July 2026: 5E Advanced Materials signed multi-year offtake heads of agreement with two chemical customers for technical-grade granular boric acid from its Fort Cady Integrated Boron Facility. The agreements include take-or-pay volume commitments, expanding the company's contracted customer base ahead of full-scale production.
September 2026: 5E Advanced Materials reported continued progress toward commercial-scale boric acid production at Fort Cady. The project has 28.3 million short tons of measured and indicated boric acid resources, while Phase 1 is designed for approximately 130,000 short tons per year of boric acid production. The company is targeting a Final Investment Decision in fiscal 2026, subject to financing, final engineering and board approval.
August 2026: 5E Advanced Materials reported progress in higher-value boron derivative development, including ferroboron and meta-boric-acid programs. The company reported that laboratory ferroboron samples processed at 1,300°C achieved iron-boride formation, with density-based conversion efficiency reaching approximately 51%–62%, compared with about 11% at 1,200°C. These programs are being developed alongside the company's core boric acid business.
April 2026: Rio Tinto's U.S. boron assets attracted interest from more than a dozen potential bidders, according to Reuters, with the California assets reportedly potentially valued at up to USD 2 billion. The assets are operated through U.S. Borax and include the Boron, California operation, which supplies roughly 30% of global refined-borate demand. Rio Tinto's potential divestment review could affect ownership of a major U.S. borate and boric-acid supply platform.
February 2026: Searles Valley Minerals announced plans to idle its boric acid and soda ash facilities in Trona and Argus, California. The company cited international competition, energy costs and regulatory-compliance costs; the shutdown was expected to affect approximately 300 employees. The development subsequently became relevant to 5E Advanced Materials' September 2026 agreement to acquire selected Searles Valley assets.
2026: Eti Maden continued operating integrated colemanite-to-boric-acid production at its Emet facilities in Türkiye. Emet processes colemanite ore from the Hisarcık and Espey deposits through concentration, milling, reaction, filtration, crystallization and drying to produce boric acid. Eti Maden also reports approximately 400,000 tonnes per year of refined boron-product production at its Bandırma Boron and Acid Factory complex.