The Department of War awarded $29.9 million to ElementUS Minerals LLC (Element USA) on Wednesday to build America’s first domestic production facility for gallium and scandium.
The Louisiana-based demonstration plant will extract these critical defense minerals from industrial waste. The investment addresses a strategic vulnerability in U.S. defense manufacturing. Both minerals are essential for missile defense systems, fighter jets, and hypersonic weapons.
“Gallium and scandium are critical minerals essential to a wide range of defense manufacturing industries and equipment,” said Mike Cadenazzi, Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Policy. “Developing domestic production of both is a DOW priority.”
ElementUSA will construct its demonstration facility in Gramercy, Louisiana. The company will also conduct development work at its Cedar Park, Texas, accelerator.
The funding comes from the 2022 Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act. It supports Executive Order 14241′s mandate to boost domestic mineral production.
ElementUSA’s proprietary process extracts minerals from bauxite residue, an alumina refining byproduct. The company will process 30 million tons of this mineral-rich waste material.
“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,” said Jeffrey Frankston, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Resilience.
The project eliminates the need for new mining operations. It simultaneously addresses environmental cleanup and strategic mineral shortages.
This marks one of 18 defense production awards totaling $887 million in fiscal year 2025. Recipients contributed $88 million in cost shares.
The Manufacturing Capability Expansion and Investment Prioritization directorate oversees the program through the Defense Production Act Purchases Office. Additional information is available at the MCEIP website.
