Clean Air Metals

What Clean Air Metals does

Clean Air Metals is a Canadian mineral exploration and development company advancing its flagship Thunder Bay North Project in Ontario, a platinum-palladium-copper-nickel asset with an indicated resource of approximately 14.9 million tonnes. The company completed a Preliminary Economic Assessment indicating a project NPV8 of C$219.4M and an IRR of 39%, and is currently working through environmental assessment, First Nations consultation, and further drilling to progress the project toward feasibility. The project is anchored on a 14.9Mt indicated resource containing platinum group elements plus copper and nickel by-products, with the PEA prepared by SLR Consulting and BBA providing the technical and economic foundation for next-stage work. Adjacent district activity — most notably Rio Tinto's acquisition of the neighbouring Escape Lake property — provides third-party validation of the broader camp.

The business model is conventional junior mining: the company does not yet generate revenue and instead finances drilling, studies, and permitting through equity (flow-through private placements) and non-dilutive capital such as the C$15M royalty financing provided by Triple Flag Precious Metals in December 2022. Future revenue, once in production, would come from concentrate or metal sales to smelters, traders, or a potential toll-milling counterparty such as Impala Platinum, with margins sensitive to PGM and base-metal prices, Canadian dollar exchange rates, and concentrate treatment charges. The company is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol AIR, employs 11-50 people, and is currently in a leadership transition following the appointment of Mike Garbutt as CEO.

Name

Clean Air Metals

Legal name

Clean Air Metals Inc.

Website

https://cleanairmetals.ca

Company type

Public

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Clean Air Metals is a Canadian junior mining company developing the Thunder Bay North platinum-palladium-copper-nickel project in Ontario, currently at the PEA stage and pre-revenue, advancing through drilling, permitting, and First Nations consultation toward feasibility.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Critical Minerals Mining

NAICS

Primary Metal Manufacturing (331)

SIC

Metal Mining (1000)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYIMAKAFAL

Exploration & Resource Development (Critical Minerals)

Industrials, Manufacturing & Construction/Metals & Mining/Battery & Critical Minerals Mining (Lithium, Nickel, Cobalt, Graphite, Manganese, Rare Earths)

SECONDARYIMAKAFAM

Mine Development & Processing EPC (Critical Minerals)

Industrials, Manufacturing & Construction/Metals & Mining/Battery & Critical Minerals Mining (Lithium, Nickel, Cobalt, Graphite, Manganese, Rare Earths)

Keywords

• Platinum palladium exploration
• Critical minerals mining
• Platinum group metals
• Copper nickel development
• Mineral resource exploration

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Mineral Production: Pre-revenue exploration and development stage. The company plans to develop an underground mining operation producing PGE-Cu-Ni concentrate from toll milling arrangements. The PEA contemplates a toll-milling scenario where ROM feed would be accumulated at site, sampled via a sampling tower, and transported to a local mining company's concentrator for processing.
2. Strategic Partnerships and Offtake Agreements: Future revenue expected from offtake agreements and strategic partnerships with mining companies for toll milling. The company is exploring options including potential acquisition or partnership with Impala Canada for processing of ores at the Lac-des-Iles mine.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Clean Air Metals is focused on advancing its flagship Thunder Bay North Critical Minerals Project in Ontario, Canada, targeting platinum-palladium-copper-nickel mineralization. The project encompasses the Current and Escape deposits as the company's primary asset for exploration, resource definition, and future development toward production of critical minerals.

Product overview

Clean Air Metals is a development and exploration company operating a single flagship project: the 100%-owned Thunder Bay North Critical Minerals Project (TBN). This project encompasses two platinum-palladium-copper-nickel deposits (Current and Escape) located 50km northeast of Thunder Bay, Ontario. The company does not operate a multi-product software platform; rather, it advances its mining project through stages including exploration, resource definition, Preliminary Economic Assessment, and pre-feasibility studies. Processing is planned via toll milling arrangements with nearby facilities. The company also maintains a corporate ESG reporting program aligned with First Nations partnership commitments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Thunder Bay North Critical Minerals Project Flagship platinum-palladium-copper-nickel exploration and development project located in Ontario, Canada. Encompasses the Current and Escape deposits and represents the company's sole material asset, currently in pre-production resource definition and advancement toward feasibility. Aimed at future supply of critical minerals for automotive, hydrogen, and electrification end-markets.

Quantifiable outcome

• C$219.4M pre-tax NPV8 with 39% IRR at study prices, improving to C$316M NPV8 and 52% IRR at October 2025 spot prices
• +3 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• BBA E&C Inc.minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 10 January 2023BBA was selected as prime engineering consultant to lead execution of Pre-Feasibility Study work packages including underground mine design, life-of-mine planning, and cost estimation. Trade-off studies for conventional, trolley-electric, and battery-electric mine fleet as part of net-zero carbon neutrality objectives.
• SLR Consulting Canada Ltd.coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 10 January 2023SLR Consulting was engaged to complete validation of in-house resource estimates and author the NI 43-101 compliant technical report. SLR prepared the November 2025 updated mineral resource estimate (14.9Mt indicated resource) and PEA technical report.
• Lakehead UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 January 2023Research partnership for carbon sequestration studies on ultramafic mine tailings. Master of Science research project investigating effects of hydrothermal alteration and characterizing magnesium alteration products for CO2 capture potential.
• Fort William First NationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 January 2021First Nations partnership through Memorandum of Agreement (effective January 8, 2020) and subsequent Exploration Agreement (signed April 13, 2022). Framework for collaborative relationship including consultation, economic accommodation through warrant instruments (1 million warrants per community), and future Community Impacts Benefits Agreement.
• Red Rock Indian BandcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 January 2021First Nations partnership through Memorandum of Agreement (effective January 8, 2020) and subsequent Exploration Agreement (signed April 13, 2022). Cooperating Participant in the MOA framework for Thunder Bay North Project development on traditional territories.
• Biinjitiwabik Zaaging Anishinaabek (BZA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 January 2021First Nations partnership through Memorandum of Agreement (effective January 8, 2020) and subsequent Exploration Agreement (signed April 13, 2022). Cooperating Participant in the MOA framework for Thunder Bay North Project development.
• Kiashke Zaaging Anishinaabek (KZA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 January 2021First Nations partnership through MOA framework for Thunder Bay North Project development. KZA is acknowledged in the January 12, 2026 strategic objectives release as one of the traditional territory First Nation Communities with an exploration agreement.
• Benton ResourcescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2020Clean Air Metals completed an amalgamation with Benton Resources for the rights to purchase the Thunder Bay North Property from Panoramic Resources Ltd. for C$9 million through staged payments, finalized in December 2022. Benton Resources originally acquired the property through a 2020 definitive agreement.
• Rio Tinto (Escape Lake Property)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2020Clean Air Metals purchased the Escape Lake Project from Rio Tinto for C$6 million through staged payments, completed in 2021 with accelerated final payment. Rio Tinto had acquired Kennecott's interest in 2014 and carried out exploration programs between 2014-2016.
• Impala Platinum Holdings (Lac des Iles Mine)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Thunder Bay North Project is located 60km southeast of the Lac des Iles Mine owned by Impala Platinum Holdings. Clean Air Metals has expressed interest in exploring options to utilize infrastructure at LDI, including potential acquisition or partnership for continued operation with supplementary higher-grade feed from Thunder Bay North. No formal agreement in place.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves8 records

Direct peers

• Generation Mining: Canadian developer of the Marathon Palladium-Copper project in Ontario, also hosted in the Midcontinent Rift. Directly comparable as a junior PGE-Cu developer targeting underground mining and toll/regional processing in the same jurisdiction and geological camp.
• Platinum Group Metals: Mid-tier PGE developer focused on the Waterberg PGE project in South Africa. Comparable as a publicly listed primary platinum group metals developer advancing a large-scale PGE deposit through feasibility and permitting.
• Nickel Creek Platinum: Canadian PGE-Ni-Cu developer with the Nickel Shäw project in the Yukon. Comparable as a junior critical minerals developer focused on polymetallic PGE-nickel-copper deposits advancing through PEA/PFS stages.

Regional players

• Talon Metals: Canadian junior developing the Tamarack Ni-Cu-Co-PGE project in Minnesota within the same Midcontinent Rift geological setting as Clean Air Metals. Comparable as a fellow MCR polymetallic critical minerals developer with overlapping deposit model and end-market exposure.

Emerging players

• Bravo Mining: Canadian-listed junior developing the Luanga PGE-Ni-Cu project in Brazil. Comparable as a publicly listed junior PGE-Ni-Cu developer, with a similar PEA-stage profile and polymetallic critical minerals positioning.
• New Age Metals: Canadian junior focused on PGE-Ni-Cu exploration in Manitoba and Ontario. Comparable as an early-stage North American PGE-base metals explorer, though at a less advanced stage than Clean Air Metals' PEA-level TBN project.
• Stillwater Critical Minerals: Canadian junior advancing the Stillwater West PGE-Ni-Cu-Co project in Montana, adjacent to Sibanye-Stillwater's operating mine. Comparable as a North American PGE-Ni-Cu developer using similar magma conduit/reef geological models and targeting energy transition critical minerals.

Broad incumbents

• Sibanye-Stillwater: Major global PGE producer operating the Stillwater Mine in Montana (the type analog for Clean Air Metals' 'ballroom' reef targets) and Kroondal in South Africa. Comparable as a major PGE producer whose PGE price exposure and mine economics frame the broader market context for junior PGE developers.
• Impala Platinum Holdings: Major PGE producer that owns the Lac des Iles mine and mill 60km from Clean Air Metals' TBN project. Highly relevant as the potential toll milling/acquisition partner and a benchmark for North American PGE processing economics.
• Lundin Mining: Diversified Canadian mid-tier base metals producer that operates the Eagle Ni-Cu-PGE mine in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, also within the Midcontinent Rift. Comparable as a North American producer of PGE-bearing Ni-Cu concentrate and a regional benchmark for critical minerals project economics.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/cleanairmetals
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• Instagraminstagram.com/cleanairmetals

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds9 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Clean Air Metals