The War Department announced $135.6 million in equity investments Friday to protect U.S. access to alumina and critical minerals used in military systems, electrical infrastructure, electronics, and manufacturing.
The department will make a $100 million follow-on investment in the country’s sole remaining alumina refinery and complete a previously announced $35.6 million investment that gives the federal government an ownership interest in Trilogy Metals, a company developing mineral deposits in northwest Alaska.
Government Investment in Refinery Reaches $400 Million
The larger investment will go to Atlantic Alumina Company, known as Atalco, which operates the nation’s only alumina refinery in Gramercy, Louisiana.
Alumina is produced from bauxite ore and processed into aluminum. The finished metal is used in military aircraft, vehicles, weapons, electronics, and other defense systems, as well as civilian manufacturing and infrastructure.
Friday’s $100 million preferred-equity investment brings the War Department’s total commitment to Atalco to $400 million, according to the department’s announcement.
Atalco’s existing investors have committed another $350 million, with an additional $50 million expected within 75 days. If completed, government and private investments would total $800 million.
The money will support continuing operations and capital improvements intended to return the refinery to its nameplate capacity of 1.2 million metric tons of alumina annually.
Louisiana Refinery Supplies Texas Manufacturers
The Gramercy facility converts imported bauxite into domestically refined alumina and accounts for approximately 55% of U.S. alumina demand, according to the War Department.
It supplies aluminum smelters in Kentucky and South Carolina, as well as major manufacturing operations in Texas, North Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, and Mississippi.
The War Department requires approximately 200,000 metric tons of metallurgical aluminum annually. Officials said Atalco currently provides sufficient alumina to support approximately 60% of that demand.
The department projects that planned production increases will allow the refinery to support aluminum production equivalent to 142% of its projected demand by 2029.
Approximately 99.3% of the refinery’s output goes to industries classified as national-security subsectors, according to the department.
The investment is expected to preserve approximately 875 jobs associated with refining, mining, shipping, and port operations. That figure includes about 530 refinery workers in Gramercy.
War Department officials said financial and operational pressures would likely force the refinery and affiliated mining operations to close without the near-term investment.
Federal Government Receives Stake in Trilogy Metals
The department separately announced an executed $35.6 million investment agreement with Trilogy Metals, a publicly traded mineral exploration company.
The transaction gives the federal government a 10% direct ownership stake in Trilogy, along with penny warrants representing an additional 7.5%. The department described the government’s combined economic position as 17.5%.
The money will support exploration, engineering, and infrastructure development at the Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects in northwest Alaska.
Those projects are managed by Ambler Metals, a 50-50 joint venture between Trilogy and Australian mining company South32. The mineral district contains copper, cobalt, germanium, and other materials used in defense systems, data centers, electronics, and electrical infrastructure.
The district includes the Arctic deposit, which the War Department describes as one of the world’s highest-grade undeveloped copper deposits. The nearby Bornite project contains additional copper, cobalt, and germanium resources.
Investment Follows Ambler Road Approval
Development of the remote mineral district depends on the proposed Ambler Road, a 211-mile industrial route connecting the area to Alaska’s Dalton Highway.
President Donald Trump approved an appeal supporting the road in October 2025 and directed federal agencies to issue the necessary authorizations. The Bureau of Land Management subsequently reissued a 50-year right-of-way grant, according to the agency’s project record.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the decision reversed the Biden administration’s rejection of the project over concerns involving wildlife, waterways, and Alaska Native subsistence resources.
The federal investment in Trilogy was initially disclosed when Trump revived the road project. Friday’s announcement confirmed the executed agreement and the government’s ownership terms.
The War Department projects that development of the Ambler district and road could create more than 2,730 construction jobs and 500 long-term mining jobs. It also estimates the projects could generate more than $1.1 billion in Alaska state revenue.
Officials said downstream processing and manufacturing could occur in Texas, Arizona, Utah, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
Deals Give Government Ownership Interests
The transactions differ from conventional federal grants or procurement contracts because the government receives preferred ownership units, common shares, or warrants in exchange for its money.
Officials said the approach is intended to protect taxpayer capital while directing funding toward industrial facilities and mineral projects considered important to national security.
The investments also extend the federal government’s use of direct ownership positions to support domestic production of materials vulnerable to overseas supply disruptions.
Provided by Dallas Express
