Alta Resource Technologies develops a mineral separation platform using engineered proteins to selectively bind and separate metal ions, including rare earth elements and other critical minerals, from complex feedstocks such as mined ores, electronic waste, mining tailings, and coal ash. The proteins are immobilized in a column-based system where target metals are captured and released to produce high-purity outputs exceeding 99.5% in a continuous manner. The technology is licensed from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and co-developed with researchers at Pennsylvania State University. It supplies materials to defense applications including guidance systems and advanced alloys, electronics and semiconductors such as smartphones, displays, data centers, and AI hardware, energy and transportation sectors like electric motors, wind turbines, and EV batteries, and recycling from e-waste, magnets, batteries, and industrial waste streams. The company has raised a total of $38.4M, including an early stage VC round of $28.4M in December 2025, seed funding in May 2025, and a grant of $4.47M in January 2025. Founded in 2023 by Nathan Ratledge (CEO) and Nicolas Daffern, it is headquartered in Boulder, Colorado.