Alpha HPA to establish world's largest alumina refinery in Gladstone

Alpha HPA has announced it is set to establish the world’s largest single-site, high-purity alumina products refinery following a Final Investment Decision (FID) on Stage Two of the HPA First Project in Gladstone, Queensland.

The Stage Two FID follows a three-year product marketing campaign to over 200 end users; the successful construction, commissioning and 16 months of operation of Stage One; and a comprehensive redesign and re-engineering of the Stage Two facility to capture process refinements, expanded product range capability and key customer requirements.

Alpha HPA’s Managing Director Rimas Kairaitis said the company will now immediately commence project execution for the full-scale, Stage Two facility, having already advanced several key elements of the project’s implementation.

“Construction of the 10 hA, state-of-the-art, full-scale facility will commence mid-2024, on the existing HPA First Project site at Yarwun, near Gladstone, where the company’s Stage One facility is already in small-scale production of its high-purity aluminas and aluminium materials product range,” Kairaitis said. “Stage Two will encompass full-scale production of up to 10,000 tonnes of high-purity aluminium materials per year creating 120 ongoing local jobs on top of 300 jobs during construction.

“The feasibility study and financing represent a comprehensive endorsement of the company’s technology and business strategy and allows for Alpha HPA to establish Australia’s first, large-scale commercial capability to manufacture high-purity aluminas and related products to support key high-technology growth sectors and the global energy transition,” he added.

Alpha HPA said its proprietary process technology offers a unique opportunity to manufacture a wide-range, ultra-high-purity aluminium materials that are cost-competitive and low-carbon and which leverage off established industrial infrastructure in Gladstone.

Alpha HPA’s process allows for the extraction and purification of aluminium from industrial feedstock, producing materials of exceptional purity for high-technology applications, including the semiconductor, lithium-ion battery and LED lighting sectors.

In parallel, Alpha HPA continues to advance its complementary downstream Alpha Sapphire business, completing installation of the initial two sapphire growth units and commencing first crystal growth.