April 4, 2026 - Ground was broken Thursday on an $850 million facility in Mason County, West Virginia where will be converted into other products and sold around the world, officials said.

The Frontieras North America facility to be built north of Point Pleasant will convert coal into value-added carbon-based products, such as coke, fertilizer components and other industrial materials.

Frontieras North America is building an $850 million facility in Mason County to convert coal into value-added products. At the groundbreaking on Thursday was, From left, Jim Rossi, chairman of Mason County Development Authority; Anna Rittenhouse, executive director of Mason County Development Authority; and Keith Burdette, president of the Polymer Alliance Zone.

The project will take about two years, create around 2,000 construction jobs and from 250-300 full-time jobs upon completion and operation, Keith Burdette, president of the Polymer Alliance Zone.

Frontieras, an energy and environmental technology company, is utilizing its patented FASForm solid carbon fractionation process for its first commercial facility in Mason County that will profitably extract the maximum value from domestic resources at scale and with a zero-waste design, according to the company.

“It’s a very exciting new process,” Burdette said.

The 183-acre site is on the Ohio River north of Point Pleasant.

“This project is the result of strong partnerships and a shared vision for Mason County’s future,” Anna Rittenhouse, executive director of the Mason County Development Authority, said. “We worked closely with local, regional, and state stakeholders to ensure Frontieras North America had the support needed to move forward. This investment not only brings jobs to our community but positions Mason County as a leader in innovative industrial development.”

The Polymer Alliance Zone, which represents 10 counties along the Ohio River, has supported the project and continues to work with the company, Burdette said. The Polymer Alliance Zone will connect the facility with other industries that can use the products, Burdette said.

“Anna Rittenhouse has done an outstanding job bringing together stakeholders and driving this project forward,” he said. “Her leadership in recruitment and coordination has been instrumental in making this groundbreaking a reality.”

The Mason County facility will use about 2.7 million tons of coal each year that will support more than 450 mining jobs and hundreds more indirectly, according to Chris Hamilton, president and CEO of the West Virginia Coal Association.

“This is exactly the kind of investment West Virginia is competing for and winning,” Gov. Patrick Morrisey said. “Frontieras is bringing hundreds of millions of dollars in private capital into our state, creating thousands of jobs, and opening new markets for West Virginia coal.”

Locations in Texas and Wyoming also were considered by the company, the governor said. The Mason County site has access to the Ohio River, rail and proximity to regional coal supplies.

Sen. Jim Justice, who was governor when the Frontieras North America project started, issued a statement saying his “partnership with Fronterias has been built on a fundamental truth: coal is the bedrock of West Virginia and the backbone of American energy.”

“Fronterias is a key player in strengthening our economy, creating jobs for our folks, and continuing to move the needle on American energy independence,” he said.