pH7 Technologies Inc., a Vancouver-based critical metals processing company, has announced up to $5 MM in funding support from Natural Resources Canada through the Energy Innovation Program's Mining Decarbonization Demonstration Call for Proposals to evaluate a first-of-its-kind copper production technology using samples from [Trekor Metals’] Gibraltar Mine in British Columbia.

The project will validate pH7's proprietary closed-loop copper extraction process, which converts low-grade sulfide ore directly into 99.9% pure copper cathodes onsite while generating green hydrogen as a valuable byproduct. If successful, the project will generate the operational, environmental and economic data needed to support potential future scale-up and deployment across the Canadian mining sector.

The technology represents a fundamentally different approach to copper production. By providing an additional pathway for producing high-purity copper cathodes directly at a mine site, pH7's process has the potential to significantly improve resource efficiency while strengthening domestic critical mineral supply chains.

"As demand for copper continues to grow due to electrification, renewable energy infrastructure, artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing, the industry faces the challenge of increasing supply while reducing environmental impacts," said Mohammad Doostmohammadi, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of pH7 Technologies.

"The support from Natural Resources Canada validates the importance of developing innovative Canadian technologies that can strengthen critical mineral supply chains, improve resource efficiency and help decarbonize the mining industry."

The Honorable Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources said, “Canada has the resources, talent and innovative technologies needed to be a global leader in critical minerals. Projects like this help strengthen domestic supply chains, improve the competitiveness of our mining sector and support economic growth while advancing more efficient and sustainable resource development.”

Adil Cheema, Director, Process Engineering, Trekor Metals said, "Meeting future copper demand will require both new sources of supply and innovative approaches to improve the efficiency of existing operations. We are pleased to support the evaluation of emerging technologies such as pH7’s process and look forward to the insights generated through this program."

The project will advance through engineering and technology development phases, generating the technical data required to evaluate future demonstration opportunities and de-risk future commercial deployment. The NRCan funding is intended to support future construction and demonstration phases, pending technical and commercial evaluation from both sides.

By enabling the production of high-purity copper cathodes directly at mine sites, pH7's technology has the potential to increase recovery from low-grade resources, extend the value of existing mining assets and support Canada's leadership in sustainable critical minerals production.