Building America’s Secure Critical Minerals Future
America’s Critical Minerals Vulnerability
Global demand for critical minerals is surging. The United States remains dangerously dependent on foreign suppliers — many adversarial — for over 85% of the materials essential to defense, electric vehicles, and advanced technology.
New mines cannot close this gap fast enough. America needs faster, smarter solutions that unlock value from existing domestic resources and industrial waste.
SEAME exists to meet that need.
Our Solution
SEAME Processing and Refining is developing a modular hydrometallurgical platform engineered to transform bauxite residue — one of America’s largest untapped industrial waste streams — into high-value critical materials and long-term revenue.
Our standard plant processes 1.5 – 1.65 million tonnes per annum of bauxite residue. Operating in a single integrated flowsheet, it delivers broad multi-metal recovery while achieving near-zero waste and effective environmental management.
Primary Feedstock: Bauxite residue (red mud) from alumina production.
Key Products Recovered
Alumina derivatives
Iron oxide
Critical minerals (including scandium and gallium)
Titanium compounds
Rare earth elements
Other valuable co-products
With advanced reagent and water recycling, SEAME achieves significantly lower operating costs and environmental impact than conventional technologies. The modular “above-ground mining” design enables rapid deployment, phased scaling, and operational flexibility across strategic U.S. industrial regions.
SEAME is not just another processing project — it is a strategic platform designed to strengthen U.S. supply chain security, create high-value American jobs, and deliver attractive long-term returns.
The Founding Team
Stephen Rust – Co-Founder & Head of Engineering & Design
A multidisciplinary engineer with nearly 40 years of experience in the design, manufacture, installation, and commissioning of industrial equipment and specialised machinery. His career spans the UK, Europe, South Africa, and several international project environments, giving him extensive exposure to large-scale industrial operations and bespoke engineering solutions.
He has worked across the full engineering lifecycle, contributing to both mass-manufacturing facilities and the development of purpose-built plants and automated systems. His expertise includes press-shop technologies, special-purpose machinery, and equipment designed for sensitive environments such as nuclear and radioactive facilities. He has also been deeply involved in alloy and stainless-steel processing, aluminium production, and advanced metals-industry applications.
A major part of Mr Rust’s career has focused on basic steelmaking and downstream processing, particularly in service-centre operations. He has delivered UK and international projects involving contract works, equipment integration, and turnkey engineering assignments for industries spanning carbon steels, stainless steels, and aluminium.
In addition to his metals-sector experience, Mr Rust has contributed to renewable-energy systems and water-technology solutions, including seawater desalination and wastewater treatment. His career reflects a rare combination of technical depth, practical implementation expertise, and internationally rooted engineering judgment.
We are a focused team of founders with proven expertise in metallurgical innovation, large-scale project delivery, and strategic execution — exactly what is required to commercialise a complex critical minerals recovery project in the United States.
Dr Johan Kruger – Co-Founder & Projects Director
An experienced contract management specialist with more than 40 years of expertise in financial control, project governance, and contract administration across major capital projects. He began his career in the 1970s as an accountant at Johannesburg Consolidated Investments (JCI), where he built a strong foundation in cost management and financial systems. This early experience supported his move into the contracting sector, where he helped design and implement integrated project-control systems linking base-date costing, CPM planning, and treasury management.
At Babcock International, Dr Kruger successfully adapted these systems from large-scale applications to smaller contract-level projects, significantly improving performance. He later applied similar methodologies to major initiatives such as the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station and the Mossgas offshore oil and gas development, incorporating advanced concepts like purchasing power parity to strengthen cost planning in volatile environments.
His work increasingly focused on controlling scope and cost creep, leading him to expand into the fields of law and alternative dispute resolution (ADR). As a consultant, he has advised governments, parastatals, private contractors, and legal firms on projects ranging from USD 10 million to USD 4.6 billion across Africa, South America, and Canada. He has held senior roles, including Project Director, Commercial Director, Contracts Manager, and Legal Advisor.
Dr Kruger combines financial, contractual, and legal expertise, making him a trusted advisor on complex, multi-stakeholder capital projects.
Grant Davison – Co-Founder & Director of Project Integration
A project-focused strategic communications and marketing leader with over 20 years of experience delivering complex, multi-country campaigns and organisational transformation projects across Africa and internationally. As the former Head of Marketing, Communications, and Stakeholder Relations for the UK Department for Business & Trade for Africa, he led the integration of three separate teams into a unified regional MarComms Hub supporting 19 markets—an organisational change initiative that improved alignment, performance, and operational efficiency.
He project-managed the rollout of DBT Africa’s Strategic Communications and Marketing Plan, driving coherence across trade and investment campaigns and achieving major performance gains, earned media and award-winning global results.
During his tenure with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, Grant led flagship regional campaigns such as COP-26, the UK-Africa Investment Summit, COVAX, and CHOGM. He coordinated multi-disciplinary teams across several countries, managed complex stakeholder environments, and strengthened crisis communications systems for priority markets.
In the private sector, he directed large-scale client programmes and brand activation projects for national and provincial government departments and corporate sector clients. His work included securing major corporate accounts, leading business development initiatives, and delivering premium campaigns and events for global brands.
Mr Davison is recognised for project leadership, campaign strategy, and delivering measurable, organisation-wide impact.
How SEAME Works:
SEAME’s advanced metallurgical platform delivers a transformative solution to one of the industry’s greatest challenges — turning industrial waste streams into valuable resources. Instead of the traditional single-metal extraction approach that leaves most value behind, SEAME’s circular, full-value recovery system captures multiple critical minerals and materials in a single integrated process.
This enables significantly higher resource utilization while producing near-zero waste. The modular and versatile design allows the solution to be deployed as a standalone plant, seamlessly retrofitted into existing operations, or used as a powerful remediation tool for legacy waste sites. By converting challenging waste streams and industrial residues into high-value, marketable products, SEAME offers a faster, cleaner, and more sustainable path forward — reducing environmental impact, reclaiming land, and strengthening domestic supply chains for critical materials.
01
Lateritic Ore Processing and Refining
Technological Ability: This platform serves as a versatile, standalone extraction system capable of processing complex lateritic and industrial residues. It utilises an integrated low-pressure leaching circuit to recover multiple metals and materials from the full resource profile.
Superiority: It offers a modular alternative to traditional high-pressure, energy-intensive processing methods. The system maximizes resource utilization by recovering a broad range of valuable metals that would otherwise be lost or underutilised, delivering higher overall value from the same feedstock.
Environmental Benefits: It significantly reduces the need for large tailings impoundments by converting challenging waste streams into saleable products and producing an inert residue suitable for land rehabilitation. This approach minimizes environmental impact and supports more sustainable resource development.
High-Priority Opportunities: Emerging battery metal and critical minerals projects across the United States. The technology offers a flexible, modular solution that can be integrated with existing operations to improve recoveries, reduce waste, and strengthen environmental performance — aligning with national goals for secure, sustainable domestic supply chains.
02
Polymetallic Nodules Processing and Refining
Technological Ability: The system is designed to be configurable for seabed resources, integrating cascaded extraction sections to recover multiple metals from nodules and seabed materials.
Superiority: Traditional smelting methods are energy-intensive and lose valuable minerals to slag. This platform uses a fully enclosed circuit that minimizes energy loss and maximizes recovery of critical minerals and other valuable materials contained within the resource.
Environmental Benefits: Operating as a closed-loop platform with high reagent recovery, the system prevents discharge into marine or terrestrial environments. Its modular design allows for flexible deployment, reducing the carbon footprint associated with material transportation.
High-Priority Future Markets: Polymetallic nodules and seabed mud refining represent a significant future opportunity. The technology provides a zero-waste, high-efficiency solution that avoids the environmental hazards of traditional smelting or high-pressure processing. It achieves strong recoveries of valuable metals, which are produced as saleable co-products. The process eliminates the need for toxic tailings or deep-sea waste disposal, instead generating an inert residue suitable for land rehabilitation and construction use. It also consumes significantly less energy and utilises standard equipment compared to conventional methods.
03
Bauxite (Red Mud) Processing and Remediation
Technological Ability: This technology functions as a standalone waste-stream rehabilitation system for alumina production. It extracts residual aluminium and iron while specifically targeting the recovery of high-value critical minerals and rare earth elements from caustic red mud.
Superiority: It renders traditional alumina waste management approaches obsolete. Whether retrofitted to an existing plant or deployed at legacy sites, it reprocesses toxic waste into saleable industrial-grade products. It also enables the recovery and recycling of reagents and chemicals from old storage dams.
Environmental Benefits: It facilitates the sanitisation and removal of legacy impoundments. By treating and recycling wastewater and converting hazardous sludge into market-ready materials, it allows contaminated land to be fully reclaimed and returned to productive reuse.
High-Priority US Targets: Strategic legacy alumina production sites in the Gulf Coast region containing millions of tonnes of caustic red mud. These sites pose environmental risks to sensitive ecosystems, and their remediation represents a major opportunity for domestic resource recovery and land reclamation.
Clear Answers to Key Questions
How is the SEAME core configuration process different from standard bauxite refining technologies?
The SEAME core configuration represents an innovative application of hydrometallurgical technology that integrates a turnkey process plant. It addresses key U.S. priorities for innovation, efficiency, and domestic resource security.
This platform fundamentally changes how the industry processes both primary ores and industrial residues by enabling broad multi-metal recovery and near-zero waste. It offers a more efficient and sustainable alternative to conventional methods that produce large volumes of toxic waste and recover only specific metals.
What is the SEAME core configuration process exactly?
The SEAME core configuration is a modular hydrometallurgical system designed for broad multi-metal recovery from industrial residues. It integrates several processing stages into a single, efficient flowsheet that maximizes resource value while minimizing waste.
The process uses a low-pressure leaching circuit with closed-loop reagent recycling to extract and separate multiple metals and materials simultaneously. This approach enables high overall recoveries and produces a range of saleable products instead of large volumes of toxic waste.
Can the technology be applied to other mineral ores besides red mud?
Yes. The SEAME platform is engineered for versatility and can be configured to process a range of complex ores and industrial residues. Its modular hydrometallurgical design supports broad multi-metal recovery from different feedstocks, making it suitable for various resource types and applications across the United States.
This flexibility positions SEAME to support multiple domestic supply chain opportunities beyond its initial focus.
How does the modular design benefit implementation and scalability?
The SEAME platform is built around a modular design that delivers major advantages in speed, cost, and flexibility.
Faster Implementation: Modules are manufactured off-site and assembled on location. This approach significantly shortens construction timelines compared to traditional large-scale plants.
Lower Risk and Capital Intensity: The modular structure supports phased investment and commissioning. This reduces upfront capital requirements and enables the project to scale in manageable stages.
High Scalability: Additional modules can be added as demand grows or new opportunities emerge. This allows efficient expansion without major redesigns or extended shutdowns.
Operational Flexibility: The design enables the system to be deployed as a standalone plant, integrated with existing operations, or used as a remediation solution. This adaptability makes it suitable for a wide range of sites and feedstock types across strategic U.S. industrial regions.
How does this project support the USA's goal of securing a domestic supply chain for critical metals?
The SEAME project directly advances America’s strategic priority of building secure, domestic supply chains for critical minerals and advanced materials.
By recovering multiple high-value metals and materials from domestic industrial residues, SEAME reduces U.S. dependence on foreign sources — many of which are controlled by adversarial nations. The project produces essential materials such as high-purity alumina, scandium, gallium, titanium compounds, rare earth elements, and iron oxide that are vital for electric vehicles, defense systems, semiconductors, renewable energy, and advanced manufacturing.
Developed and located entirely within the United States, SEAME strengthens national industrial resilience, creates high-skill American jobs, and supports the re-industrialization of critical midstream processing capacity. Its modular, low-impact design also aligns with environmental sustainability goals, making it a practical and scalable solution for long-term domestic resource security.
What is the expected economic impact of the project on the U.S. aluminum and critical minerals market?
The SEAME project is designed to deliver substantial economic benefits by transforming industrial residues into high-value materials within the United States.
At full capacity, a standard SEAME plant is expected to generate significant annual revenue while creating high-skill jobs and contributing substantial tax revenue at both state and federal levels. By producing domestic supplies of high-purity alumina, scandium, gallium, titanium compounds, rare earth elements, and iron oxide, the project strengthens the U.S. aluminum industry and critical minerals supply chain.
It reduces reliance on imported materials, supports downstream manufacturing sectors (including electric vehicles, defense, semiconductors, and aerospace), and promotes regional economic development in industrial areas. The modular nature of the technology also enables scalable deployment, amplifying long-term economic impact across multiple strategic regions.
Will SEAME's process help reduce geopolitical tensions related to metals supply?
Yes. By creating a secure, domestic source of critical minerals and high-value materials within the United States, SEAME directly addresses a key source of geopolitical vulnerability — America’s heavy dependence on foreign supply chains, particularly from adversarial nations.
The project strengthens U.S. supply chain resilience for metals essential to defense, advanced technology, electric vehicles, and renewable energy. A robust domestic midstream industry reduces exposure to export restrictions, trade disruptions, and strategic leverage currently exercised by dominant foreign producers.
In this way, SEAME supports greater economic security and stability for the United States and its allies.
Let’s Build Secure Domestic Supply Chains.
SEAME offers a rare opportunity to invest in a scalable, domestically anchored solution for red mud valorisation and critical minerals recovery.
If you are a strategic investor or partner who believes in American industrial resurgence and wants to back a high-impact project with strong economics and national importance, we would welcome a conversation.
Contact our team today to explore partnership and investment opportunities.