US military developing small refineries for critical minerals
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A collection of antimony – key to making bullets – is displayed at the Natural History Museum in London.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WASHINGTON – The US military said it plans to develop a fleet of small-scale refineries to produce critical minerals used to make bullets, armour and other types of weaponry, a move aimed at developing domestic sources for niche materials that Chinese miners have long controlled.
The plans, which have not been previously reported, are being developed by the US Army alongside the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and antimony and gold miner Perpetua Resources, with antimony being the first mineral the military aims to refine.
While the Army said it does not plan to produce large volumes of minerals for private use, the small-scale approach would allow access to a steady stream of these building blocks without relying on commercial refineries, which are often far larger and focused on bulk products, including copper and iron ore.
If successful, Washington aims to develop refineries for other minerals as well, including tungsten, rare earths and boron, all of which are considered critical by the US government.
“We need to come up with a way to make our own (critical minerals) domestically that we can actually monitor and control within our borders,” said Mr Mark Mezger, a munitions procurement adviser for the US Army.
For antimony, the US Army spent US$30 million (S$39 million) developing the refinery programme over several years, with privately held Westpro Machinery designing a refinery that can be transported in four shipping containers.
The refinery can produce 7 to 10 tonnes annually of a type of antimony known as trisulfide, far less than a commercial refinery would produce but enough to supply the Army during peacetime.
Should a conflict break out, the Army can expand processing by adding additional mini-refineries to process ore from Perpetua’s Idaho mine, Mr Mezger said.
The Army is in talks with other US antimony projects for additional sourcing, he added.
Antimony trisulfide is used to make primers, the explosive cap at a bullet’s base. This version of antimony has not been produced in the United States since the 1960s.
“Without antimony trisulfide, you can’t make primers. And without primers, you can’t make bullets, and an army without bullets is just a parade,” said Mr Mezger.
The INL will test the facility for the next six months and, if it passes muster, will operate it for the Army and Perpetua, which is backed by JPMorgan Chase and billionaire investor John Paulson.
Refineries for other minerals could be located on military bases or other government properties, officials said.
The portable refinery will crush rock and perform other steps common to larger facilities. Different chemicals can be used in the process depending on the type of mineral being produced.
Part of the INL’s involvement will be to verify the facility does not just mimic existing refinery standards and is cleaner and more efficient, officials said.
The Army discovered in 2021 that China stopped shipping trisulfide, setting off a drawdown of the military’s one-year stockpile and a dash for alternative supplies in India and elsewhere.
The refinery plan was born out of a realisation that a domestic option was crucial, Mr Mezger said.
Mr Jon Cherry, Perpetua’s chief executive, said the plant’s development should help “pave the way for sustained American mineral independence and resilience”. REUTERS
