Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has declared Alcoa’s planned gallium refinery at Wagerup a milestone for critical minerals development in Australia, with the project among the first major beneficiaries of the Australia–US critical minerals agreement.
Visiting the Wagerup alumina refinery in Western Australia, the Prime Minister said the Japan Australia Gallium Associates (JAGA) project would begin operations next year. He said the project will be “game changing” and an example of a “future made in Australia”.
“This isn’t something that is obscure or something that’s in the future. It is happening right here, right now,” Albanese said. “This gallium project here at Alcoa is one of the first projects, and it will produce ten per cent of the world’s gallium.”
Alcoa will extract the metal on-site as a new value-add stream to its existing alumina and aluminium operations. Vice president of operations – Australia and president Alcoa Australia Elsabe Muller said the project represented a shared commitment to Australian operations.
“This opportunity will see us as Alcoa to further value add from the bauxite that Alcoa already mine, to further use alumina here,” Muller said. “Also into aluminum, by then further extracting the gallium that actually is naturally found in the bauxite deposits. This project represents our shared commitment to continue to add value in Australia.”
Resources Minister Madeleine King said the project is a confluence of worlds coming together, with Japan’s Sojitz Corporation partnering with Alcoa, the Australian Critical Minerals Facility and the US Export-Import Bank to get the project off the ground.
The refinery, backed by $US200 million in concessional equity finance, it is among the first projects in the $13 billion Australia-US critical minerals framework, signed by the Prime Minister and US President Donald Trump last month.
“This is a game-changing project for Australia and for the United States. Australia is rich in critical minerals, and we’re going to reap the benefits for all Australians,” the PM said at the time.
The announcement comes as the Federal Government prepares to push reforms to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act through Parliament, with King confirming the gallium project would not be affected.
Get 50 per cent off your Australian Mining annual magazine subscription during our Black Friday sale. Visit our subscription page and use the code: AMBF25. Ends on 27 November 2025.
