Illustrative view of lithium carbonate being bagged for shipment
Metal markets

Building a U.S.-origin market for critical metals

Nickel, cobalt, copper, lithium, manganese and graphite run jet engines, steel mills, the grid and defense, as well as batteries. Today most of them are refined overseas, much of it in China. Battery Metals recovers them from U.S. battery scrap and returns them to the whole economy as U.S.-origin metal.

Circularity

Circular does not mean batteries only

Metal recovered from a battery does not have to go back into a battery. Refined nickel and cobalt can go into jet engine superalloys and stainless steel, copper into wiring and the grid, manganese into fertilizer, and graphite into refractories and brake linings.

One domestic source can serve aerospace, defense, construction, energy and electric vehicles.

What we produce

Six products and where they go

28Ni

Nickel

Cathode, designed to LME grade
Where it goes

Stainless steel and alloys, including jet engine superalloys, take more than 85% of U.S. use. Also plating and high-nickel EV batteries.

27Co

Cobalt

Cathode, designed to LME grade
Where it goes

Superalloys for jet engines and turbines, about half of U.S. use. Also battery materials, cutting tools and magnets.

29Cu

Copper

Cathode, designed to LME grade
Where it goes

Wiring, the grid, motors and data centers. Construction alone takes 42% of U.S. copper, and an EV uses several times the copper of a gas car.

3Li

Lithium

Lithium carbonate
Where it goes

Batteries for EVs and grid storage, 88% of global use. Also glass, ceramics and greases.

25Mn

Manganese

Manganese sulfate solution
Where it goes

Our manganese sulfate goes into battery cathodes and fertilizer. Across all its forms, steelmaking uses more than 90% of manganese.

6C

Graphite

Recycled graphite
Where it goes

Battery anodes, in nearly every lithium-ion cell. Also refractories, steelmaking, brake linings and lubricants.

Shares of use from the U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, and its 2023 Minerals Yearbook for manganese. U.S. copper shares as reported by the Copper Development Association.

U.S. supply

A market with no domestic producer

The United States relies on nickel, cobalt, manganese and graphite, yet refines almost none of them at home. Most is refined in Asia: China produces about 70% of the world's lithium chemicals and more than 95% of battery-grade graphite, and Indonesia leads the world in refined nickel.

100%

Share of natural graphite the country imports. None was produced domestically in 2025.

100%

U.S. net import reliance for manganese in 2025.

79%

U.S. net import reliance for cobalt in 2025.

Over 50%

U.S. net import reliance for lithium in 2025.

What the U.S. does supply of nickel and cobalt comes mostly from recycled scrap. Battery scrap is the large stream not yet refined back to metal here.

1970

Last U.S. production of manganese ore with 20% manganese or more. Steelmakers and battery makers have relied on imports since.

1985

Port Nickel in Louisiana, which refined nickel and cobalt from imported matte, stops refining nickel.

Today

Copper is the exception, with domestic smelting and refining. Lithium comes from a single brine operation. Nickel and cobalt concentrate leave the country to be refined.

2028

Battery Metals is scheduled to begin receiving material, turning U.S. battery scrap into refined nickel, cobalt, copper, lithium carbonate, manganese sulfate solution and recycled graphite.

Battery Metals is bringing that production home. Metal refined in the United States from U.S. battery scrap gives American manufacturers a domestic source and the basis for a U.S.-delivered price, and we will be among the first producers to supply it.

Sources: U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 and 2023 Minerals Yearbook; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; International Energy Agency, Global Critical Minerals Outlook 2025.

For metal buyers

Buy U.S.-origin metal

Nickel, cobalt and copper cathode designed to LME grade, plus lithium carbonate, manganese sulfate solution and recycled graphite, refined in the United States from U.S. battery scrap.

Talk to us about volumes, specifications and delivery from 2028.

Talk to our commercial team
  • Traceable originDocumented from the scrap we receive to the metal we ship.
  • Priced against the exchangesThe same benchmarks you buy against today.
  • Delivered domesticallyBy truck or rail, without weeks at sea.
Questions

Metal markets, answered

How are recycled battery metals priced?

The same way as mined metal. Refined nickel and copper sell against London Metal Exchange prices, cobalt against the standard-grade metal index, and lithium carbonate against international price assessments. Manganese sulfate and graphite are priced on contract.

Is there a U.S. price for lithium or cobalt?

Not yet. Lithium is assessed on delivery to Asian ports, where most of it is made and bought, and cobalt metal in Rotterdam warehouses, where it is traded. As refined supply is produced in the United States, U.S.-delivered prices can develop around it.

Why is most battery metal refined in Asia?

Refining capacity was built where battery and electronics manufacturing grew, mostly in China. The Port Nickel refinery in Louisiana stopped refining nickel in 1985, and the United States has not produced manganese ore with 20% or more manganese since 1970.

What does designed to LME grade mean?

Our nickel, cobalt and copper cathode is designed to meet the purity specifications the London Metal Exchange sets for deliverable metal, so it can be sold against exchange prices.

How do metal markets affect what you pay for battery material?

Battery material is valued by the metal it contains. We assay it, reference each metal to its market price and apply payable terms for chemistry, form and logistics, then offer a per-pound price grid or a metal-linked payment.

New to these terms? See the glossary →