June 25 (Reuters) – Canadian miner Titan Mining and U.S.-based REalloys said on Thursday they were selected by the U.S. Army to develop processing facilities for critical minerals.
Reuters first reported in December that the Pentagon was developing small critical-minerals refineries for U.S. military bases, part of a broader push to secure defense supply chains and reduce reliance on China for the materials used in weapons, batteries and advanced manufacturing.
• Titan Mining said its subsidiary, Empire State Mines, received conditional U.S. Army selection notices for enhanced-use leases at two U.S. sites to develop graphite processing capacity.
• REalloys also has been selected by the Army to enter exclusive contract negotiations for a long-term enhanced-use lease to develop heavy rare earth processing facilities at the Tooele Army Depot in Utah, it said.
• Under the proposed leases of up to 50 years, the Titan subsidiary would finance, design, build, operate and eventually decommission the facilities, while the U.S. Army would retain ownership of the land.
• The sites include a 245-acre parcel at Pine Bluff Arsenal in Arkansas, expected to serve as the primary location, and a 97-acre parcel at Anniston Army Depot in Alabama.
• REalloys’ planned facilities at the Tooele Army Depot would process heavy rare earths, including dysprosium and terbium, which the company said are used for high-temperature permanent magnets.
• REalloys said development of its project could begin as early as 2027, while construction of Titan’s facilities is targeted to begin in the second half of that year.
• Titan, which operates zinc concentrate assets in upstate New York and is developing a domestic natural flake graphite supply chain, said it would continue to pursue additional Army sites.
(Reporting by Dharna Bafna in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)
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