VIENNA, Austria – February 4, 2026 – Ekometall Inc., through its wholly owned subsidiary, Ekometall Exploration GmbH, today announced it has been granted by the Austrian Mining Authority (“Montanbehörde”) its final 1,022 square kilometer exploration license block, “Radmer,” completing the Company’s 2025 license acquisition process. Ekometall now holds exploration licenses covering 9,623 square kilometers (“km²”) across nine land blocks in Austria, representing just under 12% of the country’s land area and covering more than 1,500 historical mines and exploratory excavations. The milestone establishes Ekometall’s dominant first-mover position in one of Europe’s most promising and underexplored critical minerals jurisdictions.
Highlights
- The Austrian Mining Authority grants Ekometall its final 1,022 km² “Radmer” license block;
- Ekometall has now been granted 9,623 km² of exploration licenses across nine large land blocks, covering Austria’s most prominent historical mining and metallogenic districts;
- License areas target copper, gold, lead, zinc, nickel, cobalt, tungsten, and other critical metals across numerous deposit styles;
- Approval timelines ranged from four days to six months, demonstrating Austria’s competitive regulatory framework;
- Over 1,500 historical mines and exploratory excavations fall within the license areas, supported by thousands of pages of geological reports now being digitized and processed by the Company’s technical team.
“This milestone significantly derisks our position in Austria,” said Ryan Finlay, CEO of Ekometall. “With Ekometall’s land package approaching 10,000 square kilometers of the most prospective ground available, we’re now positioned to advance a full pipeline of commercial opportunities while our technical team transforms centuries of geological data into drill-ready targets.”
Exploration License Portfolio Summary
License Area | Area (km²) | Approval Time | Primary Commodities |
Kelchalpe – Viehhofen | 1,775 | 11 days | Cu, Au, Zn, Ni, Co |
Trattenbach / Mürzzuschlag | 1,502 | 16 weeks | Cu, Fe-carbonate, Barite |
Finkenstein | 1,482 | 19 weeks | Pb, Zn, Cu, Au |
Großfragant | 1,233 | 22 weeks | Au, Ag, Pb, Cu |
Landeck | 1,053 | 4 weeks | Cu, Pb, Zn |
Radmer | 1,022 | 27 weeks | Cu, Graphite, Talc |
East Tyrol | 896 | 4 days | Cu, Pb, Zn, W |
Imst | 474 | 4 weeks | Pb, Zn, Cu |
Montafon | 186 | 4 weeks | Cu, Fe-carbonate |
Total | 9,623 |
A complete summary including approval dates and further details is available here.
Licensing Process and Technical Approach
Ekometall’s geologists completed rigorous desktop studies to identify optimal license areas, evaluating datasets related to Austria’s geology, historical mining activity, infrastructure, and protected areas. Exploration license blocks comprise overlapping individual Freischürfe—circular exploration licenses with a 425-meter diameter identified by a central point. Ekometall’s holdings now total 20,380 Freischürfe.
The Company’s technical partner, GexplOre, is conducting a comprehensive data extraction and processing exercise across hundreds of geological reports covering the license areas. This AI-assisted approach transforms over five centuries of archival records into actionable exploration targets.
About Ekometall Exploration
Ekometall is an emerging critical minerals exploration company focused on unlocking Austria’s significant precious and base metal potential across the country’s historic mining districts. The company has assembled a specialized, Austria-based technical team that applies AI-assisted analysis to digitize and interpret over five centuries of previously inaccessible geological records, transforming archival data into actionable exploration targets. With a dominant first-mover land position approaching 10,000 km² and a demonstrated ability to efficiently permit and execute drilling programs, Ekometall offers global mining partners a compelling entry point into a favorable European jurisdiction. The company’s combination of local expertise, modern exploration methods, and extensive mineral tenure establishes Ekometall as the essential gateway for accessing the critical raw materials vital to Europe’s energy transition and industrial future. For more information, visit https://www.ekometallgroup.com/.
For more information on Ekometall’s projects or for investor relations inquiries, please contact:
Ryan Finlay
Managing Director & CEO
r.finlay@emexploration.at
+1 703.229.2312
