PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Queensland government will provide up to A$30-million in funding to ASX-listed Alpha HPA to turn locally produced alumina into glass for smart watches and phones.

The investment will be done through the A$100-million Queensland Critical Minerals and Battery Technology Fund, managed by the Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC), and will accelerate the delivery of two purpose-built furnaces used to ‘grow’ sapphire glass at Alpha HPA in Gladstone. 

The units will enable Alpha HPA to produce more than 4 t of sapphire glass from high purity alumina (HPA) each year.

The durability of sapphire glass makes it ideal for use in micro-LEDs and smartphone screens, making it a hot commodity for many producers worldwide. Local production of sapphire glass will allow Queensland to capture significant value in the advanced materials supply chain and unlock new export opportunities, the government said in a statement.

“Gladstone has a proud history of being at the forefront of developing Queensland’s mineral wealth,” Treasurer and Minister for Trade and Investment Cameron Dick said.

“Now, this industrial powerhouse can become a hub for world-leading advanced manufacturing thanks to Queensland’s leadership in the development of critical minerals.

“Alpha HPA is already producing HPA with the support of our government’s Industry Partner Program. This investment through QIC will enable Alpha HPA to increase the value of its finished product by 1 000%.

“That means more highly skilled advanced manufacturing jobs here in Gladstone that would otherwise be lost overseas.

“Through this A$100-million Fund and our A$245-million Queensland Critical Minerals Strategy, we can turn Queensland’s mineral wealth into new jobs in new industries, especially in regional Queensland.”

Alpha HPA MD Rimas Kairaitis said the company was delighted to have reached agreement with QIC on funding for subsidiary Alpha Sapphire and for the broader support from QIC and the Queensland government to support private sector investment to add value via downstream processing of Queensland’s materials.

Alpha HPA anticipates that Alpha Sapphire will become a significant customer of the HPA First project, in Gladstone, and should Alpha Sapphire scale to reach its Nova phase of 1 000 synthetic sapphire growth units, the subsidiary would consume between 3 000 t/y and 4 000 t/y of HPA.