Gold IRA BlueprintForum
    Back to forum
    📰 Gold News

    Oxford spinout raises $2.3M for deep-underground critical minerals tech

    Key Takeaways
    • You can check it out here.
    • What really caught my eye is their claim that they can pull critical minerals straight out of volcanic glass.
    • We're all pretty aware of the scramble for critical minerals right now, especially with the push for EVs and renewable energy.
    Get the free Gold IRA guide

    Hey everyone,

    Just read this super interesting article about an Oxford spinout, Ascension, that's snagged $2.3M for their deep-underground critical minerals tech. You can check it out here. What really caught my eye is their claim that they can pull critical minerals straight out of volcanic glass. Volcanic glass! That's a resource I honestly never even considered, and the article specifically mentions it's been "historically untapped."

    My initial thought is that this could be a game-changer if they can scale it. We're all pretty aware of the scramble for critical minerals right now, especially with the push for EVs and renewable energy. Existing mining operations are getting trickier, and environmental concerns are rightfully growing. If Ascension has found a way to access a new, abundant, and potentially less environmentally destructive source, that could seriously shake up the supply chain. I've been eyeing some of the copper and lithium plays for my retirement portfolio, but this kind of innovative tech is exactly what gets me excited about future opportunities. It's still early days, of course, but the concept itself is pretty compelling.

    What are your thoughts on this? Does anyone have experience with these kinds of deep-tech mineral extraction companies? Are there any red flags I might be missing, or does this sound like a genuinely promising development? Always good to get some different perspectives from the community on these things!

    213
    17 comments

    12,000+ investors requested this guide last month

    Find out why retirees are moving savings into gold. Free kit, no obligation.

    750 people viewed this today99 members requested a free kit this week149 investors bookmarked this
    Best Answer▲ 18 upvotes
    J
    joseph_harris📊Growing (50-100k)
    Interesting to see this, but for my retirement savings, I'm still leaning towards tangible assets. While breakthroughs in critical minerals are exciting for the future, the volatility there isn't quite appealing for my gold IRA. I'd rather stick with what's proven to weather economic storms.

    Comments (17)

    8
    sandra_green📊Growing (50-100k)✓ Verifiedabout 2 months ago

    This is exactly the kind of thing that makes me feel pretty good about diversifying with physical. When you see smart money chasing **deep** underground minerals, it really drives home how finite and essential these resources truly are. Makes my smaller ~$70k stack feel a lot more significant for the long haul.

    11
    andrew_roberts👑Elite (1m-5m)Real Investor✓ Verifiedabout 2 months ago

    This is interesting, but honestly, it’s a bit outside my usual scope. When I’m looking at diversifying beyond physical, I generally stick to established players. On that note, for anyone else evaluating mining stocks, I found this fantastic resource on *The Gold Report* archives – they regularly featured interviews with CEOs of junior miners and explorers, and their due diligence pieces were incredibly detailed. It helped me filter out a lot of the noise when I was first getting into that side of things.

    15
    maria_campbell📊Growing (50-100k)✓ Verifiedabout 2 months ago

    This "deep-underground critical minerals tech" reminds me of my first foray into precious metals, way back in '08 when the housing market was tanking. I was a young buck in Boise, just starting to feel the pinch, and everyone was talking about gold. My dad had this old prospector buddy who swore up and down about untapped veins in Idaho. Dad and I actually spent a few weekends with him, hiking out past Idaho City, looking at old claims. Didn't find a thing but a lot of mosquito bites and some pretty scenery. Ended up buying my first ounce through a local coin dealer instead. Sometimes the obvious path is the best one.

    18
    joseph_harris📊Growing (50-100k)about 2 months ago

    Interesting to see this, but for my retirement savings, I'm still leaning towards tangible assets. While breakthroughs in critical minerals are exciting for the future, the volatility there isn't quite appealing for my gold IRA. I'd rather stick with what's proven to weather economic storms.

    12
    joshua_phillips🏆Advanced (250-500k)Real Investor✓ Verifiedabout 2 months ago

    This is fascinating. So, this "deep underground tech" for critical minerals - does that have any implications for where we source gold or how much it costs to get it out of the ground? I'm trying to figure out if this is something to keep an eye on for long-term gold price stability or if it's more for other metals.

    4
    janet_cook📊Growing (50-100k)about 2 months ago

    Interesting tech, but for me, I'm sticking to the tangible stuff I can hold. My portfolio is mostly in gold and silver through my Gold IRA, and it's been rock solid through all this economic uncertainty. If you're looking to diversify into precious metals, seriously, try the Gold IRA Quiz – it matched me with a strategy that really clicked with my goals. It helped me figure out the right kind of custodian and even some specific coins that fit my risk tolerance.

    7
    timothy_reed💎Premium (500k-1m)Real Investorabout 2 months ago

    Interesting to see investment flowing into critical minerals, especially with the deep-dredging tech. While my core retirement savings are heavily weighted in precious metals through my gold IRA, diversifying into the upstream for other critical stuff could be a smart play down the line. It's all about strategic positioning for the future, not just gold and silver.

    7
    diane_bailey💰Established (100-250k)Real Investorabout 2 months ago

    This sounds interesting, but honestly, it feels a bit like chasing unicorns when the real value is right here with physical gold. While I appreciate the long-term potential of critical minerals, my Gold IRA is built on tangible assets I can understand and track, not future tech out of an Oxford lab. I've seen too many promising "deep-underground" ventures fizzle out.

    0
    matthew_murphy👑Elite (1m-5m)Real Investorabout 2 months ago

    This is actually great news and totally tracks with where I see things going. I remember back in 2020, I was eyeing some junior miners for my metals portfolio, really trying to diversify beyond just physical. It was exactly this kind of tech disruption in mining that convinced me to put a significant chunk into a couple of small-cap exploration plays. They're up nicely now, so I'm a big believer in the underlying innovation.

    13
    christopher_young🌟Ultra (5m+)Real Investor✓ Verifiedabout 2 months ago

    Interesting tech, but not for me. My Gold IRA holdings are strictly physical, bought and stored with companies that I trust, and frankly, I see deep-underground mining tech as just adding more layers of speculative risk. Give me tangible metal over mineral rights or tech startups any day of the week, especially when we're talking about retirement funds.

    7
    jennifer_martinez💰Established (100-250k)Real Investor✓ Verifiedabout 2 months ago

    This is interesting, but honestly, it feels a bit like chasing unicorns for a secure portfolio. My Gold IRA isn't about speculative deep-earth mining; it's about holding physical assets that have proven their worth for millennia. I'd rather park my funds in something tangible and easily liquidated, especially with how quickly tech bubbles can burst.

    2
    kenneth_parker💎Premium (500k-1m)Real Investor✓ Verifiedabout 2 months ago

    GIRAB_User_GoldBull77

    Interesting tech, but deep-underground always makes me pause when we're talking about critical minerals. The extraction costs, environmental impact considerations, and the sheer logistical nightmare of getting that stuff out of the ground once it's located often makes these projects less attractive than they appear on paper. I've seen a few of these 'next big thing' mining plays fizzle out after initial raises due to operational realities. Good for them securing funding, though; hopefully, they have a solid plan for the actual extraction phase, not just the discovery.

    7
    nancy_hall💰Established (100-250k)Real Investorabout 2 months ago

    Totally agree with the sentiment here. It's smart to keep an eye on these unconventional plays, especially for long-term stability. Reminds me of when I first started looking into my Gold IRA a few years back – everyone was focused on standard stocks, and I was getting static for even considering physical assets. But after running some numbers through the IRA Calculator here on GIRAB, I saw the potential for diversification. Ended up allocating a good chunk of my portfolio, around $150k at the time, and haven't regretted it once, especially with the inflation we've seen. This "deep-underground" tech sounds like another one of those ahead-of-the-curve moves.

    11
    andrew_roberts👑Elite (1m-5m)Real Investor✓ Verifiedabout 2 months ago

    @Timothy Reed You know, it's funny how paths diverge. When I hear about things like deep-sea dredging for critical minerals, my mind immediately jumps to the sheer *risk* involved. My journey into precious metals was born out of a very different kind of fear, a gut-wrenching feeling after the '08 crash. I watched friends lose everything they’d built, not because of some deep-sea mining venture failing, but because seemingly solid paper assets vaporized overnight. I'd moved down to Palm Beach a few years before, thinking I was set, and suddenly that beautiful ocean view felt less like a dream and more like a reminder of how quickly fortunes can turn. That's when the gold IRA became more than just an investment; it became a declaration of independence from that kind of volatile uncertainty. I remember sitting with my financial advisor, a guy I'd trusted for years, and him practically scoffing at the idea of putting a significant portion into physical gold. He kept pushing mutual funds and tech stocks. But I had this deep-seated need for something tangible, something that couldn't be printed into oblivion or disappear with a dot-com bust. I put in a significant chunk back

    11
    steven_mitchell🏆Advanced (250-500k)Real Investor✓ Verifiedabout 2 months ago

    Genuinely curious — has anyone here actually tried to liquidate from their gold IRA? How smooth was that process?

    17
    william_davis💎Premium (500k-1m)Real Investorabout 2 months ago

    That's an interesting development, but honestly, it doesn't move the needle for my gold allocation philosophy. I'm more focused on the proven, tangible asset itself rather than speculative tech plays in the mining sector. My strategy has always been about inflation hedging and portfolio stability, not chasing the next big mining breakthrough. It's why I hold physical gold in my IRA through *Goldco*, and periodically add to it, especially when the market feels frothy.

    16
    brian_edwards🌟Ultra (5m+)Real Investor✓ Verifiedabout 2 months ago

    Interesting read, but for tangible asset protection, I'm sticking to the real thing above ground. While novel tech is always cool, especially when it comes to securing supply chains, the sheer risk and cost involved in deep-underground mining R&D makes me wary for immediate portfolio allocation. My focus remains on physical metals for true wealth preservation. I actually used the IRA Calculator at https://calculator.goldirablueprint.com/?forum the other day to re-run some long-term projections, and the consistent growth of tangible assets just can't be beat for stability, regardless of what's happening miles beneath the surface.

    12,000+ investors requested this guide last month

    Find out why retirees are moving savings into gold. Free kit, no obligation.

    Related Discussions

    Industrial Demand for Silver - What's Everyone Thinking?

    ▲ 3195 comments

    Silver's Volatility - My Experience and Strategy

    ▲ 2997 comments

    Gold and inflation - what's everyone doing?

    ▲ 29511 comments

    Physical vs. Paper Gold - My Take After 20 Years

    ▲ 2958 comments

    So my wife convinced me on a Gold IRA... and I'm honestly impressed.

    ▲ 2927 comments

    Explore Other Topics

    🥇 Gold IRA

    Is Your "Safe" IRA Leaving You Exposed? The Gold Risk Myth DEBUNKED! 🔥

    🥇 Gold IRA

    Finally Got My Head Around Gold IRA Rollover Taxes! (Seriously, This Tool Rocks)

    🥈 Silver IRA

    **Seriously Helped Me Figure Out My Gold IRA Allocation!**

    🥇 Gold IRA

    🚨 **Gold IRA Fees: Myth or Monetary Massacre? Let's Talk Truth!** 🚨