5E Advanced Materials (NASDAQ:FEAM) Chief Executive Officer Paul Weibel said the boron market is moving from a relatively obscure industrial minerals niche into a strategically important supply chain issue, citing concentrated global supply, tightening market conditions and growing demand across industrial, energy, defense and manufacturing applications.
Speaking during a Water Tower Research fireside chat hosted by Dmitry Silversteyn, managing director of chemicals and materials technology, Weibel said the boron market has historically been opaque because roughly 85% of global supply is dominated by two groups: a nationalized mining company in Turkey and Rio Tinto’s U.S. Borax business.
Fort Cady Positioned as Rare Boron Development Asset
Weibel said there are only a handful of sizable undeveloped boron deposits globally, reflecting high barriers to entry tied to geology. He described 5E’s Fort Cady project in California as a large colemanite deposit, a calcium-based boron mineral that he said is “very easy to leach.”
According to Weibel, Fort Cady has all major permits and is designed around in-situ leaching. The company plans to inject dilute hydrochloric acid underground, leach the minerals, bring the solution to the surface and crystallize borates from an aqueous stream.
He said the process could allow 5E to produce traditional boric acid as well as metaboric acid, which contains 80% B2O3. Weibel also pointed to value-added byproducts, including gypsum, calcium sulfate and lithium carbonate, and said the company is testing ferroboron, a downstream material used in specialty applications.
Customer Agreements Support Commercial Strategy
Weibel said 5E has been speaking with potential customers for roughly one and a half to two years and has demonstrated through its small-scale facility that its product can meet customer specifications across nearly every industry it has targeted.
The company began a focused customer effort in March, visiting nine or 10 potential customers, largely domestic users. Weibel said the effort was partly driven by the exit of a smaller producer from the boric acid market, which heightened customer concerns.
5E currently has five initial heads of agreement contracts and one letter of intent, Weibel said. He described the agreements as a foundation for future binding offtake agreements and as important to supporting project financing.
“If you build this project, there’s going to be buyers that are going to buy your product,” Weibel said, describing the commercial rationale needed before moving into front-end engineering and design, or FEED.
Weibel said some agreements include fixed pricing with annual escalation, while the two most recent agreements are indexed to the Fastmarkets boric acid FOB price on the West Coast and include price collars. He said those structures are designed to help lenders model downside, base and upside cases.
Byproducts Could Improve Project Economics
Weibel said additional revenue streams are important because they could allow Fort Cady to sell higher-value products and improve bankability. He noted that lithium economics were not included in the company’s pre-feasibility study, though the project has long had a lithium chloride stream.
Based on demonstration plant results, Weibel said the company estimates it could produce about 500 tons per year of lithium carbonate for every 130,000 tons of boric acid. He said the lithium recovery approach was designed as a bolt-on using solar evaporation ponds, which he described as low cost and suitable for the high desert climate in California.
At an $18 per kilogram lithium price, Weibel said the lithium stream could provide an additional roughly $50 per ton credit to boric acid.
Weibel also said Fort Cady’s calcium-based deposit gives the company optionality to produce gypsum or calcium chloride, depending in part on reagent economics. He said recent sulfuric acid price increases have made hydrochloric acid comparatively more attractive, and the company’s process flexibility could help mitigate variable cost pressure.
Demand Driven by Domestic Shortfall and Asian Markets
Weibel said recent customer agreements have been focused on domestic users, following the exit of a smaller U.S. boric acid producer that he said had represented about 50,000 tons of supply. He said 5E’s five offtake agreements represent about 18,000 firm tons and up to about 30,000 tons at maximum volume.
The company is also working on demand from LCD and textile fiberglass customers in Asia, Weibel said. He added that pricing dynamics appear to be shifting as supply remains tight, with Rio Tinto pushing prices higher and Turkey following.
“I think we’re in this first inning of the boron market becoming what rare earths have been,” Weibel said.
Financing and Milestones Ahead
Over the next 12 to 24 months, Weibel said investors should watch for 5E to move into FEED, further commercial agreements and progress in advanced materials, including ferroboron. He said the company is close to producing a finalized ferroboron sample that meets magnet specifications and wants to present that work to the U.S. government once complete.
On financing, Weibel said 5E is pursuing an EXIM Engineering Multiplier Program loan to cover FEED costs and has been in regular contact with EXIM regarding the application. He said the company also has a larger letter of intent with EXIM and noted that EXIM can lend up to 80% project finance, subject to commercial underwriting and coverage ratios.
Weibel said 5E had $25 million in cash as of March 31 and does not need to return to the market in the near term. He also said the company has applied for grants, including a $31 million Department of Energy grant under its Mines of the Future program, while emphasizing that the process is competitive.
Looking toward 2028, Weibel said success would mean the company is moving toward commissioning a large-scale boron facility. He also said 5E may evaluate nearer-term tolling or processing opportunities for higher-B2O3 products if customer demand supports them.
About 5E Advanced Materials (NASDAQ:FEAM)
5E Advanced Materials, Inc develops and manufactures high-performance anode materials for lithium-ion batteries, specializing in silicon-carbon composite solutions. The company’s proprietary processes yield anode materials that deliver enhanced energy density, extended cycle life and faster charge rates compared to conventional graphite anodes. These advanced materials are targeted at electric vehicle manufacturers, consumer electronics producers and grid-scale energy storage providers seeking to improve battery performance and sustainability.
The firm operates a pilot production facility in Harrodsburg, Kentucky, where it carries out research, development and small-scale manufacturing to validate its processes and assess commercial viability.
