Pentagon invests $150M to boost alumina and gallium output

(The Center Square) – A Louisiana refinery will expand to produce more critical minerals for the U.S. as a result of an investment from the federal government.

The Department of War is spending $150 million in its partnership with ATALCO, operator of the nation’s only alumina refinery in Gramercy. The money will be used to double the plant’s output and establish production of gallium, a critical mineral essential in making a variety of high-tech manufactured goods.

The investment is matched with a $300 million commitment by Pinnacle Asset Management, majority owner of ATALCO, whose Gramercy plant supplies approximately 40% of domestic alumina demand.

The $450 million investment is designed to increase alumina output at the plant from 450,000 tons a year to over 1 million metric tons annually and to jumpstart production of gallium, a byproduct of the refining process. Alumina and gallium are used in manufacturing advanced semiconductors, aerospace and defense systems and a variety of energy technologies...