The Development Authority of Bryan County voted Feb. 10 to formally end negotiations with Westwin Elements about the private company’s plans to build America’s only nickel refinery amid widespread community backlash to the project.
The move appears to shut the door on plans by the company to receive subsidized financing for the construction of the refinery in Richmond Hill, but the Oklahoma-based company said they remained committed to buying the $35 million abandoned industrial property situated close to public schools and homes.
“Westwin remains focused on progressing our project in Richmond Hill,” Westwin founder and chief executive KaLeigh Long said in a statement. “Westwin is committed to raising the average wage for Bryan County residents.”
The four-year-old company has been negotiating with state and local development authority leaders about the possibility of building the refinery since the summer of 2022. Those talks solidified after January 2024, when Caesarstone Technologies US closed its facility that made countertops in Belfast Commerce Park.
Westwin hopes to acquire the private property and has been trying to negotiate tax incentives and government help with a bond to cover the construction of the facility that Long said would, at capacity, create 800 jobs with an average salary of $90,000 per year.
Yet by last summer, the Development Authority of Bryan County was already disengaging from the Westwin courtship, correspondence obtained by The Current GA shows. The board voted to withdraw a letter offering incentives to the company at that time, amid skepticism by several board members about the business plan. It’s unclear what parts of the Westwin business plan local officials did not favor, as under state law such negotiations are confidential.
Rumors of the planned refinery started circulating in December, and public fears and criticism about what risks the refinery could cause to the environment, public health and home values spread.
The company’s first public meeting to address these concerns attracted hundreds of residents — and did little to quash their concerns, especially as Long told residents that her plans were “90% finished.”
Even without government incentives, Westwin can still buy the abandoned property, which is held in private hands. Still, there are five key things standing in the path between a land purchase and refining operations. Read more here.