Thesis
Critical minerals are the building blocks of electrification, data centers, defense and advanced manufacturing. The industry still runs on methods built for richer ore and a slower world. We back the technologies that add supply without adding footprint: tools, processes and platforms at and around the mine.
Electrification, data centers and defense are making critical minerals the building blocks of the new industrial era, and all of them compound demand at once.
Ore grades are falling, so energy and water per tonne are rising: Chile's average copper ore grade is down 33% since 2007, and energy per tonne is up about 70%. New mines take about 18 years from discovery to first production for mines started in 2020 to 2023 (S&P Global), and about 30 in the US. 71% of mining leaders say talent shortages hold back production targets (McKinsey, 2023). Adding mines with today's methods will not close the gap in time.
Technology can find deposits faster, cut energy and water per tonne, shorten build time, automate work and unlock new supply from processing, tailings and recycling.
$242BN went into AI in Q1 2026, about 80% of global venture funding. Under $1BN went into mining technology in 2025, about 0.15% of global venture capital, based on a bottom-up tally of disclosed rounds. Mining and processing need as much as $5.4TN of capex by 2035 (McKinsey).
Sources
IEA Global Critical Minerals Outlook 2025 · Cochilco, Anuario de Estadisticas del Cobre 2025 (grade) and 2024 energy report · S&P Global (2024, 2026: lead time) · McKinsey (2023 talent survey; Global Materials Perspective 2024) · Crunchbase 2025 and Q1 2026 · Company announcements 2025 and Future Minerals Forum 2025 (mining-tech funding tally)
The problem