Key Highlights

  • Laboratory tests of the ARGO process achieved average recoveries of 93% for silver, 97% for lead, 80% for copper and 58% for zinc from zinc smelter waste across three European sites.
  • A €734,000 grant from Belgium's VLAIO agency was secured towards a €1.22 million project to advance ARGO to pilot scale, with a pilot plant planned for early 2027.
  • A Placement of 180 million shares at A$0.018 each raised A$3.2 million to fund ARGO testwork, a techno-economic study, VOLTA commissioning, Kildare drilling and working capital.
  • At the Kildare zinc-lead project in Ireland, a 3,500-metre drilling programme commenced during the September 2026 quarter, though progress was slower than expected.

Zinc of Ireland (ASX:ZMI) is testing a process called ARGO that aims to pull silver, lead, zinc and copper out of zinc smelter waste, and early laboratory results reported on 3 September 2026 were strong enough to anchor a pilot plant plan for early 2027. The company still holds an Irish zinc exploration project, but its recent news flow centres on metals technology.

Technology plus exploration

Zinc of Ireland describes itself as a metals technologies and mineral exploration business, and the ASX classifies it as Materials. It completed the Acquisition of Meclex, which owns two hydrometallurgical technologies, ARGO and VOLTA, and has changed its name and moved its office to Perth.

ARGO treats zinc leach residue, a waste stream from zinc smelting, with a low-temperature leaching process that the company positions as a lower-emission alternative to high-temperature smelting methods.

What the tests found

Nyrstar supplies feedstock and know-how under a cooperation agreement, with the intellectual property retained by Meclex. Testing at Solvomet, a Belgian research centre linked to the Catholic University of Leuven, used samples from three European smelters. Average recoveries were 93 per cent for silver, 97 per cent for lead, 80 per cent for copper and 58 per cent for zinc, with silver reaching 99 per cent at one site.

The zinc result varied from 35 per cent to 70 per cent across the sites, which shows how much the feedstock matters. These were laboratory screening tests of 180 minutes at 25 degrees Celsius, not plant data.

Recoveries of germanium, gallium and indium, which are critical minerals, had not been reported at the September quarterly update. The company said they were expected in the coming weeks.

Grant, placement and cash

On 27 August 2026 Zinc of Ireland announced a grant of €734,000, about A$1.2 million, from Belgium's VLAIO agency towards a €1.22 million project to move ARGO towards pilot scale. Funding beyond 12 months depends on reporting conditions, and the agency can revise or end the agreement.

Cash at 30 September 2026 was A$3.47 million, down from A$4.11 million at the start of the quarter. Net operating outflow was A$319,000 after A$478,000 of government grants, and the company estimated 7.8 quarters of funding before counting a later raising.

That raising was a placement of 180 million shares at A$0.018 each, announced on 8 October 2026 to raise A$3.2 million before costs. The money is earmarked for ARGO testwork, a techno-economic study, VOLTA commissioning, Kildare drilling and working capital.

VOLTA and Kildare

VOLTA is a lead-acid battery recycling technology. A commercial-scale demonstration plant is planned beside SERI Industrial's recycling site in Calitri, Italy, with first commissioning targeted for the fourth quarter of 2026. The June Quarterly Report noted that additional regulatory approvals had already delayed start-up.

At the Kildare zinc-lead project in Ireland, a 3,500-metre drilling programme began during the September quarter. The first hole reached about 500 metres, and management said drilling had been problematic and slower than expected. Zinc of Ireland holds 17 prospecting licences covering 595 square kilometres, and the Kildare inferred resource is 11.3 million tonnes at 9.0 per cent zinc plus lead.

Risks and milestones

Nothing here is Revenue yet. Laboratory success does not guarantee that pilot or commercial plants will work, that smelter operators will Supply residue on workable terms, or that the Economics will stand up. Nyrstar's cooperation agreement is also non-exclusive.

Engineering for a plant of more than 100,000 tonnes a year is also in progress. Watch for the critical minerals results, the Calitri commissioning, the start of ARGO pilot construction in the first quarter of 2027 and the techno-economic study. Funding remains finite, and further raisings would dilute existing shareholders.