Mount Ridley Mines (ASX:MRD) Selectro Recovers 96% Vanadium

stocks·November 2, 2026·mrd.ax

Selectro Recovers 96% Vanadium from Titanomagnetite

Cashu Finance·14 min read

MLMount Ridley Mines LimitedMRD.AX Invest in MRD.AX

Selectro Recovers 96% Vanadium from Titanomagnetite

This article is disseminated on behalf of MRD.AX

Third successful feed type expands Selectro™ commercial potential

Highlights

Mount Ridley’s patent-pending Selectro™ Process has recovered 96% vanadium from a titanomagnetite sample in the Company’s second third-party feed test, alongside 49% titanium and 78% iron.
Selectro™ leached vanadium and iron preferentially in the first stage, leaving a titanium-rich residue grading 21.5% TiO , up from 14.2% TiO in the head sample. 2 2
A second Selectro™ stage on this residue lifted titanium recovery more than fivefold, from 9% to 48%, with titanium leaching preferentially over iron, which the Company attributes to the removal of solution loading constraints present in the first stage.
The two-stage Selectro™ Process achieved these recoveries without the high temperature salt roast used in conventional titanomagnetite processing, designed to recover vanadium only.
Titanomagnetite joins Grass Patch and bauxite as the third feed type processed by Selectro™, further expanding the addressable market for Selectro™ licensing.
Titanomagnetite also broadens the range of feeds available for demonstration as the Company advances the design of its Selectro™ demonstration plant.
Titanium links directly back to Grass Patch scandium, with premium titanium-scandium alloys being assessed alongside aluminium-scandium alloys under the Company’s CSIRO Kick-Start program.
A larger scale bauxite test is being progressed with the aim of demonstrating the full mine to metal pathway, with the titanomagnetite result supporting engagement with vanadium and titanium producers.

Mount Ridley Mines Limited (ASX: MRD, OTC: MRDMF) (“Mount Ridley” or “the Company”) is pleased to report results from the second third-party feed test of its wholly owned and patent-pending Selectro™ Process, completed on a titanomagnetite sample supplied by an external third party. Titanomagnetite is the host mineral for the majority of global vanadium production.1 The test was designed to determine whether Selectro™ could recover vanadium and titanium together from this feed, rather than vanadium in isolation as is the case in conventional processing routes.

MLMount Ridley Mines LimitedMRD.AX Invest in MRD.AX

Vanadium and the Energy Storage Opportunity Vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) are emerging as a leading technology for long duration, grid scale energy storage. Unlike lithium-ion batteries, VRFBs store energy in a liquid vanadium electrolyte, are non-flammable and can operate for decades with minimal loss of capacity.3,4 At end of life the vanadium electrolyte can be recovered and reused, retaining its value through multiple battery lifecycles.4 The vanadium electrolyte represents a significant share of VRFB system cost, making secure and competitively priced vanadium supply central to the growth of the technology.4 Global supply is highly concentrated, with China accounting for around three quarters of estimated 2025 world vanadium production according to the US Geological Survey, largely as a co-product of steelmaking.5 Governments are increasingly backing VRFBs as part of the shift to long duration energy storage. The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) provided A$5.7 million toward Australia’s first utilityscale vanadium flow battery in South Australia, citing the emerging requirement for longer duration storage identified by the Australian Energy Market Operator and the Australian Government.6 ARENA is also leading the A$500 million Battery Breakthrough Initiative, a key part of the Australian 2 Government’s National Battery Strategy, which is supporting the manufacture of battery materials and components in Australia.7 In Queensland, the State Government has completed major construction of the Queensland Resources Common User Facility in Townsville, with its foundation customer using the facility to validate vanadium production processes as part of an integrated supply chain through to flow battery electrolyte.8 The relatively high and volatile price of vanadium, driven by highly concentrated supply, has historically constrained the financing and widespread deployment of VRFBs.9,10 Selectro™ has the potential to address this constraint directly by recovering titanium and iron alongside vanadium, creating opportunities for additional co-product value that conventional processing typically leaves in the residue and potentially reducing the cost of primary vanadium production outside the dominant supply jurisdictions. With industry and government support for VRFBs building, Mount Ridley sees Selectro™ potentially playing an integral role in delivering the secure, stable vanadium supply the technology needs to scale.

Forward Statement This news release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Generally, any statements that are not historical facts may contain forward-looking information, and forward looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “plans”, “expects” or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “budget” “scheduled”, “estimates”, “forecasts”, “intends”, “anticipates” or “does not anticipate”, or “believes”, or variations of such words and phrases or indicates that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will be” taken, “occur” or “be achieved.” Forward-looking information is based on certain factors and assumptions management believes to be reasonable at the time such statements are made, including but not limited to, continued exploration activities, commodity prices, the estimation of initial and sustaining capital requirements, the estimation of labour costs, the estimation of mineral reserves and resources, assumptions with respect to currency fluctuations, the timing and amount of future exploration and development expenditures, receipt of required regulatory approvals, the availability of necessary financing for the project, permitting and such other assumptions and factors as set out herein. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to: risks related to changes in commodity prices; sources and cost of power and water for the Project; the estimation of initial capital requirements; the lack of historical operations; the estimation of labour costs; general global markets and economic conditions; risks associated with exploration of mineral deposits; the estimation of initial targeted mineral resource tonnage and grade for the project; risks associated with uninsurable risks arising during the course of exploration; risks associated with currency fluctuations; environmental risks; competition faced in securing experienced personnel; access to adequate infrastructure to support exploration activities; risks associated with changes in the mining regulatory regime governing the Company and the Project; completion of the environmental assessment process; risks related to regulatory and permitting delays; risks related 4 to potential conflicts of interest; the reliance on key personnel; financing, capitalisation and liquidity risks including the risk that the financing necessary to fund continued exploration and development activities at the project may not be available on satisfactory terms, or at all; the risk of potential dilution through the issuance of additional common shares of the Company; the risk of litigation. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended, there can be no assurance that such forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Forward looking information is made as of the date of this announcement and the Company does not undertake to update or revise any forward-looking information this is included herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. Previously Reported Information The information in this announcement that relates to the Grass Patch scandium Mineral Resource Estimate and to previous Selectro™ testwork results is extracted from the Company’s ASX announcements dated 26 August 2026, 17 September 2026 and 21 October 2026. The Company confirms that it is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the information included in those announcements and, in the case of the Mineral Resource Estimate, that all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the estimate continue to apply and have not materially changed. References 1. US Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2025: Vanadium, January 2025. 2. Tawane, et al., A review of the vanadium primary production process, Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (SAIMM), Hydrometallurgy Conference 2024. 3. US Environmental Protection Agency, Green Chemistry Challenge Awards 2017, Small Business Award: UniEnergy Technologies, The UniSystem advanced vanadium redox flow battery. 4. McGahan, S., Vanadium electrolyte: the ‘fuel’ for long-duration energy storage, Energy-Storage.news. 5. US Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Vanadium, February 2026. 6. Australian Renewable Energy Agency, First grid-scale flow battery to be built in South Australia, media release. 7. RenewEconomy, Australia aims for home made cells, materials and packs in new $500m Battery Breakthrough fund. 8. OpenGov Asia, Queensland secures foundation customer for Townsville critical minerals processing facility, 2026. 9. ChemRxiv, Materials availability and supply chain considerations for vanadium in grid-scale redox flow batteries, preprint, 14 June 2022. 10. Paul Scherrer Institute, Data for a better vanadium flow, media release, AlphaGalileo. 11. US Geological Survey, Titanium Statistics and Information, National Minerals Information Center. 12. Deng, T., Li, S., Liang, Y., Sun, L. and Zhang, Y., Effects of scandium and silicon addition on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Ti-6Al-4V alloy, Journal of Materials Research and Technology, Volume 9, Issue 3, pp. 5676– 5688, 2020. 5