Utah rare earths developer Ionic eyes 2027 IPO

Rare earths developer Ionic Mineral Technologies is said to be considering an initial public offering as it prepares to release a new study on the Silicon Ridge project in Utah. 

Bloomberg reported on Thursday that Ionic — which is slating an economic assessment on the project for this half-year — is eyeing an IPO as early as 2027 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 other critical minerals such as gallium, germanium and tungsten.

In a December news release, Ionic noted that its project is currently fully permitted and shovel-ready, and would benefit from an existing processing plant 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 scale up funding before proceeding with the listing, potentially in 2027.

Ionic is considering the move as the U.S. 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.

‘Significant’ deposit

According to Ionic, the Silicon Ridge deposit is hosted on an ion-adsorption clay 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 country’s most significant critical mineral reserve because it hosts as many as 16 different elements used in key applications, ranging from AI semiconductor chips and permanent magnets to defence surveillance systems and energy technologies.