Unlocking more critical minerals production from domestic resources.
Ore-specific reagent schemes that recover more critical minerals — on equipment that already exists.
From ore to strategic metal.
Rare earths power modern defense systems — but supply depends on how much usable metal we can recover. ionX raises that recovery.
Ore-specific
Chemistry matched to a specific feed and flowsheet — not a generic recipe.
Computationally screened, experimentally validated
First-principles screening replaces years of trial-and-error.
Deployable today
Runs on existing equipment — no new plant, no new capital.
Proven on phosphate feedstocks.
Built in the defense-innovation ecosystem.
Adaptive processing chemistry.
We compute the reagent chemistry that lifts recovery — then prove it where minerals are actually separated. The same approach works for any process and any mineral.
From computation to recovery
ionX develops the reagent schemes at every step where chemistry decides the outcome — flotation, cracking, solvent extraction, and refining.
Built for the industries that depend on critical minerals.
ionX's adaptive processing chemistry serves the sectors that need a secure, domestic supply of critical minerals.
Recovery is readiness.
Every point of recovery left in the tailings is supply that has to come from somewhere else. Lifting recovery strengthens the domestic supply chain — without waiting on new mines or new plants.
Because the output runs on existing equipment, the gain arrives on the timeline of a reagent change. Demonstrated on phosphate, the method extends to rare earths and other strategic minerals.
Working on a feed where recovery is the bottleneck?
Built at Stanford.
Interested in working with us?
A defense-innovation ecosystem.
References to U.S. Government programs reflect ionX's participation and origin and do not imply endorsement by the Department of Defense, the Defense Innovation Unit, or any U.S. Government agency.
Building the supply chain together.
ionX in the news.
A 2026 national-security problem statement
ionX is one of Stanford Hacking for Defense's 2026 teams, sponsored by In-Q-Tel — tasked with a domestically viable, energy-efficient path to separate heavy rare-earth elements and secure the supply chain for critical defense systems.
View the problem →Meet H4D Team ionX: Closing the Strategic Minerals Gap
A feature on how ionX pairs computationally screened, ore-specific reagent schemes with bench-scale validation to raise recovery on existing equipment — strengthening domestic and allied critical-mineral supply chains.
Read the feature →Let's talk critical minerals.
Rare earths, phosphate, or another strategic feed — we'd like to hear from you.