Atana Elements Secures $27.5 Million Seed Round to Discover Critical Mineral Resources at Record Speed
Atana applies advanced AI/ML techniques and oil & gas sector expertise to explore global flowing mineral systems. The company has already licensed prospective lithium resources exceeding 100 million tonnes LCE across the EU and the Americas.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA, UNITED STATES, June 2, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Atana Elements, a critical minerals exploration company, today announced a $27.5 million seed round led by Lowercarbon Capital, with participation from Borusan Ventures, Earthshot Ventures, Overture Ventures, Redwoods Climate Capital, Sunna Ventures, Verve Ventures, Volta Energy Technologies, WovenEarth, and others. This capital will fund Atana’s continued acquisition of qualified, high-quality mineral assets globally. The team has already secured positions estimated to contain over 100 million tonnes of Lithium Carbonate Equivalent (LCE) and has multiple exploration projects underway.
Atana’s founding team spent six years building the world’s largest pipeline of subsurface flowing-mineral assets: high-grade and accessible sources of lithium, copper, uranium, hydrogen, and helium. Led by CEO and founder Tom Wilson, Atana’s exploration team drove the discovery, appraisal, and divestment of a top-10 global lithium brine asset in 2025, realizing a nearly 5x return on investment in three years.
Flowing mineral systems are rapidly becoming dominant sources of critical minerals. As the industry looks beyond traditional hard rock mining approaches, subsurface brines, gases, and in-situ recovery techniques promise superior economics and lower environmental footprints.
Atana's team applies decades of fluid-system expertise honed at industry giants including BP, Hess, Rio Tinto, and ExxonMobil with modern tooling in geospatial data science, machine learning, and AI. Proprietary geological databases and a suite of custom exploration tools allow the company to identify and de-risk targets at a fraction of the time and cost of legacy players.
“The world needs critical minerals faster and in secure jurisdictions," said Tom Wilson. “Atana’s approach is not just desktop theory, it is an experienced operational team enhanced by cutting-edge AI/ML and oil & gas discipline to deliver faster, smarter exploration. What typically takes five to ten years, Atana has shown we can accomplish in 22 months using our proprietary approaches to mineral discovery.”
Atana has a running start on acquiring assets just as a structural deficit is emerging in commodity markets. Demand for lithium alone is projected to require roughly three times current known reserves and an estimated $250 billion in capital investment over the coming decade. This gap is intensified by national export bans, supply chain disruptions, and underperforming legacy projects. These are just some of the factors driving initiatives by Western governments to secure critical mineral supply (including the United States’ $12 billion Project Vault).
The company is actively partnering with capital providers and operators to fund and execute field programs.
About Atana
Atana is a critical minerals exploration company specializing in flowing mineral systems, including lithium brines, hydrogen, helium, and emerging extraction methods for copper and uranium. Atana integrates advanced geoscience, AI and machine learning, and operational expertise from the oil and gas and technology sectors to identify and de-risk large-scale mineral resources in jurisdictions that meet Western security and investment requirements. For more information, visit https://atanaelements.com.
Tom Wilson
Atana Elements
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