Westwin to build $502M nickel refinery in Mississippi 

Westwin Elements plans to invest $502 million over five years to build a commercial-scale high-purity nickel refinery in Mississippi, as the U.S. seeks to expand domestic processing of critical minerals.

The Natchez project would annually produce 18,000 tonnes of high-purity nickel, known as Class 1, in its first stage, with commissioning targeted for 2029, the privately held company said Monday. Westwin has completed a bankable feasibility study and secured a long-term lease at the Belwood Industrial Site, about 145 km southwest of state capital Jackson.

The project would build on Westwin’s Lawton plant in Oklahoma, a 20-tonne-per-year demonstration operation that has completed multiple production runs of nickel powder using carbonyl refining technology, the company said. Lawton produces nickel powder with purity of at least 99.9%, Westwin says. Natchez would expand that process to commercial scale in the United States.

“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,” 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.”

Financing ahead

Westwin said last month it had raised or secured $100 million since its founding in 2022 through equity, convertible instruments and other financing backed by private investors and family offices.

It has also signed $1.7 billion in binding, multiyear sales agreements, the company added. Those include a seven-year agreement with metals trader Traxys covering 10,000 tonnes of high-purity nickel briquettes annually and another sales agreement covering nickel powder and briquettes.

Binding feedstock and offtake agreements are in place to support the first stage of production at Natchez, Westwin said. The company is continuing work on financing, engineering and site development as it moves towards commercial-scale production.

The Belwood site is near Natchez’s inland port on the Mississippi River and has access to regional transportation networks. Westwin expects the first stage to create 134 full-time jobs paying an average of about $84,000 annually.

Nickel is on the U.S. critical-minerals list and is used in high-strength steel and rechargeable batteries. High-purity nickel is also used in aerospace, defence, specialty alloys and advanced manufacturing.