Few people outside the geology world know the term ophiolite . Yet these ancient rock formations may hold the key to America’s next industrial and energy transition. Ophiolites are slices of ancient oceanic crust and upper mantle thrust up onto land over geological time. Within them lie rich concentrations of critical minerals such as vanadium, titanium, nickel and cobalt—materials essential to modern industry, batteries, aerospace and green-energy systems. On top of that, t