Highlights
- Ionic Mineral Technologies announces a major discovery of an ion-adsorption clay deposit at Silicon Ridge, Utah.
- The discovery could potentially be America's first commercially viable IAC system with 0.27% REE grades matching Chinese commercial standards.
- The deposit contains critical technology metals: gallium, germanium, scandium, lithium, and niobium.
- Currently, only 11% of the deposit has been explored.
- Existing permits and a 74,000 sq-ft processing facility are already built.
- The discovery is geologically credible with reputable lab validation.
- It lacks formal resource estimates or economic assessments.
- There are questions about the scalability and processing costs.
- Uncertainties remain whether it can replicate Chinese IAC economics in the U.S.
Ionic Mineral Technologies (opens in a new tab) (Ionic MT) has announced what it calls a major U.S. discovery of rare earth and critical technology metals at its Silicon Ridge project in Utah. If confirmed at scale, this would represent America’s first commercially advanced ion-adsorption clay (IAC) deposit—the clay-hosted system responsible for up to 40% of China’s rare earth production and the overwhelming majority of its heavy rare earth output.
Table of Contents
Lake Mountains, Utah
The Silicon Ridge project in Utah refers to a significant discovery of rare earth and critical minerals, including halloysite (opens in a new tab), by Ionic Mineral Technologies (Ionic MT) in the Lake Mountains, aiming to provide a domestic source for AI, defense, and battery tech materials, bolstering U.S. energy independence, distinct from the broader tech hub of "Silicon Slopes (opens in a new tab)" in the Wasatch Front area. Ionic MT secured a large lease for this site to produce nano-silicon for electric vehicle batteries, creating a vital resource for advanced technology supply chains.
What the Company Says They Found
Independent ALS Chemex assays reportedly confirm a halloysite-hosted IAC system enriched not just in REEs but in a suite of “critical technology metals”—gallium, germanium, scandium, rubidium, cesium, lithium, niobium, tungsten, vanadium. Ionic MT brands this an “IAC-Plus” deposit, claiming grades of 2,700 ppm (0.27%) REEs—squarely within Chinese commercial ranges.
Only 11% of the resource area has been drilled, to just 100 feet, suggesting expansion potential. With state permits in hand and a 74,000 sq-ft processing facility already built, Ionic MT argues it can move quickly into production.
What’s Credible—and What Requires Scrutiny
Credible:
- ALS Chemex is a reputable ISO-certified lab.
- Halloysite-bearing clays in Utah are well-documented geologically.
- A vertically integrated clay-to-critical-metals model is technically plausible.
- A low-temperature ion-exchange flow sheet is consistent with global IAC practice.
Requires Real Caution:
- No Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA), no resource estimate, no economics. Grade alone does not make a mine.
- U.S. IAC deposits historically face clay variability, high impurity loads, and reagent costs not fully comparable to southern China.
- Claims of 95% recovery and “nearly waste-free” processing require third-party validation.
- Extraordinary co-product baskets (Ga–Ge–Sc–Cs–Rb) raise questions about consistency of mineralization across the deposit.
- “Shovel-ready” before a completed PEA or feasibility study is marketing language, not industry standard.
The Strategic Narrative—and the Investor Reality
The discovery arrives amid China’s gallium/germanium export bans and tightened REE export licensing—conditions that make domestic alternatives politically attractive, even if technically uncertain.
For investors, the key questions are:
- Can Silicon Ridge truly replicate Chinese-scale IAC economics in a high-cost U.S. environment?
- Are the multi-metal enrichment claims consistent across tonnage, or localized anomalies?
- How scalable is Ionic MT’s proprietary processing—and what are the capex/opex curves?
- Does the vertically integrated model create value—or simply add complexity?
Ionic MT’s discovery could be transformative. Or it could be another promising clay story that fails to mature under economic gravity.
Company Profile: Ionic Mineral Technologies (Ionic MT)
Ionic Mineral Technologies (opens in a new tab)—known as Ionic MT—is a Utah-based advanced materials company founded by Andre Zeitoun (opens in a new tab) in 2021. Zeitoun, a long-time entrepreneur with deep experience in minerals, specialty ceramics, and engineered materials, launched the company to solve one of the most persistent industrial bottlenecks in the U.S.: the absence of a domestic, scalable supply of next-generation battery materials. Under his leadership, Ionic MT positioned itself as an early mover in transforming natural halloysite clay into high-performance nano-silicon anode powders, a technology with the potential to redefine electric vehicle (EV) range, charging speed, and cost efficiency.
The company has raised funding through multiple rounds, including a publicly announced (opens in a new tab) $29 million Series B in 2024–2025, which exceeded its original target and signaled growing investor confidence in the feasibility of a U.S.-made nano-silicon ecosystem. Earlier seed and Series A capital rounds were not widely disclosed, but the total known capital raised now places Ionic MT among the better-funded domestic battery-material start-ups in the United States. The company has also attracted seasoned technical talent from major mining houses such as Rio Tinto, strengthening its operational credibility.
Ionic MT’s flagship innovation, Ionisil™ nano-silicon, is a drop-in replacement for graphite—the dominant anode material in lithium-ion batteries. By boosting energy density and enabling ultra-fast charging performance, Ionisil™ promises the holy grail of EV engineering: longer range, lighter batteries, and dramatically shorter charging times. Unlike competitors that rely on high-emissions metallurgical silicon routes, Ionic MT extracts all feedstock from Utah halloysite deposits, enabling a vertically integrated supply chain that is entirely domestic, low-emission, and insulated from geopolitical tensions.
This strategy has become increasingly relevant as China imposes export bans and licensing controls on critical minerals such as gallium, germanium, and select heavy rare earths. Ionic MT’s operations directly align with the U.S. government’s push for battery independence, enabling automakers, defense contractors, and battery manufacturers to source high-value anode materials made entirely in the United States.
The company is now building out large-scale commercial production facilities, advancing OEM qualification programs with top-tier battery partners, and developing a multi-product platform that includes IonAL™ high-purity alumina and halloysite-derived critical minerals. In doing so, Ionic MT is not simply creating a new battery material; it is helping construct the backbone of a sovereign, American-made energy-storage supply chain built for the EV era.
© 2025 Rare Earth Exchanges™ – Accelerating Transparency, Accuracy, and Insight Across the Rare Earth & Critical Minerals Supply Chain.
Out with a new COO appointment today 1/15/2026, but all we could find on its website was three foci – ‘our team, media and careers’. Lot of claims but could not find much website substance to support. GLTA – REI