IRIS Metals – High-Grade Rubidium Discovery Strengthens Beecher as a U.S. Critical Minerals Asset – Is this the next Critical Metal Conversation?
- Noel Ong
- 1 day ago
- 7 min read
Announcement
Beecher High-Grade Rubidium Hits up to 0.50% – 8 January 2026 (view the announcement)
Iris Metals is a company that is not new to me. Not long ago, they were promoting a very promising lithium project in the US and talking about a significant project that would be a game-changer. Today, when I read about the Rubidium project, I was obviously interested to have a look. Rubidium sits well with the Critical Metal conversation, and I do have an interest in the space; however, like many of the "new" metal discussions, I am not familiar with the numbers, meaning I am not sure what is good and what is not, and what investors are looking at in terms of DYOR.
The curiosity of trying to get a handle on a metal that is obviously going to gain market attention, I thought I would start to get an introduction to this space and introduce it to the Samso platform. As we at Samso always do, we will follow this narrative through and look to get more into the space of Rubidium.
IRIS Metals Limited (ASX: IR1) has reported high-grade rubidium assay results from its 2023 and 2024 drilling programs at the Beecher Project, located in the southern Black Hills of South Dakota, USA (Figure 1). The results confirm a significant rubidium discovery alongside the project’s established lithium resource, further positioning Beecher as a multi-commodity critical minerals asset in a mining-friendly U.S. jurisdiction.
Figure 1: Beecher Project surface geology and 2023/2024 drill hole locations (source: IR1)
The Business of Iris Metals: Begins Rubidium Narrative
Portfolio focused on pegmatite-hosted critical minerals in the United States
Core commodities include lithium, rubidium, caesium, tantalum, and beryllium
Beecher Project forms the flagship asset in South Dakota
Additional exposure through Tin Mountain (rubidium-lithium) and the pending Finley Basin Tungsten Project in Montana
Highlights – High-Grade Rubidium Emerges at Beecher
Review of 117 drill holes identified 45 intersections >2m at >0.20% Rb₂O, confirming a high-grade rubidium discovery
Standout intercepts include:
BDD-23-005: 10.5m @ 0.41% Rb₂O from 136.9m (incl. 5.8m @ 0.50% Rb₂O)
BDD-23-007: 23.2m @ 0.29% Rb₂O from 80m (incl. 5.5m @ 0.48% Rb₂O)
Multiple wide, shallow rubidium intervals, including mineralisation from surface (Figures 2 & 3)
Figures 2 & 3: Cross-sections showing multiple rubidium drill intercepts (source: IR1)
Rubidium adds high-value optionality to the existing JORC lithium resource of 2.20 Mt @ 1.05% Li₂O
Maiden rubidium Mineral Resource Estimates planned for Beecher and Tin Mountain in Q1–Q2 2026
Positions IRIS to potentially declare the only rubidium MREs in the United States
Leadership Commentary
Figure 5: Share price chart of Iris Metals as of 13th January 2026. (source: CommSec) President of U.S. Operations, Matt Hartmann, commented:
“Building on the encouraging rubidium results from our Tin Mountain Project reported last quarter, we promptly reviewed assay data from prior drilling programs. We are thrilled with the outcomes of this initiative, which have revealed a discovery of truly world-class rubidium mineralisation grades at Beecher.
The addition of high-grade rubidium to Beecher’s existing lithium resource elevates the project to a true multi-commodity critical minerals asset. With rubidium pricing around US$1,200/kg and Beecher’s existing mine permit, the economic potential is significant and positions us to capture a meaningful share of the Western world’s rubidium supply.”
About the Project
The Beecher Project comprises private landholdings and surrounding federal claims approximately 7km from Custer, South Dakota. The project hosts three zoned LCT pegmatites—Beecher, Longview, and Black Diamond—which together define a combined outcropping strike length of nearly 2km.
Rubidium mineralisation is primarily hosted within potassium feldspar and muscovite, with higher-grade zones concentrated in the Longview pegmatite and the southern portion of the Black Diamond pegmatite.
Near-term Milestones to Watch
Updated Beecher Mineral Resource Estimate, including lithium and rubidium – late Q1 2026
Maiden Tin Mountain lithium-rubidium MRE – Q1–Q2 2026
Finalisation of the Finley Basin Tungsten Project acquisition – January 2026
Commencement of 2026 drilling programs at Ingersoll – April 2026
Why Rubidium Matters:
Rubidium is a constrained-supply critical mineral with strategic relevance across defence, technology, and U.S. supply chains (Figure 4).
Figure 4: Rubidium: An Overlooked Critical Mineral (source: Samso)
Samso Concluding Comments 1
IRIS Metalsis reposition themselves for market acceptance; however, in my opinion, the introduction of Rubidium is technically sound, but the market is always very shallow in thinking. It wants gold, silver, copper, and it looks like tungsten is gaining traction. Bulk commodities such as iron ore, manganese, oil, and gas are all still high on the interest space.
The introduction of Rubidium reminds me of the Gallium narrative. While they are rare and they are critical in terms of an "East vs. West" political storm, there is still a large gap in making this economically feasible for the average investor. 2026 is going to be a year for commodities, but I am not sure where boutique metals like Rubidium will sit in the pecking order of market and economic viability. Having had experience in the tungsten space when the market was not all interested around 2012, I caution "jumping in" on the hype.
Time will tell soon enough how this narrative plays out. As the Samso community is well-versed, DYOR is your friend.
Market Implication
Figure 5: Share price chart of Iris Metals as of 13th January 2026. (source: CommSec)
The market is an interesting beast when it comes to the valuation of companies. IR1 is now sitting at a market capitalisation of UAD $53.35M as we are writing this blog on the 14th January 2026, and a share price that is pretty much back at the start (Figure 5), so how is that expensive for a company that is trying to "reevaluate" its narrative? Anyone who has had experience in the capital structure of ASX companies will tell you that this is expensive.
As I have mentioned, the equity market has a consistent shallow personality, and no matter which exchange you are on, they will always be blunt and forward in their opinion on valuation. For me, I think IR1 has a valuation problem; however, if they get their story straight, this will be cheap. I have always maintained that the valuation of a company is not objective and is 100% subjective, so unless you are behind what I call the "Purple Circle" of information, you will never know that a $50M market cap company is overpriced or cheap.
Looking at Figure 5, there is no doubt that the share price run has come to an end, and this is simply a restart. How the narrative adds value now is the key. Is it expensive for a punt? I think for a retail investor, currently, there is probably a better bet somewhere else.
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