Voyageur Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (TSX.V: VM) (OTC Pink: VYYRF) announced significant progress in its proprietary Mueller iodine extraction process, which recovers high-purity iodine from oilfield brine. The company reported laboratory results achieving 99.8% iodine purity with overall recovery exceeding 90%, and has constructed a mobile field pilot unit scheduled to begin testing in the coming weeks. This development is a key step in Voyageur's strategy to establish a domestic iodine supply for the North American radiology contrast media market, while providing oil and gas producers with a new revenue stream from produced brine.
The Mueller process is designed to extract iodine from iodine-rich oilfield brine, a largely untapped resource. Voyageur has established a laboratory and fabrication site in Houston, Texas, where it has demonstrated the process using real Anadarko and Permian Basin produced water. The lab operations have consistently produced iodine at 99.8% purity, with overall recovery rates exceeding 90%. The process also generates clean brine suitable for disposal or reinjection, aligning with zero-liquid-discharge objectives. The company has validated key process parameters supporting scale-up and completed a preliminary design for a 200 metric tons per year plant.
The field-capable pilot unit is sized to treat up to 80,000 litres per day on a batch-continuous basis and is set to commence field testing in September 2026. This transition from bench-scale to real-world operation is critical for commercial deployment. Field testing will provide operating data under actual conditions, informing the design of modular, relocatable production units that can be deployed at saltwater disposal sites. The modular concept allows for 200 tonne/yr field units to produce iodine concentrate, which would be transported to a central hub for final polishing, prilling, and packaging.
Engineering and project planning are progressing, with subsequent phases expected to advance through front-end loading stages to define a demonstration-scale configuration. This work aims to refine cost estimates and support future commercial deployment. The strategic context is significant: billions of barrels of produced brine are handled and disposed of annually at considerable cost, yet only a small fraction of the iodine they contain is recovered. Voyageur aims to be the first to economically extract iodine from this source, contributing to brine valorization.
Voyageur's vertically integrated strategy focuses on improving supply-chain security and reducing reliance on imported iodine, which is critical for iodinated contrast media. Brent Willis, President and CEO, stated, "Achieving 99.8% purity and greater than 90% recovery in laboratory testing using real oilfield brine provides meaningful technical validation as we prepare for field pilot operations. This work supports our broader strategy of building a secure, vertically integrated supply chain for radiology drugs." The company plans to develop iodine production capacity of up to 1,000 tonnes per year to support its future pharmaceutical manufacturing needs.
The Mueller process is part of Voyageur's broader effort to position itself across the medical imaging contrast media value chain, alongside its Frances Creek barium project and planned manufacturing capabilities. As field testing begins, the company will provide updates on operating data and technical milestones.
