A major WA project set to provide around 10 per cent of the world’s demand for gallium has been given the green light, marking a major development in the critical minerals pact signed by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Donald Trump last year.
Bauxite miner Alcoa is set to construct and manage the operation at the site of its Wagerup alumina refinery in the south west of WA after a final investment decision was made with the backing of three nations.
Australia, Japan and the United States will support the construction of the project in a bid to strengthen critical mineral supply chains between the countries.
The international support has allowed Alcoa to officially kick off the project, which was identified as a priority under a framework to secure supply in the mining and processing of critical minerals signed by Albanese and Trump last year
Production capacity is anticipated to be 100 tonnes per annum, representing about 10 per cent of the global demand for the critical mineral, which is used heavily in the manufacturing of electronics, including semiconductors.
Global supply of gallium is currently highly concentrated, but the mineral can be extracted during the bauxite-to-alumina refining process, meaning the material would come from Alcoa’s strip-mining venture in WA’s Darling Scarp.
Antimony, gallium and rare earths have been flagged as the first three minerals to be focused on under the $1.2 billion strategic reserve for critical minerals, with the Australian government identifying them as crucial to clean-energy and high-technology manufacturing, as well as advanced military equipment.
Australia’s financing is being provided through Export Finance Australia under the Critical Minerals Facility.
Resources Minister Madeleine King said Alcoa’s move would build supply chains that bolstered global technology, defence capability and economic security.
“Our national security and the security of our partners is built on the back of our resources sector,” she said.
Trade Minister Don Farrell said the investment marked a major step forward in securing resilient supply chains.
Alcoa president and chief executive William F Oplinger said the final investment decision reflected a shared commitment by governments and industry to strengthen critical mineral supply chains among partners.
“The project underscores the strategic importance of Western Australia and the role Alcoa’s operations play in delivering critical materials essential to the global economy,” he said.
The Wagerup plant will be located on about three hectares of already cleared land in the south-eastern corner of Alcoa’s current refinery footprint.
According to Alcoa, when compared to the existing refinery, it will be a relatively small plant occupying less than 2 per cent of the overall refinery footprint.
Five production trains will be built in a phased manner and in an enclosed shed. The plant will be connected to the existing refinery with process liquor pumped to and from it.
Ion exchange technology will be used to extract the gallium from the refinery’s process liquor. According to Alcoa, ion exchange is considered a safer, cleaner and more efficient process than some other gallium extraction methods.
It is the second project for which government support has enabled a final investment decision following on from the US-Australia framework, with Arafura Rare Earths able to confirm its decision to ramp up operations in May.
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