Getting funding for the Chicago Pile Edward Teller interview by Web of Stories (1996)
Source. - youtu.be/mnScq24BEmc?t=114 the main cost for the reactor was the graphite. Presumably they already had the uranium in hand?. Edit, no, it is because it was a specialized graphite: Video 2. "German graphite from The Genius Behind the Bomb (1992)", i.e. nuclear graphite.
German graphite from The Genius Behind the Bomb (1992)
Source. Graphite was expensive because it had to be boron-free, since boron absorbs neutrons. But a boron process was the main way to make graphite. This type of pure graphite is known as nuclear graphite.The lab that made Chicago Pile-1, located in the University of Chicago. Metallurgical in this context basically as in "working with the metals uranium and plutonium".
Given their experience, they also designed the important X-10 Graphite Reactor and the B Reactor which were built in other locations.
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Chicago Pile-1 (CP-1) was the world's first artificial nuclear reactor, designed and built as part of the Manhattan Project during World War II. It was located under the stands of Stagg Field at the University of Chicago and became operational on December 2, 1942. CP-1 was constructed by a team of scientists and engineers, including notable figures such as Enrico Fermi, who led the project.