Allonnia, a bio-ingenuity company, has partnered with Eagle Mine to deploy its D-Solve mobile unit at the mine site in Michigan in the fourth quarter of 2025.
The aim is to demonstrate the impact of the D-Solve technology in a live production environment.
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The move will examine whether the technology can improve nickel recovery by removing unwanted materials such as magnesium from the concentrate.
These impurities are currently a limiting factor for Eagle Mine as they affect smelter acceptance and lead to valuable nickel being discarded in tailings.
Eagle Mine, an underground operation producing nickel and copper, is the only active source of nickel in the US.
Since beginning operations in 2014, the mine has contributed to the supply of critical minerals and provided employment in the Upper Peninsula region of Michigan, the company said.
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By GlobalDataEagle Mine managing director Darby Stacey said: “Eagle Mine is excited to be the first nickel producer to pilot D-Solve in a live processing environment.
“We believe this innovation could unlock several critical efficiencies in our process that could lead to extending the life of the mine.
“As technology development in our industry accelerates, we are committed to working with companies on new processes that could improve our operations today while also paving the way for future operations that could benefit from the knowledge generated at Eagle Mine.”
The D-Solve unit will operate continuously on-site, treating between one and two tonnes of concentrate per day.
The objective is to test how well the system performs under real production conditions and to assess whether it can be scaled for wider use.
A previous demonstration of the technology took place in December 2024 at SGS Lakefield in Ontario.
That test recorded a 40% decrease in magnesium impurities and an 18% rise in nickel grade, with “stable recovery and recyclable biosolutions”.
Allonnia CEO Nicole Richards said: “Meeting the surging demand for critical minerals requires a fundamental shift in how we extract value from increasingly complex ores.
“D-Solve is engineered to unlock value from low-grade ores, improve concentrate quality and reduce environmental impact.
“Allonnia’s collaboration with Eagle Mine is a pivotal step in proving that bolt-on biological innovation can redefine how critical minerals are processed both economically and sustainably.”
