Cesium remains one of the least discussed but most constrained materials in the critical minerals universe, and that scarcity is now shaping the near-term focus of Grid Metals Corp. (TSXV: GRDM | OTCQB: MSMGF) as it advances a near-surface cesium discovery in southeastern Manitoba.
“Our company is a Canadian junior exploration company based in Toronto, with operations in Manitoba,” said Robin Dunbar, President, CEO & Director of Grid Metals, in an interview with InvestorNews.com host Jack Lifton. Dunbar said the company made a strategic decision last fall to concentrate its efforts on a cesium project located about an hour from Winnipeg and directly accessible from the Trans-Canada Highway.
“We’ve just completed our second round of drilling there, which we started in October, and we’re on our third now,” Dunbar said, referring to exploration at Grid’s Falcon West Property. The company has reported drill results defining a near-surface zone of cesium mineralization hosted in pollucite. “We hope to define that deposit and then bring it to market as quickly as possible, with as short a timeline as possible,” he said.
Dunbar described cesium as both rare and strategically constrained. “We’re primarily focused on cesium because we believe that it is a critical metal and it’s in short supply with a lack of feedstock globally,” he said, adding that supply is “mostly controlled by the Chinese,” while North American markets continue to seek domestic sources. Grid’s drilling has targeted pollucite mineralization that can host very high cesium grades. “We’re drilling a pollucite mineralization which can host up to 40% cesium,” Dunbar said. “We’ve had some very high-grade hits and it’s very near surface.”
Recent results released by the company support those statements. In February 2026, Grid reported high-grade cesium intercepts at the Lucy South pegmatite within Falcon West, including 12.5 metres grading 5.2% Cs₂O with an internal interval of 3.0 metres at 20.5% Cs₂O. The mineralization has been defined over an initial area of approximately 100 metres by 30 metres and remains open in multiple directions. A Phase 2 drill program has commenced to expand and infill known intersections.
Dunbar emphasized that cesium’s processing characteristics differentiate it from many other critical minerals. “The great thing about cesium is when you do go to process it, you can make a saleable concentrate by crushing and ore sorting the rock,” he said. “So you don’t need extensive infrastructure or tailings. So the permitting process will be much shorter, and Manitoba is a very good jurisdiction to bring a project in.”
Lifton underscored Canada’s position in the global cesium market, noting that Manitoba has historically been central to supply. He also pointed to the simplicity of processing and the absence of toxic byproducts. Dunbar confirmed Grid’s familiarity with existing operations in the province. “We’ve actually had a lot of interaction with the people at the Tanco mine over the years,” he said, adding that ore sorting allows separation of cesium and lithium into saleable streams with limited capital intensity.
Market interest has begun to surface, Dunbar said, though the company’s near-term emphasis remains on defining tonnage and continuity. “Everything that we see from the market side is that there is a near-term shortage of ore,” he said. “We think there’s a window here for a company that can come to market with material.” He added: “The more material that we have, the more we can define, the more options I think we’ll have.”
Dunbar said Grid has had contact with Canadian federal authorities regarding critical minerals, and described the questions he is hearing as resource-driven. “Will you have a resource, and how much will you have, and when will you have it?” he said. He also noted that Grid has an unnamed strategic partner with established federal relationships, and that the company works with U.S.-based consultant Austin DeVaney, who previously ran Albemarle’s cesium business.
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