Trump’s $4 Billion Oklahoma Project Paused, ‘Build It in Mar-A-Lago’ Community Says

Inola, Oklahoma – a small rural community known as the "Hay Capital of the World" has become a center of President Donald Trump’s push to rebuild the American aluminum industry. The town, about 25 miles east of Tulsa, is slated to host a massive $4 billion primary aluminum smelter backed by Trump, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt and federal energy officials. If built, it would be the first new domestic primary aluminum smelter of its kind since 1980.

But in deeply Republican "Trump country," the project has run into fierce local resistance from residents, ranchers and Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, a Republican gubernatorial candidate. National Security Meets an Aluminum Shortage Trump has framed the Oklahoma smelter as part of a broader national security and manufacturing agenda. "We don’t even make aluminum anymore. Now we’re going to have the largest aluminum plant in the world being built in Oklahoma," he said on Wednesday, July 8, at a NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey.

S. imports more than half the aluminum it uses. The Energy Department has pledged a $500 million federal grant to the project, while Oklahoma has offered major incentives. However, Trump’s tariff strategy doesn’t help the import case.

" Cattle, Pollution and Foreign Ownership Local opposition is rooted in environmental, agricultural and sovereignty concerns. Residents fear that hydrogen fluoride emissions and other pollutants could harm livestock, crops, water, and human health in a community closely tied to ranching and hay production. Drummond’s 12-page lawsuit, filed in state court, seeks to block construction. "A primary aluminum smelter does not belong in a community’s backyard, and its emissions do not respect property lines," Drummond wrote, The ownership structure doesn’t help the case.

Emirates Global Aluminum, tied to the sovereign wealth funds of the United Arab Emirates, controls 60% of the project, while Chicago-based Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ: CENX ) controls the remaining 40%. CENX was an outstanding performer, rallying as high as 76% through early June, as the war with Iran took much of the production in the Middle East offline. However, insider selling, valuation concerns, and a fifth consecutive earnings miss erased almost all of those gains over the last few weeks. " However, the corporate pressure appears to have backfired.

S. Secretary of Energy Audrey Robertson attended the Inola meeting to defend the project and its federal support. She told residents the plant would use modern technology to control pollution. "This is the newest technology.

This is closed-loop technology, that emissions will not leave the plant. They are captured," Robertson said, according to The Oklahoman. She also read President Trump’s message to the town council. "I strongly urge you to approve the Oklahoma aluminum smelter without delay, so that together we may strengthen our national security, supercharge our economy, and lead our nation boldly into the golden age of American greatness," the letter said.

Residents were not reassured. "Build it in Mar-a-Lago," an attendee responded. "We’ve heard President Trump say this is going to be the most modern and the cleanest smelter," Christine Roam, a local, told The Oklahoman. " After nearly six hours of public comments, presentations and closed-door discussions, Inola’s mayor and board of trustees unanimously approved a 60-day moratorium on zoning approvals.

Roam called it a chance to "pump the brakes" and review environmental data before making a decision on the largest economic development project in state history. Image via Shutterstock