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Powder and Bulk Solid Employees | June 22, 2021
Westwater Resources Inc., a mineral resources exploration and development company, announced on Tuesday that its subsidiary, Alabama Graphite Products LLC, began construction of a new graphite processing plant in Kellyton, Alabama this year.
The company will spend US$80 million to build the site in the first phase of the project and US$125 million in the second phase. After the plant is put into operation next year, it will become the first large-scale graphite processing plant in the United States.
"The plant will not only make Alabama a leader in graphite production in the United States, and the place of choice for this important resource of battery manufacturing, but it will also further enhance our position as a major player in the fast-growing electric vehicle industry," Allah Bama Governor Keiwi said in a statement.
“We have four major auto factories and are able to source precious metals for lithium-ion batteries used in electric and hybrid vehicles in the state. This will be a big advantage in attracting other manufacturing jobs to the state,” Governor Ivey added.
With the opening of the new factory, approximately 100 full-time jobs will be created. The state will pass the Alabama Employment Act to provide Westwater with approximately $29.9 million in employment opportunities and tax credits within 15 years. AIDT, a state-run labor development agency, will provide the company with a job training and employee recruitment program of US$925,000.
The company will mine raw graphite in the western part of Coosa County, where it won the rights to 42,000 acres of graphite-rich deposits there in 2018. The operation of the new mine is scheduled to start in 2028. Westwater's processing plant has an initial annual production capacity of 7,500 tn and will be expanded to 15,000 tn. Each battery in an electric car contains 175 to 200 pounds of graphite.
"All the graphite used and needed in the United States, including the U.S. automotive industry, is imported," Westwater President and CEO Christ Jones said in a press release. "Most of this comes from China, where the media reported on worker and environmental issues. Domestic production of graphite reduces our dependence on foreign sources. Although the raw graphite that we will process into battery-grade materials will initially be imported, it will not come from China. We have reached agreements with other suppliers."
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