Alta Resource Technologies, a critical mineral mining startup headquartered in Colorado, announced that it has expanded its Series Seed funding to $10 million and completed an investment of $4.4 million. The investment was led by DCVC and Voyager Ventures, with participation from non-profit strategic investors and In-Q-Tel (IQT), the venture capital entity of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Alta stated that the new capital will accelerate the development and commercialization of its platform. This technology utilizes engineered proteins to selectively bind and separate critical minerals, including rare earth elements such as neodymium and dysprosium, from low-grade ores and wastewater with complex composition. The company indicated that this approach aims to significantly reduce the environmental impact of mineral mining while helping to secure a domestic supply of critical minerals needed for advanced electronics, clean energy technologies, and modern defense systems.