A controversial nickel refinery project in southwest Oklahoma is stalling out.
Lawton Economic Development Authority officials voted to approve a joint resolution between their agency, the City of Lawton and Comanche County Industrial Development Authority (CCIDA), acknowledging Westwin Elements' decision not to move forward with a large-scale commercial refinery in Lawton at this time.
Westwin Elements, a nickel refinery, ultimately decided not to proceed with the expansion because staff faced "logistical problems" in their feasibility study of the refining process, said Richard Rogalski, the executive director of LEDA. He added that decreasing nickel values also contributed to the choice.
"There were some problems also in the commodities market. You know, commodities go up and down and up and down," Rogalski said. "So there was some decrease in the value of their commodity, nickel."
This LEDA meeting follows Westwin Elements' disclosure of the terms of a termination, which require Westwin Elements to repay LEDA $2.7 million and for the Lawton-Fort Sill Economic Development Corporation to return 4,000 shares of Westwin common stock to Westwin at closing.
Indigenous activists see LEDA's vote as a small win.
"It's definitely a victory in the sense that we don't get the commercial facility, but it's bitter in the sense that it's really just kind of like a delayed process," said Kaysa Whitley, the coalition coordinator of opposition group Westwin Resistance, who is Kiowa and Absentee Shawnee. "It's not an actual closing to the chapter."
In a press release, Westwin officials say they're still committed to building the facility, though not necessarily in Lawton.
"At this stage, Westwin is still assessing the most competitive site options for commercial scale up, including our existing operational assets," said KaLeigh Long, CEO and founder of Westwin Elements in the news release. "This is a complex and deliberate process; one that reflects the magnitude of the project and our commitment to building the most advanced nickel refining operation in the country."
Rogalski said Westwin Elements was not obligated to build a commercial facility in Lawton and that Phase 1 of their redevelopment agreement — which centered around the pilot plant's operations — nears its end in June.
The company currently operates out of a demonstration facility, using the space to develop samples for potential customers and to continue researching nickel-refining processes. The resolution allows the company to continue operating the facility, and Westwin Elements says it will for the time being.
This comes as the company is facing multiple lawsuits regarding contract breaches, including with an investment advisor and a metal refining company that formerly agreed Westwin could use its technology.
Westwin Elements has faced criticism from Kiowa, Comanche and Apache tribal members, who point to the dangerous byproducts created during nickel refining. Liquid nickel carbonyl, for example, becomes a toxic gas when exposed to air. KCA citizens worry the refinery's proximity to historic sites, such as the Deyo Mission Baptist Church, could endanger cultural artifacts and natural resources.
Whitley said, regardless of today's result, she feels her community is galvanized.
"I think that this is a victory that could be heard across Indian Country because in reality, like we are a grassroots movement and it has been everyone from like nonprofit orgs to literally just elders who were willing to take us into their homes and teach us their ways and really share their knowledge with us," Whitley said. "But also, for like I think there's like TEK [traditional ecological knowledge] that was really exchanged here that was revitalized in a way that I haven't seen in a long time. And so I think that that in and of itself is a win as well."
This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.
