{"id":79172,"date":"2025-12-23T15:21:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-23T15:21:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/79172\/"},"modified":"2025-12-23T15:21:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-23T15:21:08","slug":"cleantech-vanadiums-manhattan-sized-land-position-in-americas-critical-minerals-race-for-fluorspar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/79172\/","title":{"rendered":"CleanTech Vanadium\u2019s Manhattan-Sized Land Position in America\u2019s Critical Minerals Race for Fluorspar"},"content":{"rendered":"

From the opening lines of the InvestorNews.com interview, it was clear that CleanTech Vanadium Mining Corp.<\/a> (TSXV: CTV | OTCQB: CTVFF) is staking a bold claim in America\u2019s bid for critical mineral independence, a theme now underscored by recent strategic acquisitions and royalty expansions that together reshape the narrative around domestic fluorspar supply. Bekzod Kasimov, the company\u2019s Business Development Manager, described CleanTech\u2019s latest move: \u201cwe recently announced<\/a> the acquisition of roughly 1,600 acres in Illinois\u2026 we acquired areas that have been in production historically\u201d, surrounding the Hicks Dome deposit, one of the largest known fluorspar and rare earth element occurrences in the United States \u2014 land that now boosts the company\u2019s Illinois holdings to roughly 2,800 acres and, combined with Kentucky, more than 17,500 acres across the Illinois-Kentucky Fluorspar District.<\/p>\n

The significance of that move is not lost on CleanTech leadership, who have emphasized the size and potential of the holdings; according to the company\u2019s CEO, the land position is now \u201clarger than Manhattan.\u201d Kasimov anchored the strategic rationale in the broader supply-and-demand challenges facing critical minerals, noting that fluorspar is defined as a critical mineral by the U.S. Geological Survey and that \u201csupply of many critical minerals is highly concentrated, particularly in countries like China, and is often used as leverage in negotiations with the United States and Europe.\u201d He pointed to U.S. policy pushing for diversified supply sources \u2014 a backdrop that has made the company\u2019s acquisitions timely and potentially transformative.<\/p>\n

Kasimov recounted that CleanTech\u2019s interest in fluorspar grew from observing market dynamics: \u201cChina became a net importer of fluorspar\u2026 reflected in pricing. In 2025 alone, the price of fluorspar increased by more than 40% to 50% and is currently trading around US$500 per tonne for acid-grade fluorspar,\u201d underscoring the commodity\u2019s rising economic and strategic value. He emphasized the breadth of fluorspar\u2019s applicability \u2014 from **semiconductor manufacturing to renewable energy and uranium enrichment \u2014 and insisted that \u201cfluorspar cannot be replaced\u201d in these critical industrial processes.<\/p>\n

Asked about how he came to work in this space, Kasimov highlighted the company\u2019s experience in navigating U.S. regulatory frameworks, referencing the positive Record of Decision on the Environmental Impact Statement at the Gibellini Vanadium Project in Nevada, another CleanTech asset classified as a critical mineral project under U.S. policy. \u201cBecause of that experience, it was a natural choice to focus on the United States,\u201d he explained, describing Illinois and Kentucky as historically productive fluorspar regions with significant untapped resources.<\/p>\n

Kas\u0131mov also touched on the broader geological promise of Hicks Dome, noting that beyond fluorspar, there is potential for rare earth element discoveries \u2014 particularly heavy rare earths such as dysprosium, scandium, yttrium, and possibly germanium \u2014 bolstering the technical allure of the company\u2019s expanded land position. While confirming the certainty of fluorspar within the acquired areas, he distinguished that rare earth potential is based on geological inference and historical context.<\/p>\n

Financial strategy came into focus when Kasimov explained the expanded royalty agreement<\/a> with Oracle Commodity Holding, which covers a 2% net smelter return royalty on minerals from CleanTech\u2019s properties, including the newly acquired Illinois parcels, in exchange for financing that helps underwrite project development \u2014 a mechanism he described as one of the tools mining companies use to fund growth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From the opening lines of the InvestorNews.com interview, it was clear that CleanTech Vanadium Mining Corp. (TSXV: CTV…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":79173,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[39359,39360,39361,39362,28661,39363,39364,39365,39366,75,84,83,9,24,63,22235,39367,39368],"class_list":["post-79172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-manhattan","tag-bekzod-kasimov","tag-cleantech","tag-cleantech-vanadium","tag-cleantech-vanadium-mining","tag-critical-materials","tag-critical-minerals","tag-fluorspar","tag-gibellini-vanadium-project","tag-hicks-dome-deposit","tag-manhattan","tag-manhattan-headlines","tag-manhattan-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-rare-earths","tag-rare-earths-elements","tag-tracy-hughes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79172"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79172\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}