Following the news that the U.S. will ban tungsten and recycled battery materials exports later this month, Electra Battery Materials (TSXV: ELBM), a Canadian critical-minerals refiner, released a statement in support of the policy. The legislation will require suppliers of black mass — shredded battery materials containing recoverable critical minerals — to sell domestically for one year. Trent Mell, Electra’s CEO, called U.S. retention of feedstock and the financing to build processing facilities “necessary.” It added, offshore refiners have been outbidding emerging U.S. processors for black mass, limiting their ability to secure financing for new plants. “The U.S. has built the front half of the battery-recycling processing infrastructure faster than the back half,” added Mell.