PROVO, Utah–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#IonicMT–Ionic MT today announced the appointment of Troy Colwill as Head of Hydrometallurgy. In this role, Troy will lead Ionic MT’s hydrometallurgical engineering functions and oversee the transition of technologies from pilot facilities into full-scale industrial production.
Troy joins Ionic MT after an 18-year career with Rio Tinto, where he held senior technical and operational leadership roles across iron, copper, and precious metals operations. Most recently, he served as Hot Metals Technical Manager at Rio Tinto Kennecott Utah Copper, leading engineering teams in furnace chemistry optimization and advanced process control systems. His work included initiatives that improved copper recovery, plant uptime, and operational efficiency.
At Ionic MT, Troy will direct process development for critical materials separation and purification, including solvent extraction systems, and ensure structured transfer of new technologies from pilot operations into commercial production. His responsibilities will also include scaling pilot-tested systems, validating performance under operating conditions, and defining technical deliverables such as mass balances, process flow diagrams, and equipment specifications.
“Troy’s experience in solvent extraction and process scale-up is directly aligned with our work,” said Andre Zeitoun, Founder and CEO of Ionic MT. “He will play a central role in advancing our technologies from pilot demonstration to reliable, commercial-scale production.”
“I’m excited to be joining Ionic MT at such a pivotal time,” said Troy Colwill. “My focus will be on optimizing and fine-tuning our technologies, making sure everything transitions smoothly from pilot to full-scale production, and building up the technical capability to support long-term success.”
Troy holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Waterloo and is a Six Sigma Green Belt.
About Ionic MT
Ionic MT is a critical materials technology platform producing Ionisil™ nano-silicon, IonAL™ boehmite alumina, and individual oxides from ion-adsorbed critical elements and rare earths, all from a single U.S. halloysite resource. Its continuous-flow metallothermic and zero process-waste architecture is designed for scalable, domestic supply to advanced batteries, aluminum value chains, and strategic industries.
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