U.S. DoW Funds Project to Boost Domestic Gallium, Scandium Supply

The U.S. Department of War on Nov. 20 announced a $29.9 million Defense Production Act Title III award to ElementUS Minerals, LLC, accelerating U.S. efforts to secure gallium and scandium—two minerals central to missile defense, sensors, aircraft, and hypersonic systems.

ElementUSA will build a demonstration facility in Gramercy, Louisiana to extract the minerals from industrial waste and begin related development at its Critical Resource Accelerator in Cedar Park, Texas. The award is funded through the Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2022 and supports Executive Order 14241 on expanding U.S. mineral production.

Using a proprietary process, ElementUSA will tap more than 30 million tons of bauxite residue from alumina refining, positioning itself as one of the first U.S. producers of both minerals. The project aims to build supply without new mining while reducing industrial waste.

“By enabling ElementUSA to recover gallium and scandium from processing waste, this award will support the DoW’s work to expand the supply of critical minerals needed for numerous defense components and platforms,” Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Resilience Jeffrey Frankston said. He added that such efforts are key to rebuilding domestic capability, diversifying supply chains, and reducing foreign dependence.

The award is part of 18 DPA Purchases Office actions totaling $887 million in fiscal year 2025, with recipient cost shares reaching $88 million.

The move follows major supply chain disruptions triggered in 2023 when China imposed licensing on gallium and germanium exports, sending European gallium prices up more than 40%. China now controls nearly all primary gallium output and has now also restricted exports of scandium, samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, lutetium, and yttrium.

The United States consumes about 20 tons of gallium annually and produces none, leaving defense programs exposed. The metal underpins radars, missile seekers, secure RF links, satellite solar cells, and electronic warfare systems. Scandium strengthens aluminum alloys used in aircraft frames, missile bodies, UAV structures, and 3D-printed components. It improves weldability and heat resistance, enabling lighter, more durable military systems.

The ElementUSA project targets the minerals already embedded in U.S. industrial byproducts—material that would otherwise be discarded—while attempting to close strategic gaps intensified by Chinese export controls.