The Queensland Government is showing its support in the development of the State’s first high-purity alumina (HPA) project in Gladstone with a $21.7 million funding grant awarded to Alpha HPA.
The funding grant will support the delivery of Stage 2 of the HPA First Project, including its construction, commissioning and operations.
The Department of State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning – under the Industry Partnership Program – has provided the funding assistance to Alpha HPA, which is subject to several performance requirements including employing and maintaining an average of 151 full-time equivalent employees as well as incurring $58.2 million in Queensland supply chain expenditure.
The State Government has also highlighted that the project should scale to a minimum production of 10,640 tonnes per annum of HPA and Alpha HPA is required to have a total of $367.5 million in project expenditure.
“Alpha is delighted to receive this financial and commercial support for the HPA First Project from the Queensland Government and we welcome the State’s recognition of Alpha’s products are key critical minerals LED, E-Mobility and semi-conductor markets. This financial assistance builds on the existing announced support from the Commonwealth Government and adds further momentum for the Project,” Alpha HPA Managing Director Rimas Kairaitis said.
The HPA First Project represents the commercialisation of the production of high-purity alumina and its related high-purity aluminium precursor products, utilising Alpha HPA’s proprietary licenced solvent extraction and HPA refining technology.
The Stage 1 Precursor Production Facility has already been completed and commissioned, and it is now ramping up productions. With a $15.5 million grant from the Australian Government, the Stage 1 facility will also be expanded to produce a full range of the company’s high-purity materials.
The $300 million HPA First Project is estimated to create more than 300 jobs during its construction and up to 120 full-time operational jobs.
Once fully operational, the HPA First Project – which will sit on a 9.2 hectare site within the Gladstone State Development Area (SDA) – will have a production capacity of 10,000 tonnes of HPA annually
Source: Alpha HPA (1, 2); Australian Mining; Australian Resources; Creamer Media’s Mining Weekly