The B.C.-based company, which makes tech that extracts metal from low-grade ores or mining waste, raised a US$32 million Series B round led by Fine Structure Ventures, a Massachusetts-based Fidelity fund. Participants included mining giant BHP and Japanese industrial conglomerate Asahi Kasei. It raised about US$7 million in additional venture debt from RBCx. (The Logic)

Talking point: PH7 plans to help companies do metal recovery projects closer to production sites, which could be helpful for miners like BHP, that are looking to increase their copper output, and manufacturers like Asahi Kasei, which is building a battery-materials plant in Ontario. PH7’s existing Vancouver factory focuses on platinum, but the startup is eyeing the copper market as AI data centres and electrical grid upgrades hike demand for the orange metal. The company is also hoping to lower the metal industry’s energy and water usage by recovering more metal from mining waste.