By Ernest Scheyder

(Reuters) -The former head of Glencore’s recycling business is launching a U.S.-based metals processing company with the goal of lowering the cost and time to refine copper and other critical minerals.

The move comes amid increased pressure on industry from Washington and other governments for better processing options to boost the supply of minerals for artificial intelligence computer servers, weapons and other electronics. The U.S. processes very few critical minerals. China is the top processor of many.

Kunal Sinha left Glencore last Friday after nearly 14 years in various roles, most recently as head of the recycling division. On Monday, he formed the New York-based processing startup Valor with technology developed by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champai

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