Briggs-based industrial recycling plant to expand operations with mulit-million dollar federal grant
This is an aerial view of the 80-acre Briggs-based recycling facility that is expected to come online in mid-2026. The project is owned by Austin-based industrial reclamation firm AMERMIN. AMERMIN photo
An 80-acre industrial recycling facility under construction in Briggs will soon see a major operations expansion thanks to an $11.5 million grant recently awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management.
Construction and the expansion should be completed by mid-2026.
The grant was made out to MELT Technologies, which does business as AMERMIN, an Austin-based industrial firm that specializes in recycling, processing, and reclaiming critical materials.
This particular facility was awarded the grant to support tungsten carbide reclamation and bolster the U.S. national supply. The durable compound is used in key industrial sectors like defense, nuclear power, energy, aerospace, agriculture, construction, healthcare, and technology.
Burnet County Precinct 2 Commissioner Damon Beierle told DailyTrib that he looked into the project after seeing concerns expressed on social media about its potential impacts and purpose.
“Once we heard about this facility coming to the area, we vetted it out,” he said. “It will have a minimal impact on water usage and as it grows we’ll keep an eye on traffic concerns.”
The facility is expected to have about 30 employees at full buildout. According to the Central Texas Groundwater Conservation District, it has a well certified for a maximum output of 12 gallons per minute, giving it an “exempt” status, meaning it is not capable of producing enough water to require an operating permit through the district.
The project
“We appreciate the (Department of Energy’s) confidence in AMERMIN to establish a reliable domestic source of critical materials and minerals, addressing important supply chain and national security issues,” AMERMIN CEO Ryan McAdams said in a company media release.
According to the DOE, tungsten carbide is essential for U.S. manufacturing and the grant should help secure domestic sources of the material.
“For too long, the United States has relied on foreign nations for the minerals and materials that power our economy,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright wrote in a DOE media release. “We have these resources here at home, but years of complacency ceded America’s mining and industrial base to other nations.”
U.S. Congressional District 31 Rep. John Carter, representing Burnet County, expressed his support for the facility and its purpose.
“This significant $11.5 million federal investment in Texas-born AMERMIN, located in the heart of my district, is a testament to the important work the company is doing to increase American manufacturing independence and reduce reliance on foreign suppliers for critical materials and minerals that are important to nearly every industry,” Carter said.