Landry Fast-Tracks Permitting for Louisiana Critical Minerals Push
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry has signed two executive orders designed to speed environmental permitting for critical minerals and rare earth production, part of a broader push to draw heavy industry to the state, The Center Square reports.
The first order gives the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality and other agencies 90 days from the Aug. 12 signing to identify permit categories eligible for permanent expedited review.
The second, JML 26-079, “Securing Louisiana’s Critical Minerals Supply Chain,” names heavy rare earth extraction and advanced chemical processing as priorities for job creation and national defense.
The orders touch projects across the state, including an $850 million ElementUSA facility to refine alumina byproduct in Gramercy, Syrah’s graphite expansion in Vidalia and Aclara Resources’ planned rare earth separation facility at the Port of Vinton.
The Smackover Angle
Neither order names lithium specifically, but the expedited framework would likely apply to lithium activity in Louisiana’s stretch of the Smackover Formation, a resource that remains largely undeveloped and, so far, largely untested.
As Lithium Link reported in February, Louisiana State University petroleum engineering professor Ipsita Gupta is still working to establish a baseline for how much lithium sits in Louisiana's produced waters, with early samples from Claiborne Parish showing concentrations well below the 400 mg/L-plus levels reported in Arkansas.
Landry also asked the Louisiana Public Service Commission to weigh special industrial power rates for processors.
More: Read the full report at The Center Square.
