ABx Group subsidiary ALCORE has entered into a lease agreement with Rio Tinto Aluminium for an industrial facility adjacent to the latter’s Bell Bay aluminium smelter in Tasmania.
Under the agreement, ALCORE will establish a pilot plant at the facility, which comprises a 500m2 building on an industrial site.
The building offers access to local engineering services and suppliers in Bell Bay and has previously supported several industrial developments and includes appropriate utilities.
ALCORE plans to make minor internal modifications to facilitate the continuous pilot plant, which will demonstrate the company’s world-first proprietary process to produce industrial chemicals such as hydrogen fluoride from waste product created during the aluminium smelting process.
The innovative process will see hydrogen fluoride converted to aluminium fluoride, a key chemical for aluminium smelting.
ABx managing director and chief executive officer Mark Cooksey described the facility at Bell Bay as a “critical step” in advancing ALCORE’s continuous pilot plant.
“The location is ideal, offering proximity to key infrastructure while allowing us to progress rapidly with minimal upfront costs,” Cooksey said.
“This is a significant advantage as we move closer to our goal of recycling fluorine waste into industrial chemicals at a commercial scale. With planning and environmental approvals underway, we are on track to place orders for most of the major equipment in (the first quarter of) 2025.
“The collaboration with Rio Tinto is an endorsement of ALCORE’s potential and sets the stage for the next phase of development.”
Currently all aluminium smelters in Australia import aluminium fluoride. Rio Tinto Bell Bay Aluminium general manager Richard Curtis said if the chemical can be produced in the country from a waste product, it “makes economic and environmental sense”.
“If ABx can do this locally, that’s good for the community and the state of Tasmania, so we are happy to be able to contribute to this pilot plant,” Curtis said.
The lease agreement includes an option for ALCORE to purchase the site or lease the site for 10 years subject to the pilot plant’s proven performance and the decision to construct a commercial plant.
The Tasmanian Government has welcomed ALCORE’s announcement, investing $1 million via a conditional loan for the pilot plant. The investment follows discussions between the Tasmanian Government and ALCORE taking place since late 2017.
“This project demonstrates how innovation and sustainability go hand in hand, as ALCORE tests its process to reprocess what would otherwise be a waste product into a high-value additive for aluminium smelting,” Tasmanian Business, Industry and Resources Minister Eric Abetz said.
“This plant will enable the technology to be trialled for the first time, and Bell Bay – home to the Rio Tinto aluminium smelter and part of Bell Bay’s advanced manufacturing zone – is the perfect location for this pilot initiative.”
Abetz said ALCORE’s proprietary process demonstrates benefits of a circular economy, including lower costs and sustainable resource recovery.
“The pilot plant’s initial operations will deliver up to 10 highly skilled, full-time jobs locally, with the potential to grow to more than 100 full-time equivalent positions as the project moves towards full-scale commercialisation,” he said.
“Alcore’s decision to establish its pilot facility here is a vote of confidence in our state’s skilled workforce, infrastructure, and strategic vision for the future.”
In other aluminium news, the Federal Government announced a landmark $2 billion green aluminium production credit this week, designed to support Australia’s enegy transition and bolster its aluminium industry.
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