A Utah company has unearthed a massive deposit of critical minerals and describes it as potentially “one of the most important in North America” finds to date. According to Ionic Minerals Technology, assays at its Silicon Ridge project in Utah have confirmed the presence of 16 critical minerals, including germanium and gallium, in the halloysite-hosted ion adsorption clay (IAC) system, a geological system that is easier to extract minerals from compared to conventional hard rock.
Located in Provo, less than 20 miles south of Utah’s Silicon Slopes, the IAC geological formation supplies more than 70% of the world’s heavy rare earth elements and 35 to 40% of China’s total rare earth production. The deposit also houses lithium, rubidium, scandium, cesium, tungsten, vanadium and niobium.
Ionic MT CEO and founder Andre Zeitoun says the project already has mining permits, which will be complemented by the company’s 74,000-square-foot processing facility at its headquarters in Provo, allowing for rapid development.
“For the first time, we have a ready-to-use domestic source for a full spectrum of critical minerals, all extractable with a faster and cleaner process than traditional hard rock mining and extraction,” Zeitoun said in a news release.
According to initial exploratory results from ISO-certified ALS Chemex laboratories, the deposit is a combination of rare earths and critical metals at a concentration of ~2,700 parts per million (ppm) or 0.27%. According to Ionic MT, this grade compares favorably to Chinese IAC deposits, which typically range between 500 and 2,000 ppm. However, the critical mineral grade has been confirmed in only 11% of the total resource area at a depth of no more than 100 feet, indicating significant potential for expansion.
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Lately, the United States seems to be hitting the critical minerals jackpot quite often. Last year, the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment’s Office of State Geologist, discovered a massive lithium reserve containing more than nine times the International Energy Agency’s projection of global demand for lithium for electric vehicles in 2030. The Smackover Formation, a relic of an ancient sea that left behind an extensive, porous and permeable limestone geological formation, extends beneath parts of Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida, and could contain between 5 and 19 million tons of lithium reserves. The USGS estimates that there is enough lithium brought to the surface in oil and brine waste streams in southern Arkansas to cover current estimated lithium consumption in the United States. The United States depends on imports for more than 25% of its lithium.
Government support
Ionic MT aims to accelerate the development and commercialization of its latest REE discovery. And its timing could be right, coming as the Trump administration is actively pursuing a strategy of direct government investment, loans and international deals to secure a domestic rare earths supply chain and reduce America’s dependence on China. The US government, under the Trump administration, has made significant investments and taken equity positions in several domestic companies specializing in different parts of the rare earth supply chain.
In March, the U.S. Export-Import Bank (EXIM) expressed strong interest in providing a significant loan, up to $553 million, for Rare Element Resources’ Bear Lodge project in Wyoming, issuing a non-binding letter of interest (LOI) in March 2025. However, its most concrete agreement on that front came in July 2025, after the Department of Defense announced a major partnership with the Nevada-based company. MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP), including a $400 million preferred stock purchase, good for a 15% stake, as well as support for the production of heavy rare earth magnets. The agreement included a major 10-year $110/kg minimum price/purchase agreement for rare earth elements (NdPr), which funded the expansion of MP magnet production (the 10x Facility) to secure domestic supply chains for commercial and defense needs, marking a new model for US industrial policy.
In October, the US government bought a 10% stake in the Canadian company Metal Trilogy (NYSE:TMQ) for $35.6 million and secured warrants to acquire an additional 7.5% stake. Trilogy owns a 50% interest in the Upper Kobuk mineral projects in Alaska, which contain deposits of copper and other critical minerals. The government also closed an agreement with the government of Canada. Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE:LAC), which involves the DOE taking a 5% stake in the Thacker Pass mine in exchange for releasing the first $435 million of a $2.23 billion loan (originally from the Biden administration).
At the beginning of December, Vulcan elementsA rare earth magnet startup, received a $620 million loan from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), as part of a major deal to boost domestic magnet production. This loan, the largest from the Pentagon’s Office of Strategic Capital, is aimed at building a 10,000-ton magnetic facility, and the Department of Defense will also obtain guarantees on the company.
By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com
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