(Kaieteur News) – The United States (U.S.) Department of War has struck an US$85.5M equity investment deal to acquire and expand a bauxite mine in Guyana, part of a broader effort by Washington to break China’s grip on critical mineral supply chains — a move the Guyanese government is yet to publicly address.

The agreement, announced by the Department’s Economic Defense Unit (EDU) alongside the Office of the Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Policy, channels funding through the Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment (IBAS) program. Combined with US$64.5M in private co-investment, it forms a US$150M package aimed at acquiring and expanding the First Bauxite (FBX) mine, building new calcination facilities in Guyana, and eventually constructing a brown-fused alumina plant in the United States.

U.S. officials described the deal as a direct response to American reliance on Chinese-controlled sources for refractory-grade bauxite, a material used in high-temperature components such as heat shields, turbine engines and missile parts. Once fully operational, the project is expected to meet all U.S. military demand for brown-fused alumina and all domestic demand for refractory bauxite.