A huge cache of critical minerals found in Utah may be the largest in the US

A Utah company says it has discovered a massive deposit of minerals needed to make electric vehicles, semiconductors, satellites, magnets and more.

Ionic Minerals Technology, or Ionic MT, has discovered that its Silicon Ridge mine is full of critical minerals and rare earth elements. According to Andre Zeitoun, CEO and founder of Ionic MT, the newly discovered reserves could support initiatives to electrify transportation and strengthen defense while reducing dependence on foreign markets.

Inventory of critical and rare earth minerals is found in clay rather than hard rock, making it easier to mine. According to Zeitoun, clay contains 16 essential minerals, including gallium And germaniumused in electronics, fiber optic cables and lasers. The mine contains large reserves of halloysite, a mineral used to make more advanced batteries. China by far produces the lion's share of critical minerals, and when it recently restricted their exports, American companies were forced to fight for new supplies.

“Over the past 20 years [we’ve] we kind of put ourselves in a situation,” Zeitoun said, “where we allowed ourselves to rely solely on imports of these metals that fuel 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 the practice at Utah State University.

“This could trigger a halloysite gold rush,” Potter said.

Zeitoun said his company can extract materials with virtually no waste and that it will not use any explosives or chemicals at the site. “We really see ourselves as representing the next generation of mining,” he said, “and responsible mining.”

The Silicon Ridge mine is located west of Utah Lake, in central Utah County, about an hour south of Salt Lake City. Ionic MT leases the site from the State Trust Lands Authority. The company also has a permit from the Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mines, the terms of which remain confidential, state officials confirmed.

“We are encouraged by the ongoing progress of the project,” agency director Mick Thomas said in a statement, “and the potential it represents.”

Rare earth elements are critical for clean technologies such as wind turbines and solar panels, as well as batteries and motors. Ionic MT launched in 2020 by mining halloysite from clay deposits in Juab County, near the city of Eureka. Halloysite is an aluminum-silicon mineral used by electric vehicle manufacturers. Help batteries charge faster and last longer.

“You can charge a car as quickly as you can fill a tank with gas,” Zeitoun said, “which is considered one of the key factors in the mass adoption of electric vehicles.”

The company processes the mineral using proprietary technology at its 74,000-square-foot facility in Provo. In search of new supplies, Ionic MT began exploring Silicon Ridge, but was surprised to find much more than just halloysite.

“Our machine again showed the same distribution of these metals in every sample we looked at,” Zeitoun said. “At first we thought… maybe it was a mistake.”

However, third-party testing revealed large amounts of metals, the CEO said. The Silicon Ridge deposit came from the same type of ancient volcanic formation that created rich deposits in China. This country is currently produces about 60 percent of the planet's rare earth reserves and controls 90 percent of processing.

According to Zeitoun, similar deposits are found in Brazil and Australia, but the only known analogue is Silicon Ridge in the United States.

Utah halloysite was formed by a volcanic outbreak about 30 million years ago, Potter said. The ash settled near hot springs, creating unique clays with a tubular structure.

“These tubes can suck up rare earth elements and other important metals such as lithiumshe said, “and prevent it from leaching or weathering.”

Silicon Ridge's proximity to roads, power lines and labor makes it favorable for mining, Potter said. “We also have climate change and the need to move away from carbon-emitting energy resources,” she said. “If it doesn't get mined here, where we have stricter environmental regulations… it will be done by offloading those effects” to other countries.

Ionic MT initially leased 4,053 acres on Silicon Ridge from the Trust Lands Administration in 2023. They returned to the agency's board of directors in August seeking another 3,700 acres after more than 100 drill holes and trenches revealed enough rare earth elements and critical concentrations of minerals in the clay.

Under the lease, the state would receive $13 per acre per year and $1.60 per ton, or 10 percent of the gross value of the clay extracted, whichever is greater. Trust Land documents show. All proceeds will go to Utah schools.

With government permits and a processing facility in place, Zeitoun said his company is ready to quickly begin mining. He said the mine could create hundreds of local jobs.

The federal government has also expressed interest in supporting the mine, Zeitoun said, but he declined to provide any details. Trump administration took steps to ensure a more diverse supply of rare earths in recent weeks following trade disputes with China.

Meanwhile, government leaders are having a eureka moment about the Ionic MT opening. State Senate President Stuart Adams and House Speaker Mike Schultz, both Republicans, have called Silicon Ridge a sign that Utah can become a clean energy powerhouse. “Our state is uniquely positioned to lead the transition to cleaner energy,” Adams said in a news release Thursday, “by developing the next generation of resources right in our own backyard.”

Gov. Spencer Cox, also a Republican, called the new mine “a huge win for Utah and the nation.” Post on LinkedIn. He added that this development will help support his “Operation Gigawatt“, an initiative to more than double the state's energy production over the next decade.

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