The Jamaica Rare Earth Project represents a transformative public–private partnership (PPP) opportunity to recover valuable critical minerals—including scandium, gallium, and rare earth elements—from more than 135 million tonnes of legacy bauxite residue (“red mud”). This initiative turns an environmental liability into a powerful economic and strategic asset, while advancing the interests of Jamaica, the United States, and allied industrial partners.
For Jamaica, the project delivers long-term benefits: environmental remediation of toxic residue sites, high-value job creation, new export revenues, and positioning as a global hub for advanced materials.
For the United States, it secures a non-Chinese supply chain of critical minerals essential to defense, aerospace, and renewable-energy technologies—directly supporting national security and industrial resilience.
For industry partners, it creates profitable pathways to scale zero-waste extraction technologies, while supplying global markets with rare earths and critical materials essential for next-generation manufacturing.
To succeed, this effort requires high-level diplomacy and sustained engagement. Building close working relationships with the U.S. Department of State, Department of Defense, Government of Jamaica, Ministry of Mining, and the Jamaica Bauxite Institute (JBI) will ensure the alignment of policy, financing, and regulatory frameworks.
The Jamaica Rare Earth Project exemplifies how innovation, diplomacy, and partnership can deliver a win–win outcome: strengthening allied supply chains, cleaning up the environment, and generating broad-based prosperity.
“Securing critical materials for the USA and Western friendly companies—building resilient, non-Chinese supply chains through innovation, partnerships, and sustainable development in Jamaica and beyond.”
Jamaica holds an extraordinary opportunity to transform 135 million tonnes of legacy bauxite residue—commonly known as red mud—into a strategic resource for the USA and companies friendly to Western interests. This material contains concentrations of scandium, gallium, and rare earth elements vital for aerospace, defense, renewable energy, and advanced technologies. By deploying next-generation, zero-waste extraction technologies, the project converts an environmental liability into a critical asset, ensuring a secure, sustainable supply chain independent of China. This initiative positions Jamaica as a global leader in critical materials recovery while delivering economic growth, environmental remediation, and strategic security benefits across the region.
Executive Director & Co-Founder, Rare Earth Advisors, LLC
Andrew Wyatt is the Executive Director and co-founder of Rare Earth Advisors, LLC (REA), a government affairs firm dedicated to securing critical materials for the USA and Western friendly allies. REA represents a consortium of companies pioneering zero-waste recycling technologies to recover scandium, gallium, and other rare earth elements from bauxite residue and related industrial streams. Anchored by bauxite/alumina supply chain operations, the firm’s mission is to create a secure and resilient critical materials supply chain independent of Chinese influence—supporting U.S. and allied industrial resilience, national security, and economic competitiveness.
Andrew has more than two decades of experience in government affairs, with high level relationships at both the U.S. Department of State and DoD. He began his policy career in 2004 as president of a national trade association. In 2013, he joined Vitello Consulting, advising clients on federal and international policy surrounding captive wildlife, hunting, conservation and the ivory trade.
His deep ties to Jamaica date back to the late 1990s, where he has led coffee, water, and wildlife conservation initiatives. Notably, he was involved in opposition to the Chinese government’s proposed industrial harbor at the Goat Islands in Portland Bight, safeguarding one of Jamaica’s most important ecological and strategic sites from control by the CCP. Andrew's relationships in Jamaica reach the highest levels of government leadership.
Through Rare Earth Advisors, Andrew leverages his background in policy, conservation, and enterprise to advance a public-private partnership model that aligns the interests of western friendly governments, industry, and communities. His vision is to transform environmental liabilities into strategic assets—remediating Jamaica’s red mud sites while securing critical materials essential for the future of the USA and Western allies.