Zinc of Ireland buys metal-recovery startup Meclex, lands $1.2M EU grant
What's the deal? Zinc of Ireland (ASX:ZMI) has acquired 100% of Metallon Clean Extractions BV (Meclex)Dealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a European developer of two hydrometallurgical metal-recovery technologies, ARGO and VOLTA. The company disclosed the completed deal in its annual report for the year ended June 30, 2026. Terms were not disclosed.
What's the endgame? ZMI is building a metal-recovery business alongside its mining assets. MeclexDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s ARGO process recovers valuable metals from industrial residues, and has broken down zinc-lead residue to release elements into solution for recovery.
Why now? The acquisition came with a $1.2 million European government grant to advance ARGO. ZMI reported consistent separation rates across three smelter feedstocks tested to date, and has begun pre-engineering for a 100,000 tonne-per-annum commercial plant.
What's next? Construction of a commercial demonstration plant for the VOLTA technology is underway at partner SERI IndustrialDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s facility in southern Italy, expected to be operational in late 2026. VOLTA is designed as a low-temperature, low-emission alternative to high-cost pyrometallurgical processes in secondary lead smelting. ZMI is also running a smaller pilot program with SERI and developing its own modular pilot plant for customer sites.
On the ground: Separately, a roughly 3,500-metre diamond drilling program began in July 2026 at ZMI's Kildare Zinc-Lead Project, 40 kilometres southwest of Dublin. Phase One is expected to continue through Q1 2027, testing extensions and regional step-outs.
ZMI is also investigating Kildare's critical-minerals potential — germanium, gallium, and silver. The filing notes that confirmed germanium mineralisation could materially enhance the project's value.
The signal: The deal pushes ZMI beyond exploration into clean metal recovery, tapping demand for lower-emission processing and critical minerals. Whether ARGO and VOLTA scale to commercial output will determine if the bet pays off.
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
