The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded a total of $500 million to seven projects aimed at increasing the mining and processing of critical minerals, battery production and recycling in the US.
Among the companies that received support is Nth Cycle, a critical metals processing and battery recycling company backed by the multinational Trafigura. The company is known to the Macedonian public as an investor associated with the Ilovica-Shtuka copper project.
The U.S. government funds will be allocated to a facility for the processing of battery metal waste, known as “black mass”, a material rich in minerals that can be reused.
The Trafigura Group, whose portfolio also focuses on critical minerals, is a majority shareholder in Euromax Resources, which is the project owner for the Ilovica copper mine. Investment is stalled despite the fact that copper is considered one of the most critical minerals, needed in multiple industries, and especially important for defense and the green transition.
