Westwin Elements announced Monday plans to invest $502 million over five years to establish a commercial-scale Class 1 nickel refinery at the Belwood Industrial Site in Natchez, Mississippi in a step toward building America’s domestic critical mineral refining capacity.
The Natchez facility will build on experience at Westwin’s 20-tonne-per-year demonstration plant in Lawton, Oklahoma, which has completed multiple production campaigns of on-spec Class 1 nickel powder using nickel carbonyl refining technology, the company said.
Westwin has completed a Bankable Feasibility Study for the Natchez site and secured a long-term lease for the Belwood site. The first phase of the project plans to produce 18,000 tonnes of Class 1 nickel annually, with commissioning targeted for 2029.
Binding feedstock and offtake agreements already in place support production and revenue projected for the first phase of the project, ensuring the refinery’s early success upon completion of its construction.
“Westwin was founded with the mission of delivering a win for the West and restoring the blue-collar American dream by bringing a critical industry back home,” Westwin CEO KaLeigh Long said in a news release.
“The Natchez site gives us the capacity to produce American-made Class 1 nickel at scale, strengthening a critical domestic supply our country needs while creating high-paying careers,” Long said.
The Belwood site offers the infrastructure and logistical advantages needed to support commercial-scale production, including immediate proximity to Natchez’s inland port and access to transportation networks serving the region.
High-purity Class 1 nickel is used in national defense, aerospace, advanced manufacturing, specialty alloys, energy and other industrial applications. Developing domestic refining capacity is critical to reducing U.S. dependence on foreign processing and strengthening the supply chains that support those industries.
The project is expected to create 134 full-time jobs in its first phase of commercial operations, at an average annual salary of approximately $84,000, Westwin said.