Metallium Completes 12-Hour Continuous FJH Reactor Campaign in Texas

Metallium Clears a Critical Hurdle: 12-Hour FJH Reactor Campaign Delivers Validation Ahead of Multi-Reactor Scale-Up

ASX: MTM | OTCQX: MTMCF | OTCQX ADR: MTLMY

Metallium Limited has reached what may prove to be one of the most consequential milestones in its technology development journey. The company has successfully completed the Metallium 12 hour continuous FJH reactor campaign in Texas, at its Gator Point Technology Campus in Chambers County — delivering stable, repeatable, and controlled operation of its Generation-1 commercial-scale FJH reactor platform over an extended duration.

The result is more than a procedural tick-box. It is the technical validation that unlocks Metallium's next phase: the simultaneous deployment of multiple FJH reactors operating in parallel, which forms the backbone of its modular throughput scale-up strategy.

Perhaps equally significant, initial results have indicated potential throughput uplift versus original internal design assumptions — a development that, if confirmed through further testing, could meaningfully reshape the economics of Metallium's Stage-1 commercial target.

What Just Happened — and Why It Matters

To understand the significance of this milestone, it helps to understand Metallium's scale-up architecture. The company is not pursuing a single large-reactor model. Instead, it is building a modular parallel-reactor system — multiple FJH units operating simultaneously under an integrated control framework. Throughput expands not by building bigger reactors, but by adding more units and running them in coordination.

This architecture has important implications. It reduces capital intensity per expansion step, improves operational flexibility, and allows the company to progressively de-risk each stage before committing to the next. However, it also means that before multiple reactors can run in parallel, a single reactor must first prove it can operate stably, predictably, and repeatedly over extended periods.

That is precisely what the Metallium 12 hour continuous FJH reactor campaign in Texas has now demonstrated.

"This milestone represents an important transition point for Metallium as we move from individual reactor commissioning toward sustained multi-reactor operations. Successfully operating a commercial-scale FJH reactor continuously over an extended duration provides critical validation of reactor integrity, process stability, automation systems and operating procedures."

— Michael Walshe, Managing Director & CEO

Key Achievements from the Campaign

The 12-hour campaign delivered results across several dimensions that are directly relevant to Metallium's scale-up readiness.

Throughput and Performance

• Reactor performance exceeded internal intermediate commissioning targets
• Early indications of potential throughput uplift versus original internal design assumptions
• Validation of early-stage reactor design concepts and operating methodologies
• Improved understanding of feed handling, solids movement and system integration under sustained conditions

Operational Stability

• Demonstrated stable reactor operation over extended continuous runtime
• Confirmed repeatable operating procedures and safe reactor cycling under commercial-scale conditions
• Validated instrumentation, automation and control systems required for future multi-reactor deployment
• Expanded team of trained personnel capable of independently executing test campaigns

Process and Engineering Learnings

These learnings are being actively incorporated into ongoing reactor optimisation and future scale-up planning.

Understanding Flash Joule Heating — A Beginner's Guide

What Is Flash Joule Heating (FJH)?

Flash Joule Heating is a rapid, high-energy electrical heating process. In simple terms, a strong electrical current is passed through a material in an extremely short burst, generating intense heat almost instantaneously. This sudden thermal shock can break down complex materials and liberate valuable metals that are otherwise difficult or costly to extract using conventional methods.

Why Does It Matter for E-Waste Processing?

Traditional metal recovery methods — smelting, acid leaching, and other hydrometallurgical processes — are energy-intensive, chemically complex, and often inefficient when dealing with the heterogeneous mix of materials found in electronic waste (e-waste). Furthermore, FJH offers the potential for a faster, lower-carbon alternative that can process a broad range of feedstocks, including printed circuit boards (PCBs) and precious metal-rich refinery scrap.

Why Should Investors Care?

The value of Metallium's technology lies in its ability to recover high-value critical and precious metals — including gold, gallium, germanium, antimony, and rare earth elements — from feedstocks that are either difficult to process economically or currently underutilised. If FJH can do this reliably at commercial scale, it positions Metallium at the intersection of two powerful demand trends: the global critical minerals supply challenge and the growing volume of e-waste requiring processing.

Glossary of Key Terms

Feedstock Flexibility: Processing More Than One Material

A detail that deserves attention beyond the operational validation headline is Metallium's confirmation that the Metallium 12 hour continuous FJH reactor campaign in Texas demonstrated its ability to process platinum and palladium-rich materials — confirming feedstock flexibility across high-value waste and mineral streams.

Metallium's FJH platform is specifically designed with adaptability in mind:

• Configurable pre-processing systems to handle varied feedstocks
• Tuneable reactor conditions to optimise recovery across different material types
• Adaptable downstream recovery pathways for different target metals

This flexibility consequently supports several strategic advantages:

1. Commercial optionality across multiple end markets and metal types
2. Reduced feedstock concentration risk — not dependent on a single material source
3. Improved plant utilisation through broader feed qualification
4. Scalable deployment potential across multiple regions and industries
5. Potential expansion into gallium and germanium-rich materials, two metals of significant strategic importance globally

Roadmap: What Comes Next?

With the 12-hour single-reactor campaign complete, Metallium's attention turns firmly toward its next set of milestones. The company has outlined a clear set of near-term priorities:

The Q4 CY2026 Stage-1 demonstration target remains Metallium's headline near-term commercial milestone, with the 12-hour campaign now providing a stronger technical foundation from which to pursue it.

A New Voice on the Technical Advisory Team

Alongside the operational milestone, Metallium has announced the appointment of Rod Lawry to its Technical Advisory Team — bringing more than 45 years of global metallurgical, project development, commissioning, and operational leadership experience to the company.

Rod's career spans senior technical and operational roles at some of the world's most recognised mining and resources organisations:

• Western Mining Corporation
• Glencore
• BHP
• Newmont
• Barrick Gold
• Rio Tinto
• SNC-Lavalin

His expertise covers nickel, copper, gold, uranium, tin, tungsten, and complex hydrometallurgical systems — a breadth of experience that is directly applicable to Metallium's multi-feedstock, multi-metal recovery ambitions.

The appointment signals a deliberate effort to surround the technology development programme with deep operational credibility — the kind of expertise that becomes increasingly important as Metallium transitions from commissioning toward sustained commercial operations.

The Investment Case: De-Risking at the Right Moment

For investors monitoring Metallium's progress, this milestone carries weight precisely because of where it sits in the development timeline. Metallium is not announcing a discovery or a concept — it is demonstrating that its commercial-scale reactor works as intended over extended duration, that automation systems are reliable, that the operating team is capable, and that throughput may exceed initial assumptions.

Each of these outcomes directly addresses the risks most commonly cited against emerging process technology companies: can it scale? Can it run continuously? Is the team capable of operating it? Does it perform to spec?

The Metallium 12 hour continuous FJH reactor campaign in Texas provides affirmative evidence on all fronts.

The company is consequently now positioned to advance toward multi-reactor parallel operation — the configuration that will define its commercial throughput capacity and, ultimately, its revenue generation potential.

Why Metallium Warrants Continued Attention

Key Takeaway: Metallium has materially de-risked its technology scale-up pathway with the successful completion of a 12-hour continuous FJH reactor campaign, generating early throughput upside indications and validating the operational foundations required for multi-reactor deployment. With its Stage-1 commercial capacity demonstration targeted for Q4 CY2026, and a strengthened technical advisory team now in place, Metallium is progressing through its most critical development milestones at a measured and credible pace.

Several factors make Metallium a company worth monitoring closely:

• Patented technology targeting high-value critical and precious metal recovery from e-waste and mineral concentrates
• Modular scale-up architecture that allows progressive, lower-risk throughput expansion
• Commercial-scale reactor now validated for extended continuous operation
• Early throughput upside relative to internal design assumptions — a potentially significant development for Stage-1 economics
• Feedstock versatility spanning e-waste PCBs, precious metal-rich refinery scrap, and materials bearing gallium, germanium, rare earths, and antimony
• U.S.-based operations at Gator Point, Texas, positioned within a market with significant e-waste volumes
• Strengthened technical team with the addition of Rod Lawry's 45+ years of metallurgical and commissioning expertise
• Clear near-term catalyst in the form of parallel multi-reactor demonstration and the Q4 CY2026 Stage-1 capacity target

For investors seeking exposure to critical metals recovery technology at a pivotal inflection point in the development curve, Metallium's progress deserves a close watch.

This article has been prepared using information contained in Metallium Limited's ASX announcement dated 12 May 2026. All financial and operational figures referenced are sourced directly from that announcement.

Ready to Track Metallium's Journey to Commercial-Scale Production?

Metallium (ASX: MTM) has just validated a critical milestone in its FJH technology development — with multi-reactor parallel operation, extended-duration campaigns, and its Q4 CY2026 Stage-1 commercial capacity demonstration all firmly in its sights. For investors looking to stay across every update as the company progresses through this pivotal period, head to Metallium's investor hub and sign up today to receive the latest news and developments directly.