benzinga103d ago
TORONTO, Feb. 27, 2026 /CNW/ - Blue Moon Metals Inc. ("Blue Moon" or the "Company") (TSXV:MOON) (NASDAQ:BMM) is pleased to announce that Teck American Incorporated, a subsidiary of Teck Resources Limited ("Teck"), has agreed to vend 100% of the past-producing Apex germanium (Ge), gallium (Ga) and copper (Cu) mine located in Utah into Blue Moon (the "Transaction"), becoming a key stakeholder to support an integrated pipeline of US critical mineral projects to secure North American supply. The Transaction adds to an already strong working relationship with key shareholder Hartree Partners LP, an important partner with the US government on their recently announced US$12B critical metals stockpile. Immediate synergies from the Transaction include:a)The ability to process zinc concentrates from Blue Moon's Blue Moon Mine in California (the "Blue Moon Mine"), where underground development commenced last year, at Teck's Trail Operations, providing the final piece to solidify a fully integrated North American sourced value chain;b)A path to redevelop the Apex mine in Utah to potentially unlock an important onshore source of Ge and Ga;c)Possible restart of the permitted Springer tungsten mine in Nevada with the potential to supply a sizable portion of US domestic requirements; andd)Redevelopment of the larger Springer complex to build critical mineral processing capacity to support the Blue Moon Mine and other mines in the Western US, with logistical connections to Trail as required.Christian Kargl-Simard, CEO of Blue Moon states, "Underground development at the Blue Moon Mine is advancing well, which together with the acquisition of the Apex Mine and our redevelopment of the Springer metallurgical complex and Springer tungsten mine provides a unique hub and spoke platform for US critical metals growth. Teck and Blue Moon are logical partners, combining Blue Moon's US project pipeline and processing capacity at Teck's Trail Operations. We are excited to leverage our combined infrastructure, industry leading technical knowhow, and financing depth to advance our US domestic copper, zinc, tungsten and now germanium and gallium projects to provide long-term feed for our Springer complex."Ian Anderson, Teck Executive Vice President & Chief Commercial Officer commented, "Following our cornerstone investments to rebuild zinc, lead, and silver capacity in Idaho's Silver Valley, revitalizing the long-standing connection between US miners and our smelting and refining complex in Trail, this transaction with Blue Moon marks another important step to develop new US sources of critical minerals. As a supportive stakeholder, we look forward to working with Blue Moon as they advance their mines and processing complex in California, Utah, and Nevada, as well as to exploring other ways to strengthen North American supply chains together."Blue Moon Mine, California (Gold, Zinc, Silver, Copper, Lead, Barite)Blue Moon's advanced-stage 100%-owned Blue Moon zinc-copper-gold-silver project is located in east-central California in Mariposa County, with direct access to roads and power. Originally mined by Hecla Mining Company from 1943-1945, the mine produced 55,656 tons grading 12.3% zinc, 0.36% copper, 0.48% lead, 3.75 oz/ton silver and 0.062 oz/ton gold. The property was later actively explored and advanced during 1980s and 1990s by Imperial Metals, Boliden and Lac Minerals (now Barrick).Since the new management team and board started in November 2024, Blue Moon has completed a modern review, verification, and analysis of the historical data, and in March 2025 published a NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate and a preliminary economic assessment to support a mine restart, demonstrating potential for annual average production of 22,566 oz gold, 62.3M lbs of zinc, 681,784 oz silver and 7.2 Mlbs copper over a +10 year mine life (see press release dated March 3, 2025).The Company received permits in April 2025 and began construction of an exploration decline on October 6, 2025. The decline is progressing well with over 140 meters advanced to date and underground diamond drilling is underway in an effort to upgrade resources to reserves. Production is forecasted to begin in 2028 and technical work is ongoing to support processing the material at Blue Moon's Springer complex in Nevada to produce copper and zinc concentrates with appreciable gold and silver by-product credits, as well as potentially a lead concentrate and clean pyrite and barite products.By combining the Blue Moon Mine in California, with processing at the Springer Complex in Nevada and smelting of the zinc concentrate at Teck's Trail Operations in Canada, Blue Moon and Teck are building a fully integrated North American value chain.Apex Mine, Utah (Germanium, Gallium, Copper)Apex is a historic underground mine in southwest Utah, which was previously mined for copper oxide, and later for Ge and Ga. This underground mine became the primary producer ...Full story available on Benzinga.com
