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The Department of War has awarded a 30-month, $37.2 million contract to Principal Mineral Company, Inc., of Southlake, Texas, bringing total investment in Camden Copper to $74.9 million to revitalize domestic production of defense-grade electrodeposited (ED) copper foil. The award, dated April 27, 2026, is funded through the Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Policy’s Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment (IBAS) program to secure a vital domestic supply chain for ED copper foil, a critical material for the nation’s microelectronics industrial base.
“This American-made, American-owned partnership delivers a clear win for both our national and economic security,” said Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Policy, the Honorable Michael Cadenazzi. “By onshoring the production of critical copper foil with Principal Mineral and Camden Copper, we secure a vital defense supply chain and reinvest in the South Carolina manufacturing community.”
The Copper Foil project centers on the former Denkai America Inc. manufacturing facility in Camden, South Carolina, which now operates as Camden Copper under new American ownership by Principal Mineral. Camden Copper is the nation’s sole remaining source of defense-grade ED copper foil, which is essential for critical defense applications, including printed circuit boards, advanced radio frequency systems, and electromagnetic shielding.
Since the IBAS program’s inception in 2014, the Department of War’s Office of Industrial Base Policy has invested more than $4.6 billion across 215 projects aimed at bolstering the defense industrial base. The IBAS program is part of the Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Policy’s effort to analyze the industrial base, identify critical gaps, and make targeted investments to build new capabilities and secure capacity, while partnering directly with industry.
The Office of the Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Policy (OASW(IBP)) works with domestic and international partners to forge and sustain a robust, secure, and resilient industrial base enabling the warfighter, now and in the future. Its Warfighting Investments, Resourcing, and Execution office, which manages the IBAS program and Defense Production Act (DPA) purchases, provides the Department of War with key capabilities to achieve the strategic aims of the 2026 National Defense Strategy and presidential executive orders, each calling for a strong, resilient, responsive, and healthy national industrial base that can respond at-will to national security requirements.
