FAST Metals Raises $4.3 Million and Commercializes Critical Mineral Recovery Technology

With its ability to recover aluminum, scandium, titanium, rare earth elements and other base and rare materials from red mud waste, FAST Metals also announces a strategic partnership with Metalox Mineral Corporation

STAMFORD, Conn., July 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- FAST Metals, the mining technology company recovering base and rare materials from red mud (bauxite tailings) and other iron-rich waste, today announced it has raised $4.3 million in pre-seed funding and announced its first commercial customer, Metalox Mineral Corporation. Under a strategic partnership, FAST Metals will process one ton of red mud and other iron-bearing waste feedstock per week at Metalox's Florida facility, confirming the commercial viability of its technology. FAST Metals has also signed additional memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with trading partners. Its early-stage investment is led by New Climate Ventures with backing from mining and tech authorities such as Azolla Ventures, Humba Ventures, Astor Swiss (a family office in Switzerland with Glencore roots) and Rio Tinto, via its mining tech accelerator with Founders Factory.

Global alumina production has left more than four billion tons of red mud waste in stockpiles, containing an estimated $3 trillion to $4 trillion of metals crucial for defense, manufacturing and clean energy. Recognizing an opportunity to recover the value from a caustic waste stream that has long been both a financial burden and environmental liability, FAST Metals' technology can de-iron low-grade feedstock, like red mud, and produce rare earth elements and other base metals, creating a salable product while drastically reducing the volume of red mud waste and the associated environmental and regulatory burden.

"Our patented technology platform for critical mineral extraction removes iron from low-grade feedstock and turns alumina refining waste into previously untapped sources of minerals and metals, like iron, gallium, alumina, titania and rare earth elements. We're creating a cleaner material stream that can be more efficiently processed for minerals and metals," said Dr. Sumedh Gostu, co-founder and CEO of FAST Metals. "Further proven by our valued partnership with Metalox, we offer miners and extractors a more sustainable approach that can unlock new revenue from existing assets while lowering operating costs."

The new capital will support FAST Metals' next stage of technical and commercial development, including process optimization and scaling customer engagement across the mining, metals and critical-minerals sectors. As the U.S. and the global West look to compete with China's mine-to-manufacturing supply chain, FAST Metals offers an alternative, compelling strategy to recover critical minerals from industrial waste streams that have already been mined and milled, fundamentally changing the cost equation. Beyond the United States, Australia, one of the world's largest alumina product producers, offers a strategic market for FAST Metals' technology as well as the European Union, the Middle East, India and broader North America.

FAST Metals was founded by former Glencore technical director and extractive metallurgist, Dr. Sumedh Gostu, and Dr. Anthony Staley, a respected industrial operations expert and former Nyrstar USA CEO who oversaw the company's sale to Korea Zinc. The firm's impressive team includes technical, operational and commercial talent with three decades of experience across the metals and mining space.

FAST Metals has also built an advisory board containing leaders from across metals, minerals and mining. This includes Nick Popovic, former Glencore International's Head of Copper and Zinc Trading, and Terry McNulty, respected minerals expert and creator of "McNulty Curves," the widely adopted benchmarking tool used in the mining and chemical processing industries for project scale up.

About FAST Metals
FAST Metals was founded in 2025 by Dr. Sumedh Gostu (CEO) and Dr. Anthony Staley (CTO), building on more than 30 years in mining and metal extraction. The company's mission is to transform waste into value through low-energy, zero-waste metal recovery.

FAST Metals' low-cost, modular system is centered on a hydrometallurgical process to extract iron, aluminum, scandium, titanium and other rare earth elements from bauxite residue and other industrial mine waste streams.

Find out more at www.fastmetalsinc.com.

SOURCE FAST Metals