News: Suppliers
8 April 2026
Supra extends pre-seed funding round with Rio Tinto as strategic investor
Supra Elemental Recovery Inc has announced a strategic investment from global mining and materials company Rio Tinto and Founders Factory through their mining technology accelerator. Structured as a combination of cash and in-kind services, the investment will enable Supra to build and commercialize its modular critical mineral recovery technology with insight and support from Rio Tinto.
Spun out from the University of Texas at Austin in February, Supra is focused on selectively recovering and refining high-purity critical minerals from waste streams. The firm is initially targeting elements such as gallium (Ga) and scandium (Sc).
Supra was selected as one of six startups globally from more than 500 applicants. The cohort is focused on advancing exploration and processing technologies to meet growing demand for materials such as copper, lithium, and critical minerals. Supra joins Foresight Spatial Labs (Ottawa, Canada), Chemshift (Calgary, Canada), Material Difference (Cambridge, UK), Voluna (Boston, USA), and Watergenics (Berlin, Germany).
“Startups have an important role to play in solving some of mining’s toughest challenges. Through our partnership with Founders Factory, we are connecting exceptional founders with Rio Tinto’s operational and technical expertise to help turn promising ideas into technologies that could improve exploration, processing, and critical mineral recovery,” Emily Hilton, general manager of innovation at Rio Tinto. “This cohort reflects the quality of innovation emerging globally, and we’re excited about the potential to accelerate these solutions toward real-world deployment,” she adds.
“We look forward to working closely with Rio Tinto and leveraging the firm’s global expertise to accelerate our path to commercial deployment,” says Supra’s co-founder & chief operating officer Jordan Sessler. “We look forward to recovering high-purity elements from complex streams, including ore, tailings, and byproducts.”
Rio Tinto and Founders Factory join Supra’s existing pre-seed investors, including Crucible Capital, Climate Capital, Portmanteau Ventures, and UT Seed Fund. The funding will support continued technology development and preparation for commercial pilots.
Rio Tinto to progress gallium R&D project by constructing pilot plant in Québec
Supra launches to secure US supply of gallium, scandium and other critical minerals
