[US invests $150M in Guyana bauxite to break China's grip on refractory-grade supply]

Published: Aug 11, 2026 09:20

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The US Department of War is putting $85.5 million into Guyana's bauxite industry, alongside $64.5 million in private funding for a total $150 million package, to build a vertically integrated supply chain for refractory-grade bauxite, a material used in heat shields and turbine engines for missiles, aircraft, and space systems that the US currently sources mostly from China or Chinese-owned entities; the investment will expand Guyana's First Bauxite mine, fund calcination facilities on-site, and establish a brown-fused alumina plant in the US, with officials expecting the fully built-out chain to meet 100% of US military demand for brown-fused alumina and 100% of domestic refractory bauxite needs, part of a broader push to keep western hemisphere critical minerals out of Chinese-linked supply chains.

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