• Exceptional beneficiation results on raw Harts Range ore using MTM's proprietary Flash Joule Heating (FJH) technology
• 20x upgrade in total REO from 1.7% to 35% in a single step
• Significant enrichment in key heavy REEs Dy, Tb, and magnet REE Nd

New Frontier Minerals Limited (ASX: NFM) has entered a binding commercial framework with MTM Critical Metals Ltd (ASX: MTM) to create an exclusive western heavy rare earth pathway for Harts Range raw ore that will target US magnetic and defence customers. This follows exceptional test-work results on Harts Range raw ore, especially for dysprosium and terbium, using MTM's proprietary Flash Joule Heating (FJH) technology. The 25kg bulk sample from the Harts Range Project underwent MTM's proprietary FJH process, resulting in a ~20x upgrade in total REO content from ~1.7% to ~35% in a single FJH reaction step. Key heavy REEs Dy and Tb, and magnet REE Nd concentrations increased significantly, with Dy2O3 upgraded 53x (0.19% to 10.03%), Tb4O7 upgraded 21x (0.03% to 0.64%), and Nd2O3 upgraded 114x (0.05% to 5.69%). The process also achieved complete removal of detectable Fe, Si and Th from the raw, un-beneficiated Harts Range ore. Under the binding commercial framework, New Frontier has granted MTM exclusive global rights to apply FJH processing to all Harts Range ore/concentrates for at least 10 years, with automatic extension through production, subject to successful development of a commercial scale processing facility.

MTM's 2026 plans comprise generating Dy/Tb-rich 'super-concentrate' samples for prospective US magnet/defence customers for qualification, with a commercial term-sheet in-place before year-end.