Oklahoma aspires to become hub for mineral refining

In Oklahoma, the country's only nickel refinery, its largest lithium refinery, two lithium-ion battery recycling plants, a rare earths magnet facility, and several electronic waste collection facilities are under construction or in operation

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Nestled beneath Oklahoma’s Wichita Mountains sits a two-story warehouse containing the only machine in the United States capable of refining nickel, a crucial energy transition metal now dominated by China. The facility, owned by startup Westwin Elements, aims to help Oklahoma become the epicentre for US critical minerals processing, a sector the country largely abandoned decades ago. The state will have to overcome several obstacles to get there, including a lack of major critical mineral deposits, a weak education system and its location at the centre of the United States — far from international shipping lanes. Yet Oklahoma's push into minerals processing marks an unexpected twist in the country’s efforts to wean itself off Chinese rivals who have blocked exports.

President Donald Trump has said he wants to boost US production of minerals used across the economy. In Oklahoma, the country’s only nickel refinery, its largest lithium refinery, two lithium-ion battery recycling plants, a rare earths magnet facility, and several electronic waste collection facilities are under construction or in operation—more than in any other state. They join a Umicore site that produces germanium crystals for solar panels. An aluminum smelter—the country's first since 1980 — is set to break ground next year at a site bordering an Arkansas River tributary.