Reliable Ore Characterization with Keystone Sensing (ROCKS)

The Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) issued a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) No. DE-FOA-0003592 for the Reliable Ore Characterization with Keystone Sensing (ROCKS) program. This initiative aims to accelerate U.S. mineral independence by enhancing domestic production of rare earth elements (REEs) and critical minerals. The program seeks transformative innovations in drilling, sensing, and analytical technologies to enable rapid, high-resolution, and cost-effective assessment of ore deposits. Key objectives include significantly improving characterization speed, reducing block-level resource uncertainty to ≤ ±10%, decreasing normalized volumetric characterization costs to ≤ $0.05/m³, and lowering total characterization costs to < 0.5% of gross metal value. The NOFO details three technical categories of interest: drilling technology, sensing and analysis, and other novel concepts, including those for alternate and untapped resources like deep-sea deposits. ARPA-E emphasizes substantial involvement in project direction, milestone monitoring, and commercialization guidance. The total anticipated funding is approximately $40 million, with individual awards ranging from $2 million to $5 million, and a performance period from June 2026 to June 2029.