By Cody Baird – Staff Writer, Austin Business Journal, Jul 29, 2025
A critical metals extraction company is moving its headquarters from San Antonio to South Austin’s St. Elmo Arts District, citing a friendlier environment for startups as one factor in the move.
Maverick Metals hopes to move into its new headquarters at 444B E. St. Elmo Road in the first quarter of 2026, chief operating officer and co-founder Jesse Evans said. The new space will serve as both an administrative headquarters and a research and development lab.
Maverick Metals has developed a product called LithX, which Evans said extracts critical metals such as gold and copper in a cost effective and environmentally friendly manner. The company also works to extract rare earths, platinum metals, lithium and more.
The new lease from Maverick Metals is 10,000 square feet, a representative of The Yard, which owns the property, confirmed. While that space is large enough for the company to grow in the foreseeable future, Evans said The Yard has additional, neighboring spaces which the company could feasibly expand into if needed.
Previously, Maverick Metals was renting space in San Antonio’s VelocityTX, a nonprofit focused on advancing the life science industry that rents out office and lab space, similar to a coworking property. There, Maverick Metals was able “to stay small and lean and grow,” Evans said.
But as Maverick Metals grew, it needed more space, and it looked to Austin to find it.
“Austin in general is a much more startup-friendly city,” Evans said. “There’s a lot more capital opportunities with more VCs based in Austin. One of the big things San Antonio lacks is funding. In general, there’s not really a startup ecosystem (in San Antonio) of what I call your high high-growth, Silicon Valley-type companies.”
And Maverick Metals plans to grow in Austin. The company intends to initially staff its headquarters with around a dozen employees but aims to grow by an additional three to four dozen employees over the next few years.
Maverick Metals isn’t the only rare earth minerals company in the metro. Louisiana-based ElementusUSA is planning a research and development facility in Cedar Park and received incentives for that facility early this year.
For more information, contact:
press@maverickmetals.com
About Maverick Metals
Maverick Metals is a specialty chemicals provider and critical metals recovery technology innovator. Maverick’s flagship technologies – LithX and Direct Metal Extraction (DME) – unlock critical metals from untapped resources in the mining and energy industries. As global demand surges for critical metals processing, these technologies offer scalable, next-generation solutions to strengthen supply chains. By developing effective extraction and recovery solutions that integrate seamlessly into existing operations, Maverick helps critical industries meet rising global resource demands while ensuring environmental sustainability.For more information, follow us on LinkedIn or visit www.maverickmetals.com.