Utah rare earth miner Ionic eyes IPO in 2027

Utah-based rare earths miner Ionic Mineral Technologies LLC is said to be considering an initial public offering as the US pushes to bolster its critical minerals supply chain.

Bloomberg reported on Thursday that Ionic — which is advancing a large rare earths deposit at its Silicon Ridge property — is eyeing an IPO as early as next year and has hired Citigroup to help with the listing process.

The proposed move comes just weeks after the company confirmed the Silicon Ridge discovery, calling it one of “North America’s most significant” finds to date. The deposit, it said, hosts a suite of rare earth elements as well as many other critical minerals such as gallium, germanium and tungsten.

In a December 2025 news release, Ionic noted that its project is currently fully permitted and shovel-ready, and would benefit from an existing processing facility located in Provo, where the company is headquartered.

2027 IPO

Speaking to Bloomberg, its CEO Andre Zeitoun said that the company intends to secure offtake agreements and scaleup funding before proceeding with the listing.

“From there, we’re looking at a 2027 IPO,” he said.

Ionic is considering the move as the US ramps up efforts to establish a critical minerals supply chain that is independent of China. Earlier this week, the Trump administration unveiled plans for a $12 billion stockpile of critical minerals. Vice President JD Vance followed that up by announcing plans to marshal allies into a preferential trade bloc for critical minerals.

“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,” Zeitoun told Bloomberg.

‘Significant’ deposit

According to Ionic, the Silicon Ridge deposit is hosted on an ion-adsorption clay (IAC) system, which, compared to the conventional “hard-rock” geological system, is easier to extract minerals from, and is the same geological formation that supplies approximately 35-40% of China’s total rare earth production.

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal in December, Zeitoun said its project “may be the most significant critical mineral reserve in the US,” as it hosts as many as 16 different elements used in key applications, ranging from AI semiconductor chips and permanent magnets to defense surveillance systems and energy technologies.

The company has said it plans to release an economic assessment for the Silicon Ridge project during the first half of 2026.