The Department of War is injecting nearly $30 million into domestic critical mineral production, redirecting funds originally earmarked for Ukraine toward a facility that will extract valuable elements from industrial waste.
The $29.9 million award to ElementUS Minerals, LLC will fund a demonstration facility in Gramercy, Louisiana, where the company plans to separate and purify gallium and scandium from bauxite residue — a byproduct of aluminum refining that typically sits as waste. The company will also conduct initial development work at their Critical Resource Accelerator in Cedar Park, Texas, the Department announced this week.
Critical Minerals for Defense
Why focus on these particular minerals? Gallium and scandium aren’t exactly household names, but they’re crucial components in advanced weapons systems and military technology. They’re used in missile defense systems, sensors, fighter aircraft, and even hypersonic weapons — making their domestic production a priority for defense officials.
“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.”
The investment comes from the Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2022, representing a significant redirection of funds that were initially intended for Ukraine assistance. It aligns with the Biden Administration’s broader push to increase American mineral production outlined in Executive Order 14241, signed in March 2025.
Mining Without Mining
What makes ElementUSA’s approach noteworthy is that it doesn’t require new mining operations. Instead, the company has developed a proprietary process to extract valuable minerals from more than 30 million tons of bauxite residue that already exists — essentially mining the waste of previous industrial processes.
This approach could kill two birds with one stone: creating a domestic supply of critical minerals while simultaneously reducing industrial waste. It’s an elegant solution to a complex problem, though scaling the technology remains the key challenge.
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of War Jeffrey Frankston emphasized the strategic importance of the project: “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.”
Part of a Broader Initiative
The ElementUSA funding represents just one piece of a much larger investment in domestic manufacturing capability. It’s one of 18 awards made by the Defense Production Act Purchases Office, totaling a staggering $887 million in fiscal year 2025 alone. Recipients are contributing an additional $88 million in cost shares during the same period.
These investments reflect growing concerns about America’s reliance on foreign suppliers for critical minerals. China currently dominates the global supply chain for many of these resources, creating potential vulnerabilities for U.S. defense production.
The Manufacturing Capability Expansion and Investment Prioritization directorate, which oversees the DPA Purchases Office, has been increasingly active in funding projects that reduce foreign dependence and enhance national security through domestic production capabilities.
For ElementUSA, the challenge now becomes turning their demonstration facility into a scalable operation that can meaningfully impact America’s critical mineral supply chain — all while proving that industrial waste can indeed become a national security asset.
