Ionic Mineral Technologies’ discovery in western Utah County may be America’s most significant critical mineral deposit
There’s no gold in this ‘gold mine’
What Provo’s Ionic Mineral Technologies is doing west of Utah Lake in northwestern Utah County is important to modern technology and the nation’s economy. The company has an 8,000-acre, fully permitted project where it mines clay from which it extracts nanosilicon for the lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles.
But what miners found recently during that mining process at the Silicon Ridge project may be the equivalent of a gold mine. Ionic reported it has discovered that the clay deposit it is working contains high concentrates of 16 more types of minerals, including gallium, germanium, rubidium, cesium, scandium, lithium, vanadium, tungsten, niobium and a full suite of light and heavy rare earths.
Ionic Mineral Technology officials and industry experts are characterizing the discovery as what may be the most significant critical mineral reserve in the United States.
Currently, China dominates the world’s critical minerals market, supplying about 90 percent of the planet’s rare earths. The Trump administration has made it clear that it sees critical mineral mining in the U.S. as a national security priority. The minerals are used in everything from advanced AI semiconductor chips and permanent magnets to defense surveillance systems and energy technologies.
Ionic officers told The Wall Street Journal that the company has had several meetings with Trump administration officials and that the White House has expressed “clear enthusiasm about our work and its potential national impact.”
Independent testing by global testing services company ALS Chemex shows that the Silicon Ridge deposit is made up of a halloysite-hosted ion-adsorption clay, the same type of mineral-rich geological formation that supplies most of China’s rare earth production, Ionic said.
Ionic has drilled 106 boreholes to a depth of more than 100 feet each over a 650-acre area to test for the minerals. Test returns show total rare earth and critical metal content within the halloysite clay of approximately 2,700 parts per million (ppm), comparing favorably to China’s reported ion-adsorption clay deposits, which typically range from 500 to 2,000 ppm.
Ionic points out that the tests cover only 11 percent of the total surface area of clay deposit at Silicon Ridge, and only to a depth of 100 feet. That leaves significant potential for expansion of the discovery.
“This confirmation is a watershed moment for American resource independence. For the first time, we have a domestic, shovel-ready source for a full spectrum of critical minerals, all extractable with a faster, cleaner process than traditional hard rock mining and extraction,” said Andre Zeitoun, founder and CEO of Ionic, when speaking of the test results. “With our mining permits and processing facility in place, we can now move rapidly to production, reducing a key strategic vulnerability for the United States.”
The strategic importance of Ionic’s discovery is underscored by China’s December 2024 export ban on gallium, germanium and antimony to the United States, combined with April 2025 export licensing requirements on critical rare earth elements like lutetium, scandium and yttrium. The U.S. Government Accountability Office has identified critical material shortfalls exceeding $18.5 billion, with the Pentagon recently moving to secure a $2 billion emergency stockpile of strategic minerals in response to critical mineral supply.
Ionic’s Silicon Ridge project is located on state-owned, company-leased lands with active mining permits and with infrastructure in place. The mine is supported by Ionic’s existing 74,000-square-foot processing facility in Provo, enabling a rapid timeline to commercial production, the company said.
Utah government leaders have expressed enthusiasm and support of Ionic’s critical mineral activities, citing the company’s low-emission, nearly waste-free processes.
“Utah is once again proving we have the greatest resources, vision and determination to power America’s future,” said Utah Senate President J. Stuart Adams. “Ionic Mineral Technologies’ work at Silicon Ridge is the prime example of how responsible development creates jobs, strengthens our national security and builds resilient, American-made supply chains. Our state is uniquely positioned to lead the transition to cleaner energy by developing next-generation resources right in our own backyard. By doing so, we reduce reliance on foreign nations and secure America’s
energy future.”
“Our energy and national security depend on having a reliable supply of critical minerals — and Utah is uniquely positioned to lead the way,” said Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz. “This project shows what Utah does best: using our natural resources, strong infrastructure and innovative industry to solve big challenges and embrace big opportunities. Ionic Mineral Technologies is helping us reduce dependence on foreign adversaries while creating new opportunities and long-term stability for Utah families and our economy.”
“For Ionic Mineral Technologies, the Utah County discovery may elevate its position from a strictly nanosilicon producer to a central player in America’s critical minerals future,” said technology news website Techspot.com.
Ionic said the discovery is just the beginning, with Zeitoun telling The Wall Street Journal, “We know this is a sizable deposit, and we know that’s just scratching the surface.”