Locksley Resources (ASX:LKY | OTCQB:LKYRF | FSE:X5L) deepens Rice University collaboration on antimony strategy

Locksley Resources (ASX:LKY | OTCQB:LKYRF | FSE:X5L) has taken another step in advancing its critical minerals strategy by formalising and expanding its collaboration with Rice University in Houston, Texas.

The company is seeking to accelerate the development of its proprietary DeepSolv™ technology, a process designed to refine and extract antimony feedstocks while also opening the door to downstream energy storage applications.

Against a backdrop of rising geopolitical urgency in the United States to reduce reliance on Chinese supply chains for critical minerals, Locksley’s decision to broaden the scope of its partnership with Rice positions the company firmly within the national conversation about securing domestic access to strategic resources.

Highlights

• Expansion of Rice University program to test multiple antimony feedstocks across different processing stages

• Evaluation of ore from the Mojave Project, EV Resources and other third-party sources

• Meetings with senior Rice executives including Professor Pulickel Ajayan and the Office of Technology Transfer

• Dedicated technical workshop with the Ajayan research group to scope parallel programs

• Discussions initiated with an additional mining group on potential DeepSolv™ applications

• Locksley targeting participation in the US$1.5 billion antimony market currently reliant on imports

The visit by senior Locksley representatives to Rice University marks a decisive step in converting what has been a conceptual collaboration into a structured and accelerated technology program.

At the core is the company’s DeepSolv™ process, designed to extract and refine antimony feedstocks, with a secondary focus on assessing antimony-based materials for potential advanced energy storage applications.

The expansion is intended to broaden testwork across multiple ore sources.

Alongside samples from Locksley’s Mojave Project in California, ore secured under agreement with EV Resources will be included, as well as additional third-party feedstocks.

Importantly, the company is now in discussions with a separate mining group, reflecting growing industry interest in DeepSolv™ and its potential application beyond Locksley’s own asset base.

The Mojave Project sits at the heart of Locksley’s strategy. Located adjacent to MP Materials’ Mountain Pass operation, the ground is highly prospective for both rare earths and antimony.

The historic Desert Antimony Mine, last in production in 1937, forms part of the project area and is recognised as one of the highest-grade antimony occurrences in the United States, with demand for the metal remaining unmet domestically despite its critical role in defence, semiconductors and alloys.

The company is positioning its Rice University partnership as a cornerstone of its US-focused strategy, linking technical development with broader geopolitical and supply chain imperatives.

Locksley’s Chairman Patrick Burke underscored the significance of this approach, noting:

“This visit marks an important milestone in Locksley’s mine-to-market strategy to onshore the supply of antimony and rare earths into the United States. By formally commencing our collaboration with Rice University and incorporating additional ore supply secured through our agreement with EV Resources, we have laid the foundation for a practical and accelerated testwork program. These initiatives position Locksley at the centre of developing a secure domestic supply chain, aligned with US government priorities.”

The collaboration provides Locksley Resources with access to world-class academic expertise in materials science, anchored by Professor Ajayan’s group, and institutional support from Rice’s senior administration and technology transfer office.

The practical outcome will be a dual-track program combining extraction process development with downstream applications in energy storage, which collectively enhance the potential value proposition of DeepSolv™.

From a corporate perspective, the strengthening of the Rice relationship complements Locksley’s broader objective of securing US-aligned funding pathways and downstream partnerships, a focus that aligns closely with Washington’s increasing efforts to reduce reliance on Chinese supply of critical minerals.

By establishing a US-based processing technology and incorporating domestic and allied feedstocks, Locksley is positioning itself within a policy framework that prioritises supply chain resilience.

With its maiden drilling program at Mojave pending, and the Rice University testwork program now formally launched, Locksley enters the next phase of its US expansion with both upstream and downstream levers in play.

The combination of geological prospectivity, rising geopolitical urgency, and access to leading US research capacity ensures the company remains closely aligned with broader industry and government objectives around critical minerals independence.

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