{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Company Interviews","title":"ValOre Metals (TSXV:VO) - PGE Developer With Novel Process, Exclusive IP,  Clear Path to PEA","html":"<iframe width=\"100%\" height=\"180\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" seamless src=\"https://share.transistor.fm/e/7412c461\"></iframe>","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":1405,"description":"Interview with Nick Smart, Director & CEO of ValOre MetalsOur previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/valore-metals-tsxvvo-platinum-palladium-project-advances-to-economic-study-9203Recording date: 4th March 2026ValOre Metals is at a defining moment in its evolution from exploration company to project developer. The company's flagship asset, the Pedra Branca PGE project in Ceará state, Brazil, hosts a 2.2 million ounce inferred resource at 1.08 grams per tonne, a resource of genuine scale in a metal category that faces structural supply constraints and growing strategic demand. For the first time, ValOre is now putting the economic framework around that resource through a comprehensive PEA programme targeted for publication by year-end 2025.The project's most distinctive feature is its development approach to the shallow, weathered upper ore body. Rather than applying conventional flotation which performs poorly on oxidised material, ValOre is developing a bioleaching process in partnership with the University of Cape Town's Department of Chemical Engineering. This technique, in which microorganisms are used to extract metals from ore, is industrially proven in copper and increasingly used in refractory gold, but has not previously been applied to a PGE deposit. Phase 1 lab-scale trials have delivered metal recoveries consistently in the high 70s percentage range, and the company has secured exclusive global rights to the jointly developed intellectual property.The implications are significant. The weathered zone accounts for roughly one-third of the total resource ounce count and sits at surface, meaning it can be mined simply and cheaply. A low-cost processing route applied to near-surface material creates the possibility of a viable early-stage operation that generates revenue and validates the process without requiring the capital commitment of a full-scale mine build. Under Brazilian mining law, a trial mining permit enables exactly this kind...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/1wv-MFlQAgnm-ca64e5kK4984dZB0os8-HJdRVsI74M/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/LzEzNTcyLzE2MjM5/NTQyMDctYXJ0d29y/ay5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}