Westwater Resources, Inc. announced continued progress on the Coosa graphite mine in Coosa County, Alabama. Coosa is advancing as a covered project under FAST-41, which provides a coordinated, transparent framework for federal environmental review and permitting. Westwater said it has initiated studies to advance preliminary mine planning and design for Coosa, which will evaluate the potential value of the vanadium mineralization and its inclusion in the mine plan, and currently targets completion of the permitting process in June 2027.
“We are making steady progress across the permitting workstreams required to advance Coosa responsibly,” said Frank Bakker, president and CEO of Westwater Resources. “The completion of the Endangered Species Act consultation ahead of schedule, advancement of the Section 404 permit beyond public comment and completion of important environmental fieldwork reflect the work underway. Coosa remains an important component of our mine-to-market strategy and is intended to provide a secure, long-term domestic source of natural graphite feedstock for our Kellyton graphite plant.”
Westwater submitted its Clean Water Act Section 404 individual permit application to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in June 2026. The Endangered Species Act consultation concluded ahead of the FAST-41 timetable following comprehensive environmental fieldwork, habitat assessments and coordination with the relevant agencies. Cultural-resource fieldwork is also complete for the proposed project footprint, with no sites identified as potentially eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places.
The company submitted its application for a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit to the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) during the first quarter of 2026. An application for the state water-quality certification associated with the Section 404 permit was also submitted to ADEM in June 2026, and Dr. Anne Duncan was appointed general manager of the Coosa graphite mine, effective October 26.
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