A Provo company has unearthed a massive deposit of minerals crucial for building electric vehicles, semiconductors, satellites, magnets and more — and it lies less than 20 miles south of Utah’s tech center at Silicon Slopes.
Ionic Minerals Technology, or Ionic MT, found its Silicon Ridge mine is chock-full of critical and rare earth elements. The newly discovered supply could support national initiatives to lead the world in artificial intelligence, electrify transportation and bolster defense, all while reducing dependence on foreign markets like China.
And the company asserts it can extract the materials with virtually zero waste. It will also use no explosives or chemicals at the site, said CEO and founder Andre Zeitoun.
“We really view ourselves as kind of a next generation of mining,” Zeitoun said, “and of responsible mining.”
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, which are used in electronics, fiber-optic cables and lasers. China by far produces the lion’s share of those minerals and other rare earths, and it recently placed an export ban on them, which sent U.S. companies scrambling for new supplies.
To read Leia Larsen's full report, visit sltrib.com.
This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aims to inform readers across the state.