Atlantic Alumina Secures $800 Million to Revitalize U.S. Alumina and Target 50 Tonnes of Gallium

Highlights

• ATALCO raised $800M—split equally between the U.S. Department of War and private investors—to upgrade its Gramercy, Louisiana alumina refinery.
• A gallium pilot facility is undergoing testing, with first output targeted for fall and eventual capacity of up to 50 tonnes per year.
• Analysts note 50 tonnes exceeds current U.S. consumption but falls short of true independence, as downstream purification and semiconductor manufacturing remain gaps.
• ATALCO plans to investigate recovering additional critical minerals from refinery residue, potentially transforming Gramercy into a broader critical-mineral recovery platform.
• The project is seen as a model for extracting strategic materials from existing industrial processes rather than building costly greenfield mines.