The Department of War announced today a $29.9 million a Defense Production Act (DPA) Title III award to ElementUS Minerals, LLC (ElementUSA). ElementUSA will use this award to enable the development of a demonstration facility in Gramercy, Louisiana to separate and purify gallium and scandium from existing industrial waste. The company will also conduct initial development work at their Critical Resource Accelerator in Cedar Park, Texas.
This investment uses funds from the Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2022. It also supports the Administration's goal to increase the production of processed critical minerals and other derivative products as articulated in the March 20, 2025, Executive Order 14241 - Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production.
"Gallium and scandium are critical minerals essential to a wide range of defense manufacturing industries and equipment," said Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Policy Mike Cadenazzi. "Developing domestic production of both is a DOW priority."
ElementUSA is a leading expert in recovering minerals and metals from industrial waste streams to create domestic supply chains of critical minerals necessary for national defense. Using DPA Title III funds to construct the demonstration facility, the company will become one of the first U.S. producers of both gallium and scandium. Systems such as missile defense platforms, sensors, fighter aircraft, and hypersonic weapons all require these elements in their manufacture. The company will use a proprietary process to separate and extract these critical minerals from over 30 million tons of mineral-rich bauxite residue, a byproduct of the alumina refining process. As such, not only will ElementUSA create a domestic supply chain of critical minerals, but it will do so while cleaning up a waste product with no additional mining required.
"By enabling ElementUSA to recover gallium and scandium from processing waste, this award will support the DOW's work to expand the supply of critical minerals needed for numerous defense components and platforms," added Mr. Jeffrey Frankston, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Resilience, which oversees the Manufacturing Capability Expansion and Investment Prioritization (MCEIP) directorate. "Such awards are essential for reconstituting domestic capabilities, diversifying supply chains, reducing dependence on foreign sources, and enhancing national security."
This is one of 18 awards made by the DPA Purchases Office totaling $887.0 million in fiscal year 2025. Recipient cost shares total $88.0 million in FY 2025. The MCEIP directorate oversees the DPA Purchases Office.
