The Trump administration took a $150 million equity stake Monday in a Louisiana-based refinery that will soon begin production of gallium, a critical mineral needed for military equipment and satellites that China currently dominates and has globally throttled with export restrictions.
The Department of Defense’s Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment program invested the money in the Atlantic Alumina Co., or Atalco, to establish gallium production at the company’s alumina refinery in Louisiana on the banks of the Mississippi River. The refinery will become the only facility in the nation producing gallium, according to Atalco.
Gallium is a byproduct of alumina production from bauxite ore. The U.S. is currently reliant on China for gallium, which isn’t produced domestically.
The refinery will help boost the nation’s domestic supply of alumina and gallium used in aerospace and defense systems, semiconductors and energy technology, Atalco said in a release. The Pentagon reached the deal with Concord Resources Holdings, and its majority shareholder, Pinnacle Asset Management, a leading commodities investment firm.
