Atlantic Alumina Company said the US government and a Pinnacle Asset Management affiliate have invested more than $450 million in the alumina producer to boost domestic output and build the country’s first large‑scale primary gallium production circuit.
The US Department of War has invested $150 million in preferred equity, while Pinnacle’s affiliate, Concord Resources Holdings, has put in more than $300 million in private capital, Atlantic Alumina, or ATALCO, said on Monday.
The Trump administration has ramped up efforts to secure US supply chains for critical minerals, including shifting some federal support from grants to direct equity stakes, as Washington seeks to reduce reliance on market leader China.
ATALCO will set up the primary gallium production circuit at Gramercy, Louisiana, the company said, with the partnership aimed at reinforcing national supplies of critical minerals to aerospace, defense, semiconductors and energy technologies.
The Gramercy site has supplied smelter-grade alumina since 1959. Primary gallium is recovered from alumina ore.
ATALCO expects to boost output to more than 1 million metric tons of alumina annually and produce up to 50 metric tons of gallium per year.
(By Pranav Mathur; Editing by Leroy Leo)
