The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) has awarded more than $110 million to two metals producers in hopes of increasing the domestic supply of materials needed for advanced batteries.
Under the contracts announced in mid-September, Bloomberg reports, Albemarle Corporation would receive $90 million to help reopen a lithium mine in western North Carolina, while Talon Metals will get some $20.6 million to accelerate its efforts to mine nickel in northern Minnesota.
The announcements were made under the Defense Production Act, a 1950s law that, in part, enables the White House to direct private companies to perform work deemed vital to U.S. national security. President Biden invoked the law for battery material purposes last year, citing the dominance of that market by foreign nations — particularly China.
Albemarle, the world’s top lithium producer, hopes to add the Kings Mountain mine west of Charlotte to its site in Nevada, which is currently the only functioning lithium mine in the U.S. The company aims to produce some 50,000 metric tons of lithium annually from the site beginning in 2027.
Meanwhile, Talon plans to produce nickel, copper, and cobalt at the Tamarack Intrusive Complex, which operates jointly with global mining giant Rio Tinto. Tesla previously agreed to buy 75,000 tons of nickel concentrates from the venture eventually.
The funding is part of $750 million that could be made available to miners of vital metals.
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