CRITICAL MINERALSA Huge Cache of Critical Minerals Found in Utah May Be the Largest in the U.S.
A Utah company says it has unearthed a massive deposit of minerals crucial for building electric vehicles, semiconductors, satellites, magnets, and more. The discovery could reshape the clean energy supply chain.
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A Utah company says it has unearthed a massive deposit of minerals crucial for building electric vehicles, semiconductors, satellites, magnets, and more.
Ionic Minerals Technology, or Ionic MT, found its Silicon Ridge mine is chock-full of critical minerals and rare earth elements. According to Andre Zeitoun, Ionic MT’s CEO and founder, the newly discovered supply could support initiatives to electrify transportation and bolster defense, all while reducing dependence on foreign markets.
Silicon Ridge’s deposit of critical and rare earth minerals is suspended in clay, not hard rock, making it easier to extract. The clay holds 16 critical minerals, Zeitoun said, including gallium and germanium, used in electronics, fiber-optic cables, and lasers. The mine holds a large supply of halloysite, a mineral used to build better batteries. China by far produces the lion’s share of critical minerals, and when it recently restricted exports on them, U.S. companies were sent scrambling for new supplies.
“Over the last 20 years, [we’ve] kind of put ourselves in a situation,” Zeitoun said, “where we’ve allowed ourselves to be solely reliant on imports of these metals that power our lives.”
The discovery at Silicon Ridge could open the door to finding more rare earths throughout Utah, said Katie Potter, a professional geologist and professor of practice at Utah State University.
“It may kick off a halloysite gold rush,” Potter said.
Zeitoun said his company can extract the materials with virtually zero waste and that it will use no explosives or chemicals at the site. “We really view ourselves as kind of a next generation of mining,” he said, “and of responsible mining.”
The Silicon Ridge mine lies west of Utah Lake, the heart of Utah County, about an hour’s drive south of Salt Lake City. Ionic MT leases the site from the State Trust Lands Administration. The company also holds a permit with the Utah Division of Oil, Gas, and Mining, the terms of which remain confidential, state officials confirmed.
“We are excited about the ongoing progress on the project,” the agency’s director Mick Thomas said in a statement, “and the potential it represents.”
