PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Alpha HPA has tipped Gladstone, in Queensland, as the preferred site for its A$200-million high purity alumina (HPA) plant.

The company has secured an option with Economic Development Queensland on a 10 ha land parcel, and will now seek to negotiate the final purchase terms for the land, and start the full-scale permitting process.

Minister for State Development Cameron Dick said he was pleased Gladstone had been selected as the location for the advanced manufacturing business, after competing with two potential interstate sites in Newcastle, New South Wales and Kwinana, Western Australia.

“This is a great opportunity for Gladstone. Delivery of this project would support around 100 new jobs in a new emerging industry with global demand.

“HPA is a rapidly-growing market, being fuelled by the rising demand for high-technology items, such as lithium-ion battery separators used in electric vehicles, particularly in China and Europe.”

Alpha HPA MD Rimas Kairaitis said it was an exciting time for the Australian company as it progressed from a pilot plant to a large-scale advanced manufacturing business.

“The Gladstone site enables us to be within 2 km of Orica Australia, who we have signed a memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with to be our supplier of key process reagents and the offtake of the by-product for the project, creating a circular economy process.

“A successful pilot plant has been operating in Brisbane, since July 2019, and using a low-cost extraction process we are producing around 3 kg daily of  greater than 99.99% pure alumina.

“We believe there is building global demand for our high purity alumina, with circa 70 lithium-ion battery mega-factories under construction across four continents to meet the electric vehicle demand.”

The MoU inked with Orica Australia earlier this week establishes the volumes and pricing mechanism for the supply of key process reagents and the offtake of byproduct from the HPA First project, subject to a more definitive supply and offtake agreement.

The HPA First project is expected to produce some 10 200 t/y of HPA, generating annual revenues of A$413-million and free cash flows of A$247-million.