Because Wes****er links are tricky ... here is the text of a recent article.
https://www.alexcityoutlook.com/news/wes****er-quietly-begins-alabama-graphite-plant-construction/article_ad86844e-5943-11ec-b098-ffc564a52af4.htmlWes****er quietly begins Alabama Graphite plant construction
Construction has begun on the Alabama Graphite Products Plant in Kellyton, though heavy construction is not due to start until spring, parent company Wes****er Resources said in an update Wednesday.
The work began last week, starting with the refurbishment of what will soon be the administration center, president and CEO Chris Jones said at the town hall-style forum. In addition to the 73-acre parcel the company received as part of its incentives package, Wes****er purchased two adjacent buildings within the Lake Martin Regional Industrial Park site for warehousing and plant management.
The Colorado-based mining company first announced it would be coming to the Alexander City area in June, selecting the Kellyton park for its multimillion-dollar graphite processing plant, 30 miles from where it will eventually mine graphite. The company leases more than 42,000 acres of mineral rights in western Coosa County, about 10 percent of the county by area.
The Colorado-based company is in the running to make Alabama the first American source of graphite, a strategic mineral as declared by the U.S. government for its use in the lithium-ion batteries found in electric vehicles.
At present, China controls all battery-grade graphite production, and only two American companies, Wes****er and Graphite One in Alaska, have graphite mines in development. In the meantime, Wes****er says it will import unprocessed graphite from an undisclosed, "non-Chinese" source.
Earlier this year, Wes****er said it would begin construction on the plant by the end of 2021, with operations starting in 2023. New chief operating officer Chad Potter, who is based in Coosa County, and Jones provided an update on that timeline Wednesday.
Buy NowWes****er president and CEO Chris Jones (left) and COO Chad Potter look on at a town hall forum hosted by the Lake Martin Area Economic Development Alliance at Central Alabama Community College Wednesday.
Siri Hedreen / The Outlook
"We've hired our engineering and procurement firm," Jones said. "We've hired our project managers. And we're working to let contracts, get detailed engineering done and to order those long-lead really big pots and pans you need to make graphite right now in real time."
But despite the low-key commencement of construction in contrast with Wes****er's June announcement alongside Gov. Kay Ivey the company still "met that [Dec. 31] deadline," Jones said Wednesday.
"What we did by buying these two buildings was accelerate parts of our construction efforts," he said. "So, hand on heart, we can certainly attest that we started construction by revamping the site of this admin building."
The town hall, hosted by the Lake Martin Area Economic Development Alliance at Central Alabama Community College, was the second public forum in what Wes****er has committed to making a regular occurrence.
"It feels a little bit like we have half the room here, when you get right down to it," Jones said, remarking on the sparse crowd, 50 percent comprised of Alabama Graphite and economic development alliance personnel. In the first forum in August hosted by a neighborhood association in Weogufka, much closer to where the actual mine will be built the company faced a
more skeptical audience.
Wednesday's forum happened to come two days after another mining company, South Star Battery Metals, announced it would resume exploration for graphite in another part of Coosa County near Mt. Olive on U.S. Highway 280. The Ceylon graphite deposit, once home to the largest graphite mine in the county, was explored by an Australian company in 2019 but the project
stalled out.
"It's not material to us," Jones said of the news.
South Star, based in British Columbia, does not yet have a controlling stake in the Ceylon deposit and is only in the exploration phase. Mining companies must go through an extensive permitting process before commercial operations can begin.
Construction of the Alabama Graphite Products plant will bring 200 temporary jobs to the area, Jones said, in addition to the 100-minimum plant jobs Wes****er promised in its deal with the local municipalities and the state. They're also actively hiring.
"If you guys know anybody, send them our way," Potter said.
