Article from CNN Money: http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/marketwire/1134630.htm
National New Markets Fund LLC has closed $15 million in New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation to help finance equipment for the first urban mining refinery in the U.S. capable of retrieving high-value metals including gold, silver, copper and palladium from electronic waste. An estimated 40 million tons of such e-waste is discarded globally each year, with only about 13 percent currently undergoing some form of recycling: The rest winds up in the trash.
Built and operated by BlueOak Resources Inc., the new facility will be located in Osceola, Arkansas — a highly distressed rural area with a 44.3% poverty rate and 12.7% unemployment rate. It is scheduled to become operational by the end of 2015 and expected to create 75 high-paying permanent jobs with extensive training and salaries averaging $50,000 per year.
“Our NMTC investment in BlueOak will help create high-quality jobs and transform a part of Arkansas ranked consistently among the poorest regions in the nation,” said National New Markets Fund President Deborah La Franchi. “It will also create a new, vastly superior model for solving one of our most acute environmental challenges.”
E-waste is a rapidly growing problem as demand increases worldwide for cell phones, computers and other electronic devices. The dumping of such waste represents an ecological disaster, especially in developing countries where it is often sent to be salvaged in unsafe, environmentally-devastating conditions. In addition, dumping results in the loss of millions of tons of precious metals (gold, copper, silver and palladium) and other resources.
The $15 million New Markets Tax Credit allocation from Los Angeles-based National New Markets Fund was matched by a $15 million allocation from Arkansas-based Heartland Renaissance Fund. U.S. Bank served as the project’s tax credit investor.
“The New Markets Tax Credit program was critical in making this project a reality,” said Priv Bradoo, CEO and co-founder of BlueOak. “It will enable us to realize a tremendous opportunity, both in recovering value from rapidly growing electronic scrap streams as well as the creation of jobs within the Osceola community.”
La Franchi emphasized that the new facility, with its very advanced, environmentally-friendly technology, has the potential to become a “game changer” by creating what she described as “a new paradigm for how e-waste is managed in the United States.” Once the new facility is operational, BlueOak plans to focus on expanding its prototype nationwide
National New Markets Fund CEO Belden Hull Daniels added, “Having known Osceola’s poverty from many years of working in the Arkansas Delta, we are proud to finance this exciting project and help create jobs, wealth and a cleaner, more environmentally sustainable solution to e-waste.”
In addition to recycling precious metals, operations at BlueOak will reduce the need to mine for virgin ore, which is expensive and has detrimental environmental impacts. It will also reduce the shipment of e-waste to developing countries, where it is often picked apart over open pit fires in order to melt away plastic and obtain precious metals, with terrible environmental impacts.
“We seek out these highly innovative models that have far-reaching positive impacts,” said Joe Hennessee, project manager of U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation, the community development subsidiary of U.S. Bank. “BlueOak has the potential to not only benefit the environment through efficient e-waste management, but also greatly benefit the residents of Osceola.”
New Markets Tax Credits (NMTCs) were established by Congress in 2000 to stimulate investment and economic growth in designated low-income communities. They raise investor capital and leverage public and private funding to provide borrowers, like BlueOak, with financing in the form of favorable rates and flexible below-market terms. Such financing will enable BlueOak to build a new model for recycling e-waste in the U.S., while also creating new employment opportunities.
About National New Markets Fund Deborah La Franchi of Strategic Development Solutions (SDS) and Belden Hull Daniels of Economic Innovation International, Inc. co-founded the National New Markets Fund to invest in development projects that serve low income communities across the U.S. The Fund has received $312 million in National New Market Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation from CDFI and invested in 27 projects to date. As a mission-driven investment fund, NNMF seeks investments that create substantial economic and community development impacts. Visit www.sdsgroup.com/funds/national-new-markets-fund/nnmf-projects for more information on NNMF projects.
About U.S. Bancorp U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB), with $364 billion in assets as of Dec. 31, 2013, is the parent company of U.S. Bank, the fifth largest commercial bank in the United States. The company operates 3,081 banking offices in 25 states and 4,906 ATMs. It provides a comprehensive line of banking, brokerage, insurance, investment, mortgage, and trust and payment services products to consumers, businesses and institutions. Visit U.S. Bancorp on the web at www.usbank.com.
About BlueOak Resources Inc. BlueOak, is focused on building distributed mini-refineries that use proven, capital-efficient refining processes to recover high-value metal resources from e-waste. The company’s vision is to revolutionize the treatment of end of life electronics: converting the e-waste of today into a sustainable source of critical metals and rare earths for the technologies of tomorrow. More information is available at www.blueoakresources.com.