Critical Minerals Factbook
Facility

Kilbourne Graphite Purification Plant, Pine Bluff Arsenal

Empire State Mines, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Titan Mining Corporation, received a conditional Enhanced Use Lease selection from the U.S. Army on June 25, 2026 for approximately 245 acres at Pine Bluff Arsenal, Arkansas — the primary site for its Kilbourne Graphite Purification Plant, which is to produce Purified Micronized Graphite (PMG) and Coated Spherical Purified Graphite (CSPG) from 100% domestic feedstock. The award is made under Army RFP No. DACA27-1-26-204 and the Army's Strategic Capital Initiatives program, using 10 U.S.C. 2667 Enhanced Use Lease authority for a term of up to 50 years; the Army retains title, the lessee bears all costs, and rent is preferentially taken as in-kind infrastructure improvements. Formal lease agreements and Business Terms Agreements are in negotiation, construction is targeted to commence in the second half of 2027, and no construction may begin until NEPA and other environmental and regulatory reviews are complete. No capacity figures for the plant have been published on any source loaded this pass and none are recorded.

Facts on this page last re-verified Aug 12, 2026 — the oldest verification date among its current claims. How we verify.

Location: Pine Bluff, Arkansas, United States

Purification

Kilbourne purification circuit, primary site (conditionally leased)

Announced

Purification circuit of the planned Kilbourne Graphite Purification Plant on approximately 245 acres at Pine Bluff Arsenal (Site B), the designated primary site, producing Purified Micronized Graphite (PMG) from 100% domestic natural flake graphite feedstock anchored by Titan's Kilbourne resource in New York State. PMG is purified and micronized rather than spheronized; the atlas's purified-flake-graphite token is the closest vocabulary match and the output assignment is recorded as inferred.

Material flow

Natural graphite concentrate → Purified flake graphite

Capacity

No capacity claim. Absence of a figure means no source publishes one.

Qualification

No qualification claim. Status does not imply qualified output.

Anode finishing

Kilbourne CSPG finishing, primary site (conditionally leased)

Announced

Coated Spherical Purified Graphite production at the planned Kilbourne Graphite Purification Plant at Pine Bluff Arsenal, described by the Army as the essential anode material for high-performance lithium-ion batteries powering unmanned aerial platforms, dismounted soldier electronics and hybrid-electric tactical vehicles. Neither source describes a separate spheronization step, so no particle-processing line is recorded.

Material flow

Purified flake graphite → Coated spherical purified graphite (CSPG)

Capacity

No capacity claim. Absence of a figure means no source publishes one.

Qualification

No qualification claim. Status does not imply qualified output.

Sources