Westwin answers questions about pilot plant planned for southwest Lawton

Westwin Elements representatives answered questions Wednesday ranging from plant safety to whether the full-scale version of its cobalt-nickel refinery is guaranteed for Lawton.

There wasn’t a lot of details about the refinery — details still are under discussion, Westwin officials said — but the company’s technical team was able to answer many resident-posed questions about the process to turn ore into almost pure nickel and the safety processes guiding that work. The town hall format arranged by Westwin and Lawton economic development entities was designed to address residential concerns about what city officials say will ultimately be a refinery on 480 acres of land in southwest Lawton, about a mile south of the Goodyear plant. At least 200 people took advantage of the town hall to listen and ask questions.

The process is beginning with a pilot plant, a scaled-down version of what ultimately will be a $732.5 million refinery that Westwin Elements CEO KaLeigh Long has said will address the nation’s need for cobalt and nickel without relying countries that may not be friendly to U.S. interests. Westwin has said the pilot plant is to break ground this month, and Daniel Smith, Westwin’s vice president for external operations, said that facility is expected to be commissioned in 2024.

John Shelegey, vice president of operations, said Westwin expects to have the pilot plant in operation within the second quarter of 2024, with the first scaled-up version of the plant operational in 2026 and the full-scale version of the refinery operational “probably in 2030.”

When several members of the audience asked about the commercial refinery, Westwin officials said data available to date is centered on the pilot plant, the vessel that will provide the data the company will need for its bankable feasibility study, or the document that financial institutions and potential investors will want to support the project.

Xavier Wong, vice president of technology, said details on the refinery still are in discussion, but if that plant is built in Lawton, it will be built on the same land that is housing the pilot plant.

“That is a corporate decision,” said Shegeley about the decision on where the refinery will be built, adding officials still are analyzing details and haven’t yet set the scaled-up design.

“I want to be here. It’s a great community here,” said Wong, of locating the fullscale version of the plant in Lawton, a sentiment echoed by Shelegey.

Local officials addressed concerns about what a decision against Lawton might mean. Brad Cooksey, president of the Lawton Economic Development Corporation, said the local commitment to provide $12 million in money and 480 acres of land to Westwin at no cost is contingent upon the refinery being built in Lawton. While the City of Lawton and the Comanche County Industrial Development Authority agreed earlier this summer to designate $3 million of that $12 million incentive package to the pilot plant project, the remaining $9 million stays with Lawton until Westwin meets its obligations with a full-scale refinery.

Addressing other concerns about what the pilot plant will do, Shelegey said the facility will be specific to refining.

“We are not mining here,” he said about residential concerns, adding that Westwin is not mining, milling or smelting at its Lawton site. “We are only here to refine.”

And, Wong reiterated that multiple, multi-layer safety protocols used in other plants will ensure the closed-loop refining process is safe and won’t cause contamination to soil, air or water, a special concern for nearby residents. Wong said while no engineer will guarantee there is no chance of an accident — “It’s never zero percent” — there has never been a catastrophic failure in the 10 nickle-cobalt refineries in other parts of the world.

Westwin officials also said they still are working with the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality on the permitting process that will allow Westwin to operate its pilot plant in Lawton. Permits have not yet been filed, said an audience member who checked on that detail just before Wednesday’s meeting.