Critical Mineral Recovery was a lithium-ion battery processing facility located in Fredericktown, Missouri. The facility operated as a recovery facility for electric vehicle (EV) batteries and recycled dry lithium battery components. The company retrieved valuable metals and minerals, including copper, nickel, cobalt, lithium, manganese and aluminum, to be used to manufacture new batteries.
On Oct. 30, 2024, Critical Mineral Recovery suffered a catastrophic incident causing the 225,000-square foot facility to catch fire. Photos and additional information about the fire are available on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Critical Mineral Recovery Fire webpage.
Contaminated fire water and runoff associated with EV lithium battery fires were identified leaving the site and flowing through a stormwater drainage ditch. The contaminated water entered an unnamed tributary which discharges directly into Village Creek and then into the Little St. Francis River. The facility is undergoing site clean-up. Critical Mineral Recovery currently is operate under a general operating permit which authorizes land disturbance activities.
On Dec, 15, 2025, the facility applied for a a site-specific Missouri State Operating Permit. The application was revised March 2026.