- As the U.S. seeks to expand domestic refining and reduce reliance on foreign critical metals, Maverick Metals’ LithX™ offers a breakthrough lixiviant chemistry to enable higher recovery and lower operating costs
- $19M equity round accelerates commercialization of proprietary critical metals recovery technology; contracts with major mining companies in place to expand LithX pilot deployments
- Global copper demand projected to double by 2035, reaching 50 million metric tons per year
- LithX™ enables heap leaching of chalcopyrite and other refractory sulfides and solubilizes valuable byproducts, such as molybdenum, gold, and silver, transforming low-grade ore, tailings, and smelter slag into high-value feedstock and expanding the accessible copper supply
SAN ANTONIO, Texas, April 3, 2025 – Maverick Metals (“Maverick” or the “Company”), a leading North American specialty chemical solutions provider for critical metals recovery, today announced a $19M equity funding round, led by Olive Tree Capital, as the company accelerates the commercialization of LithX™, a novel lixiviant designed to improve critical metals recovery and reduce processing costs. The funding includes participation from Y Combinator, Hanwha Group, Liquid 2 Ventures, Nomadic Venture Partners, Soma Capital, and TechNexus Venture Collaborative.
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To further validate LithX, Maverick has secured contracts with major mining companies to integrate the technology into real-world operations, testing the product’s ability to increase recovery, improve efficiency, and reduce environmental impact. As demand for critical metals surges, LithX, which requires no acid addition, offers a scalable solution to transform low-grade ore, tailings, and smelter slag into high-value feedstock and expand the accessible copper supply.
With global copper demand projected to double by 2035, ensuring a stable supply has become an urgent priority for industries relying on this essential metal. While copper mining operations are expanding to address supply constraints, declining ore grades, rising processing costs, and increasing environmental regulations constrain production growth. LithX provides a powerful solution to extract significantly more copper from ore and waste materials without requiring extreme heat or large amounts of harsh acid, making recovery more efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally responsible than conventional methods.
LithX studies have demonstrated the following outcomes:
- Higher recovery at ambient temperature to enable lower-cost extraction applications
- Lower operating costs with reduced acid consumption and reagent costs
- Economic byproduct recovery, including gold, silver, and molybdenum
- Chalcopyrite leaching at an ambient temperature
- Clean PLS solution to improve cathode quality and downstream processing efficiency
- Unlocks low-grade chalcopyrite and other difficult resources to expand recovery
- Environmentally responsible with no acid addition required, operating at neutral pH
- Enhanced safety, mitigating acid contamination and hazardous reagent exposures
- Seamless integration into existing operations with no major CAPEX required
“As the U.S. accelerates its push for domestic critical metals production, LithX™ provides a scalable, commercially viable path to securing essential materials,” said Eric Herrera, Co-Founder and CEO of Maverick Metals. “By increasing recovery rates and making it economically viable to extract metals from previously uneconomical deposits, low-grade ores, and waste streams, LithX delivers a practical solution for operators seeking to maximize production and lower OPEX. Securing this significant equity funding validates the groundbreaking potential of our technology to support global supply chain resilience.”
In addition to copper, LithX studies have also shown the technology to:
- Unlock gold from refractory ores without the need for cyanide, high heat, or pressure
- Enhance gallium and rare earth element recovery from minerals such as allanite and monazite
- Deliver high extraction of lithium from alpha spodumene, lepidolite, lithium-bearing clays, and tailings, minimizing acid use and removing acid roasting and calcination
- Valorize coal fly ash waste by recovering metals such as rare earth elements and gold
Furthermore, the technology liberates additional valuable byproducts necessary to strengthen North American supply chains for defense, clean energy, and advanced manufacturing materials, such as ultra-pure silica and metallurgical-grade silicon for semiconductor production.
“LithX™ is demonstrating its ability to realize significant value across multiple critical metals – without the high capital costs and environmental impact of conventional methods,” said Jesse Evans, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Maverick Metals. “As we advance field trials with major mining companies, we continue to focus on optimizing performance at scale and ensuring seamless integration into existing operations. The results so far are promising, and we’re excited to collaborate with industry leaders to expand LithX™ across the critical metals processing sector.”
“We are pleased to announce our investment in and support of Maverick Metals,” said Nichola Eliovits, Managing Partner of Olive Tree Capital. “We believe LithX™ has the potential to significantly increase the range of viable resources available to help alleviate global supply constraints. With increasing momentum behind securing domestic critical metals production and interest from mining operators to increase low-cost production, Maverick Metals is well-positioned for widespread industry adoption of LithX™ as a transformative and scalable solution.”
Maverick Metals is seeking companies, industrial partners, and investors to accelerate LithX™ deployment. Organizations interested in collaboration opportunities are encouraged to contact Maverick at press@maverickmetals.com.
For more information, contact:
Meredith Dugas
Maverick Metals, Corporate Communications
Meredith@prosecommunications.com
About Maverick Metals
Founded in 2022, Maverick Metals is a specialty chemical solutions provider transforming the critical metals industries with LithX™. LithX is a breakthrough lixiviant technology that achieves higher recovery rates while lowering costs and reducing environmental impact – without requiring significant CAPEX. As global demand surges for critical metals processing, LithX offers a scalable, next-generation solution to strengthen supply chains. LithX seamlessly integrates into existing mining operations, unlocking greater profitability and efficiency for critical metals production. For more information, follow us on LinkedIn or visit www.maverickmetals.com.
About Olive Tree Capital
Olive Tree Capital invests in groundbreaking technology and entrepreneurs who share our passion, commitment, and vision for a better future. For more information, visit www.olivetreecapital.com.