ABx Group (ASX:ABX) welcomed the Australian Aluminium Council Executive Committee to its ALCORE Technology Centre at Bell Bay in northern Tasmania last week.
The Australian Aluminium Council’s site visit included an overview of ALCORE’s proprietary technology, which recovers hydrogen fluoride from aluminium smelter byproducts. It then converts the recovered material into valuable fluorine products, such as hydrogen fluoride and aluminium fluoride.
The Australian Aluminium Council inspected the construction progress on the continuous pilot plant facility, which is being developed to enable the selection of reactor designs and process conditions for the commercial plant.
The facility will also produce saleable hydrogen fluoride for evaluation by customers.
Discussions at the site visit covered the sovereign capability benefits of domestic aluminium fluoride production and potential to create a fluorine chemical industry in Australia.
“The visit provided an opportunity to showcase the significant commercial potential of the ALCORE technology, explain the progress being made on the construction of the pilot plant, and discuss how this technology can contribute to strengthening the Australian aluminium industry and enable the production of additional high value fluorine chemicals,” ABx CEO Mark Cooksey says.
“We look forward to continuing to update shareholders as construction of the pilot plant progresses toward commissioning later this year.”
Australian Aluminium Council CEO Marghanita Johnson says it was a “valuable” experience to firsthand see the technology that could “potentially contribute to strengthening Australia’s aluminium supply chain”.
“Australia is one of the world’s largest aluminium producing nations, yet we do not currently have sovereign supply of aluminium fluoride, which is a critical input into aluminium smelting,” Johnson says.
“What ALCORE is developing is both innovative and strategically important, with the potential to convert what is currently a by-product of the aluminium industry into a valuable domestic supply source for aluminium fluoride.”
ABx Group is focused on delivering materials for a cleaner future with priority projects in heavy rare earths, clean fluorine chemical production, and near-term bauxite production.
Write to Maddison Elliott at Mining.com.au
Images: ABx Group
