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Grid Metals Delivers “Globally Significant” Cesium Resource Estimate

CEO.CA Sep 30, 2026 11:05

Summary

CEO Robin Dunbar calls Grid Metals' maiden Falcon West cesium resource globally significant — about three times the size of Power Metals' Case Lake.

Cesium (a rare metal for atomic clocks and drilling fluids) has only been found in six deposits, and China controls 85 to 90% of supply.

The resource sits right at surface, so it suits conventional open-pit mining, and a dry crush-and-sort process avoids water use to speed permitting.

Low capital intensity — a rentable crusher and a roughly $1 million ore sorter — supports a quick path to production, with permitting already underway.

Agnico Eagle's subsidiary Avenir Minerals can raise its stake to 19.99% now the resource is published, a strategic endorsement from a major miner.

Key points on Agnico Eagle Mines

  • The CEO says Avenir Minerals, Agnico Eagle's critical minerals subsidiary, has 15 days from the resource announcement to signal whether it will exercise its option to lift its equity stake in Grid to 19.99%, and he expects it to come in on a placement.
  • Under the Falcon West joint venture, Avenir can earn up to a 30% project interest, a minority position from a major that the CEO calls rare and a strong endorsement of the project.
  • Agnico itself initially funded a Grid placement on an anonymous basis (visible in Grid's press releases) after Grid approached the major with its Falcon West drilling plans.
  • The CEO credits Avenir with mine-development and market expertise that reinforces his view that cesium is a major opportunity, in a niche market that investors find hard to read.

Robin Dunbar's takeaways

  • Top takeaway Argues Grid's surface-hosted Falcon West cesium resource is globally significant and can reach production relatively quickly through a low-capex, water-free crush-and-sort process.
  • Frames cesium as a strategically rare metal — only six deposits ever found and China's Sinomine controlling 85-90% of supply — positioning Falcon West as a future Western source.
  • Says permitting, metallurgical testing and stakeholder outreach are underway, with considerable progress targeted by the end of 2026 and exploration drilling likely starting in January.
  • Expects Avenir Minerals, Agnico Eagle's subsidiary, to exercise its option to raise its stake to 19.99% and views the major's minority backing as a key endorsement in a hard-to-read niche market.
  • Says the small, high-grade operation — the resource sits in an area about the size of a football field — should make good money and establish a toehold in an extremely rare business.