Mont Royal’s ASX re-listing ignites major development push at Ashram rare earths project

• Mont Royal re-commenced trading on November 5 following its merger with Commerce Resources
• Priority work now includes infrastructure, stakeholder engagement and restarting the PEA
• A resource update is scheduled for 2026

Special Report: Mont Royal is back on the boards following its merger with TSXV-listed Commerce Resources, marking the start of a new chapter for the company as it sharpens its focus on the Ashram rare earths and fluorspar project in Québec. 

Trading resumed on November 5, and with the corporate heavy lifting behind it, Mont Royal (ASX:MRZ) is now turning its attention to exploration at Ashram. 

Ashram is already one of North America’s largest monazite-dominant, carbonatite-hosted rare earth deposits with a NI 43-101 resource that totals more than 200Mt across the Indicated and Inferred categories. 

The asset boasts a long history of technical work with more than A$50m invested in exploration, drilling and resource definition, giving Mont Royal an opportunity to take an already well-defined project and drive it through the next stages of development. 

The plan for upcoming 2025/26 work includes progressing infrastructure studies, ramping up engagement with local communities and stakeholders, refining metallurgy and delivering a PEA that captures Ashram’s scale. 

To make that happen on the ground, MRZ managing director Nicholas Holthouse has relocated to Montréal to strengthen operations and support the company’s development. 

PEA to begin shortly 

“Work now focuses on the key development components, with immediate priority being given to securing infrastructure support for the access road,” Holthouse said. 

“We will be working closely alongside and consulting with Indigenous groups and communities as well as provincial and federal government groups.

“Engineering and metallurgical studies are also set to re-commence,” he added. 

“The PEA will restart within the next few weeks with a strong focus on reducing technical risk and CAPEX along with further optimisation work on the all-important metallurgical flowsheets for both REEs and fluorspar.” 

The PEA for Ashram is about halfway complete with Mont Royal spending the past few months reviewing all the work done to date and mapping out a scope to take the study through to completion. 

An updated resource will form the backbone of the new PEA, which the company expects to deliver in the first half of 2026. 

What else is on the agenda? 

Once the PEA is wrapped up, the next major milestone will be the PFS, slated to kick off in Q2 2026 and will build on the growing suite of metallurgical and technical work. 

To support this momentum, Mont Royal has also lodged multiple grant applications with both the US and Canadian governments. 

With new federal budgets and funding packages being rolled out across North America, the company is actively engaging with provincial and federal agencies to tap into additional support for natural resources and critical minerals development. 

As well as Ashram, Mont Royal also owns the Northern Lights lithium project in Québec.

This article was developed in collaboration with Mont Royal, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing. 

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.