium carbonate from Laguna Verde concentrated eluate at the downstream pilot plant – recently proven to be high purity (99.78 percent). Click for highlights video.

CTL’s experienced management team, with expertise throughout the natural resources industry, leads the company toward its goal of producing green lithium for the EV and ESS markets. Expertise includes geology, lithium extraction engineering and corporate administration.

Company Highlights

  • Proven Commitment to Chile’s Lithium Future: Over US$30 million invested and agreements with local indigenous communities reflect CleanTech Lithium’s commitment to developing sustainable, high-quality lithium assets aligned with Chile’s National Lithium Strategy.
  • Clean, Fast, and Efficient Extraction: Utilizing Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) to deliver battery-grade lithium carbonate faster, at lower cost, and with minimal environmental impact.
  • Flagship Project Advancing: The Laguna Verde project is at the pre-feasibility stage, paving the way for strategic partnership discussions.
  • Operational DLE Pilot Plant: An active pilot plant in Copiapó designed to produce ~1 tonne LCE, validating scalable, low-impurity lithium production.
  • High-Purity Lithium Achieved: In January 2025, the company produced 99.78 percent purity lithium carbonate, confirming product quality.
  • Committed to ESG Excellence: An ESG-first approach ensures responsible operations aligned with clean supply chain and focused on developing the project with net-zero goals in mind.

Key Projects

Laguna Verde Lithium Project

Cleantech Lithium

The 217 sq km Laguna Verde project features a sq km hypersaline lake at the low point of the basin with a large sub-surface aquifer ideal for DLE. Laguna Verde is the company’s most advanced asset.

Project Highlights:

  • Prolific JORC-compliant Resource Estimate: The asset has a JORC-compliant resource estimate of 1.63 Mt of LCE at a grade of 200 mg/L lithium with further drilling planned.
  • Environmentally Friendly Extraction: The company’s asset is amenable to DLE. Instead of sending lithium brine to evaporation ponds, DLE uses a unique process where resin extracts lithium from brine, and then re-injects the brine back into the aquifer, with minimal depletion of the resources. The DLE process reduces the impact on environment, water consumption levels and production time compared with evaporation ponds and hard-rock mining methods.
  • Scoping Study: Scoping study completed in January 2023 indicated a production of 20,000 tons per annum LCE and an operational life of 30 years. Highlights of the study also includes:
    • Total revenues of US$6.3 billion
    • IRR of 45.1 percent and post-tax NPV8 of US$1.8 billion
    • Net cash flow of US$215 million

Pre-Feasibility Study and Project Development

The Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) is nearly complete, with resource and wellfield design dependent on the finalized government polygon. This will allow CTL to expand its resources and develop wells on the newly acquired Minergy licences. Please refer to RNS dated 11th August 2025 available at www.ctlithium.com for more details.

Publication of the PFS will be deferred until CTL enters the streamlined CEOL process for confidentiality reasons. With existing infrastructure at Laguna Verde and the carbonate plant in Copiapó, project development conditions remain highly favourable.

CleanTech Lithium is advancing its Special Lithium Operating Contract (CEOL) application with the Chilean Government, which grants rights to exploit and sell lithium within a defined area.

To meet CEOL criteria, CTL recently acquired Minergy’s 30 mining licences at Laguna Verde, increasing ownership to over 97 percent of the government’s proposed project polygon. The milestone-based purchase deal strengthens CTL’s position and, together with shareholder support, is expected to enable entry into the streamlined CEOL process — a key milestone that could drive a major revaluation as the company capitalizes on the lithium market recovery.

Viento Andino Lithium Project

Cleantech Lithium

CleanTech Lithium’s second-most advanced asset covers 127 square kilometers and is located within 100 km of Laguna Verde, with a current resource estimate of 0.92 Mt of LCE, including an indicated resource of 0.44 Mt LCE. The company’s planned second drill campaign aims to extend known deposits further.

Project Highlights:

  • 2022 Lithium Discovery: Recently completed brine samples from the initial drill campaign indicate an average lithium grade of 305 mg/L.
  • Scoping Study: A scoping study was completed in September 2023 indicating a production of up to 20,000 tons per annum LCE for an operational life of more than 12 years. Other highlights include:
    • Net revenues of US$2.5 billion
    • IRR of 43.5 percent and post-tax NPV 8 of US$1.1 billion
  • Additional Drilling: Once drilling at Laguna Verde is completed in 2024, CleanTech Lithium plans to commence further drilling at Viento Andino for a potential resource upgrade.

Arenas Blancas

The project comprises 140 licences covering 377 sq km in the Salar de Atacama basin, a known lithium region with proven mineable deposits of 9.2 Mt and home to two of the world’s leading battery-grade lithium producers SQM and Albermarle. Following the granting of the exploration licences in 2024, the Cleantech Lithium is designing a work programme for the project.

The Board

Steve Kesler – Independent Non-executive Chairman

Steve Kesler has 45 years of executive and board roles experience in the mining sector across all major capital markets including AIM. Direct lithium experience as CEO/director of European Lithium and Chile experience with Escondida and as the first CEO of Collahuasi, previously held senior roles at Rio Tinto and BHP.

Ignacio Mehech – CEO

Ignacio Mehech brings over a decade of senior leadership experience in the lithium and mining sectors. During his seven-year tenure at Albemarle—the world’s largest producer of battery-grade lithium—he spent the last three years as Country Manager in Chile, overseeing a workforce of 1,100 and managing critical relationships with government, indigenous communities, and other key stakeholders. Mehech brings deep expertise in lithium project development, regulatory engagement, and sustainability. He has led high-profile engagements with global investors, customers, NGOs, analysts, scientists, and international governments. He also played a key leadership role in the El Abra copper operation—a joint venture between Codelco and Freeport-McMoRan—where he led the legal strategy and contributed to corporate transformation initiatives. Mehech holds a law degree from the Universidad de Chile and a Master’s in Energy and Resources Law from the University of Melbourne.

Paul Atherton – Non-executive Director

Paul Atherton is a Chartered Accountant with extensive experience in corporate finance across professional services and resource companies in sub-Saharan Africa. He served as CFO and later CEO of Heritage Oil, a former FTSE 250 company, before pursuing his interests as an angel investor and board director across the resources, technology, and healthcare sectors. A resident of Jersey, Paul also chairs the Board’s Audit & Risk Committee.

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Locksley Resources LimitedReceives up to US$191M Potential Support from EXIM Bank

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Perth, Australia (ABN Newswire) – Locksley Resources Limited (ASX:LKY,OTC:LKYRF) (FRA:X5L) (OTCMKTS:LKYRF) announced the receipt of a Letter of Interest (‘LOI’) from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (‘EXIM’), outlining the intent to provide up to US$191M in potential project financing support for the Company’s Mojave Project in California.

Alignment with U.S Export-Import Bank (‘EXIM’) Positions Mojave as a Flagship Initiative Under the White House’s Directive to Rebuild Domestic American Antimony and Rare Earths Supply and Processing Capability

HIGHLIGHTS:

– The U.S Export-Import Bank has issued a Letter of Interest (LOI) indicating the potential for financing support of up to US$191 million for Locksley’s Mojave Project in California

– EXIM is the official export-credit agency of the U.S Government, tasked with strengthening domestic industrial resilience and reducing foreign supply dependence in strategic sectors

– The potential EXIM financing is a cornerstone first step in a broader U.S. government funding pathway, opening access to programs under the Defense Production Act Title III and Department of War (DOW)

– The engagement reinforces Locksley’s strategy to establish a 100% American made antimony and REE supply chain, following the successful production of the Company’s U.S. antimony ingot

– Locksley executives will attend key meetings in Washington D.C. in mid November, to advance discussions on the Company’s U.S. mine-to-market collaboration

EXIM, a wholly owned independent agency of the U.S Government, operates under a Congressional mandate to promote American economic and national security interests through project and export financing. Its recent Supply Chain Resiliency Initiative (SCRI) and China and Transformational Exports Program (CTEP) prioritise funding for critical mineral projects that reduce foreign supply dependence and rebuild U.S industrial capability.

The LOI represents a cornerstone step in Locksley’s engagement with U.S federal agencies and paves the way for detailed due diligence and underwriting to advance a comprehensive financing package for the Mojave Project.

In light of the recent November 2025 U.S.-China trade agreement whereby China has suspended new rare-earth/critical minerals export controls, and the U.S. has publicly reaffirmed its support for Western based critical mineral supply chains, the Mojave Antimony Project is uniquely positioned to deliver a low risk, U.S. hosted, anti-dependent on China supply solution. This alignment strengthens the strategic case for consideration by Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) under its supply chain resilience and criticalminerals mandates.

100% American Made Ingot Milestone – Alignment with U.S. Policy

Locksley recently announced the successful casting of the 100% American made antimony ingot, using feedstock sourced from its Mojave Project and processed entirely on U.S soil.

This achievement validated the Company’s Mine-to-Metal business model and provides the foundation for commercial scaling under the Defense Production Act and Inflation Reduction Act frameworks.

Following the signing of the landmark U.S. and Australia Critical Minerals Framework Agreement in Washington DC between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Locksley’s Mojave Project has been recognised as aligning directly with this bilateral initiative, which is also supported by commitments from the Australian Export Finance Agency (EFA).

The EXIM support, alongside Locksley’s strategic collaboration with Rice University, provides a clear pathway for Mojave to progress beyond exploration and into the development of downstream aligned supply chains for the U.S.

Drew Horn, Chief Executive of GreenMet and former White House Advisor on Critical Minerals, commented:

‘EXIM’s Letter of Interest represents more than just financial support, it reflects a coordinated U.S. government directive to rebuild domestic critical minerals capability. The fact that EXIM’s engagement aligns with current White House priorities underscores how strategically important Locksley’s Mojave Project has become. We are now entering a period where nearly all federal funding in this sector is being directed under White House led initiatives and Locksley stands at the forefront of that effort. The combination of EXIM support and the successful production of a 100% American made antimony ingot demonstrates tangible progress toward full U.S. supply chain independence.’

Kerrie Matthews, Managing Director & CEO, commented:

‘EXIM’s engagement represents a strong endorsement of Locksley’s U.S strategy and the momentum we have built with government and industry partners. The LOI provides a foundation to progress formal financing discussions while advancing our downstream and offtake plans. With our 100% American made antimony ingot now produced, we are proving Locksley’s capacity to deliver the next generation of U.S critical mineral supply chains.’

Material Terms of the LOI

The Letter of Interest (LOI) is a non-binding expression of interest and does not constitute a final commitment or a financing agreement. A definitive commitment is contingent upon Locksley satisfying EXIM’s underwriting criteria, completing full due diligence (including technical, financial, and legal reviews), and finalising definitive documentation. The potential financing is for up to US$191 million with a repayment tenor of 10 years. However, the final amount, interest rate, and specific repayment terms will be determined upon completion of the due diligence process.

Fast-Track Mine-to-Market Approach

Locksley continues to accelerate development planning and apply innovative thinking to traditional project timelines via government support across parallel workstreams:

– Upstream: Fast-tracked development of the Desert Antimony Mine through both conventional and non-traditional methods, enabling near-term ore supply

– Downstream: Collaboration with Rice University’s DeepSolv(TM) program and processing optionality to establish U.S. refining capacity at speed

– Integrated Supply Chain: Direct alignment with U.S. defence, energy transition, and industrial partners to deliver 100% Made in America antimony into the U.S. market

– Locksley’s approach embodies the principles of the Mines of the Future framework integrating innovation, digital modelling and processing to rapidly re-establish strategic mineral production on U.S. soil.

This parallel approach positions Mojave as the fastest moving U.S. antimony development, directly supporting national security and clean energy priorities.

Next Steps

Locksley will now progress the following key initiatives to advance the Mojave Project toward development readiness:

– Progress formal application with EXIM, triggering due diligence and underwriting processes

– Securing additional U.S. government and institutional support under DPA Title III, DOE loan guarantees, and supply chain initiatives

– Locksley executives will attend key meetings in Washington D.C. in mid- November, to advance discussions on the Company’s U.S. mine-to-market collaboration

– Commence preparatory workstreams for both mine development and downstream processing pathways

– Advancing commercial pilot-scale production to demonstrate U.S. based refining capability and accelerate first metal output from the Mojave Project

About Locksley Resources Limited:

Locksley Resources Limited (ASX:LKY,OTC:LKYRF) (FRA:X5L) (OTCMKTS:LKYRF) is an ASX listed explorer focused on critical minerals in the United States of America. The Company is actively advancing exploration across two key assets: the Mojave Project in California, targeting rare earth elements (REEs) and antimony. Locksley Resources aims to generate shareholder value through strategic exploration, discovery and development in this highly prospective mineral region.

Mojave Project

Located in the Mojave Desert, California, the Mojave Project comprises over 250 claims across two contiguous prospect areas, namely, the North Block/Northeast Block and the El Campo Prospect. The North Block directly abuts claims held by MP Materials, while El Campo lies along strike of the Mountain Pass Mine and is enveloped by MP Materials’ claims, highlighting the strong geological continuity and exploration potential of the project area.

In addition to rare earths, the Mojave Project hosts the historic ‘Desert Antimony Mine’, which last operated in 1937. Despite the United States currently having no domestic antimony production, demand for the metal remains high due to its essential role in defense systems, semiconductors, and metal alloys. With significant surface sample results, the Desert Mine prospect represents one of the highest-grade known antimony occurrences in the U.S.

Locksley’s North American position is further strengthened by rising geopolitical urgency to diversify supply chains away from China, the global leader in both REE & antimony production. With its maiden drilling program planned, the Mojave Project is uniquely positioned to align with U.S. strategic objectives around critical mineral independence and economic security.

Tottenham Project

Locksley’s Australian portfolio comprises the advanced Tottenham Copper-Gold Project in New South Wales, focused on VMS-style mineralisation

Source:
Locksley Resources Limited

Contact:
Kerrie Matthews
Chief Executive Officer
Locksley Resources Limited
T: +61 8 9481 0389
Kerrie@locksleyresources.com.au

News Provided by ABN Newswire via QuoteMedia

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