Overview
- The Army provisionally selected several firms to develop processing plants on military land, a development reported June 25–26, 2026, naming REalloys, Titan, ioneer and EnergyX and planned sites in Alabama, Arkansas, Texas and Utah.
- Those selections are conditional, not final contracts, and each project still needs financing, permitting and multiyear construction before any plant can operate.
- Titan said it was conditionally chosen to design, finance, build and operate graphite purification facilities at Pine Bluff Arsenal in Arkansas and Anniston Army Depot in Alabama under long leases that keep land title with the Army.
- Officials frame the move as a way to reduce U.S. reliance on Chinese processing, increase domestic supply for defense and industry, and provide lease revenue that can fund installation needs.
- The plan carries clear risks for surrounding communities and project economics because mineral processing faces environmental permitting, local pushback and uncertain long‑term cost competitiveness without sustained subsidies.