MTM Critical Metals Doubles Down on U.S. E-Waste Supply, Secures Second Major Agreement

If securing a stable supply chain is the sine qua non of any industrial venture, then MTM Critical Metals (ASX: MTM) just ticked off another box on its North American to-do list. The Perth-based outfit has inked its second major e-waste supply agreement in the U.S., this time with Indiana-headquartered Plastic Recycling Inc. (PRI), bolstering its ambitions to commercialise its Flash Joule Heating (FJH) technology for extracting precious and base metals from electronic scrap.

The new five-year agreement guarantees up to 400 tonnes per annum (tpa) of high-grade printed circuit board-rich electronic waste (PES), with MTM holding exclusive rights to the first 300 tpa. This mirrors a similar deal signed earlier this week with Dynamic Lifecycle Innovations (DLI), which secures a minimum 700 tpa of feedstock. In total, MTM now has over 1,100 tpa of e-scrap under LOI — a tidy hedge against the vicissitudes of supply risk.

“This second supply agreement is another critical milestone in executing our commercialisation strategy,” said CEO Michael Walshe. “With binding agreements from two major suppliers now in place, MTM is well positioned to deliver its Phase 1 rollout and planned capacity expansions with reduced supply risk and enhanced commercial flexibility.”

The dual agreements provide more than just peace of mind. They underpin the operational ramp-up of MTM’s one-tonne-per-day FJH demonstration plant in Texas, due to fire up in Q4 this year. The FJH tech — a single-step, acid-free process that vaporises e-waste into water-soluble metal chlorides — has already demonstrated mouthwatering recoveries: 100% for gold, 97% for silver, and 91% for copper from metal-rich PCB waste.

What’s more, the economics stack up like pancakes at a Sunday brunch. The test feedstock processed using FJH boasted gold grades of 551 g/t and silver at 2,804 g/t — magnitudes above traditional mining ores. Such numbers wouldn’t look out of place in a feasibility study for a Tier 1 gold project.

But it’s not just about high grades. With over 8 million tonnes of e-waste churned out annually in the U.S. — and only a paltry 15% formally recycled — MTM’s value proposition hinges on tapping an overlooked urban orebody. Its strategy is to intercept premium-grade e-scrap from data centres, telecom infrastructure, and consumer electronics before it’s either exported to low-yield smelters in Asia or unceremoniously buried in landfill.

PRI and DLI, both among the largest e-waste processors in the U.S., provide MTM with strategically positioned infrastructure across key states including Indiana, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Wisconsin. These partners bring more than just scale — their operations are certified to the highest standards for environmental, health, and data security, offering a secure and reliable source of feedstock for MTM’s refining ambitions.

From a commercial standpoint, the agreements include performance penalties to ensure delivery volumes, with pricing indexed to prevailing scrap benchmarks and adjusted according to assay grades. This not only incentivises suppliers to deliver high-quality material but also aligns cost with actual metal content, a win-win for both parties.

Importantly, MTM’s modular FJH plant is designed with scalability in mind. Once the Texas hub is operational, the company can roll out additional capacity as feedstock volumes rise — a real possibility given the burgeoning backlog of obsolete electronics across the U.S., Japan, and Europe.

And there’s a strategic undercurrent here too. The U.S. Department of Defense has shown interest in MTM’s process for its potential to shore up domestic supply chains of critical materials. Given today’s geopolitics, that could prove a timely wildcard.

So where does this leave MTM? With supply secured, technology de-risked, and market demand on a steady uptrend, the company is edging closer to what could be a commercially viable — and environmentally superior — solution to one of the fastest-growing waste streams on the planet.

The next watchpoint will be the commissioning of the demonstration plant in Texas. If that goes to plan, MTM may well become a key player in reshaping how metals are recovered — not from the ground, but from yesterday’s gadgets.