ElementUSA announced an $850 million investment to build a rare earth and critical minerals refining facility in Gramercy, Louisiana. The company expects the project to create 200 jobs, while Louisiana Economic Development (LED) projects an additional 554 indirect new jobs.
ElementUSA will use its proprietary processes to extract gallium, scandium, iron and other critical minerals from more than 30 million tons of bauxite residue, the byproduct of the alumina refining process. Supported by a $29.9 million grant from the Pentagon, the company will first construct a demonstration facility to validate its extraction process and guide the design of a future commercial-scale facility.
LED expects construction of the demonstration facility to begin in mid-2027, with initial production scheduled for the third quarter of 2028. The company will source materials from nearby industrial facilities.
"With federal support in place, we can advance our prototype facility and move toward our full-scale vision: A world-class plant in Louisiana capable of processing over 1 million tons of bauxite residue annually and producing a suite of essential minerals that will strengthen America’s industrial base and national security," ElementUSA CEO Ellis Sullivan said.
The company revealed the project's initial plans in 2021 and has since refined its proprietary extraction process and evaluated the site’s bauxite residue resources, laying the groundwork for this next phase of investment.
To win the project in Gramercy, the state of Louisiana offered ElementUSA an incentives package that included the comprehensive workforce development solutions of LED FastStart and a $6 million performance-based grant for utility and infrastructure improvements. LED also expects the company to participate in Louisiana’s Quality Jobs and Industrial Tax Exemption programs.
