ABx Group (ASX:ABX) has received Tasmanian Government support for its 83% owned subsidiary ALCORE regarding the “world-first” proprietary process to produce industrial chemicals from a waste product created during the aluminium smelting process.
The government has provided indicative terms and conditions for a $1 million, zero-interest, conditional loan to support the construction and operation of a continuous pilot plant in Tasmania.
The loan is subject to confirming a site for the pilot plant and executing final loan documentation, which is anticipated in early 2025.
CEO Dr Mark Cooksey says the intent is that ALCORE will establish a continuous pilot plant in Tasmania to demonstrate its ‘world-first’ proprietary process to produce industrial chemicals, including hydrogen fluoride, from a waste product created during the aluminium smelting process.
In the planned subsequent commercial plant, the hydrogen fluoride will be converted to aluminium fluoride, an essential chemical for aluminium smelting that is currently 100% imported — an exemplary demonstration of the circular economy, he adds.
“Securing the support of the Tasmanian Government is an endorsement of ALCORE’s potential and allows us to commence construction of the continuous pilot plant,” says Cooksey.
“This is a significant advantage as we move closer to our goal of recycling fluorine waste into industrial chemicals at commercial scale. The next 12 months will be very exciting for ALCORE.”
On 30 October, Mining.com.au reported ABx increased the confidence in its ALCORE process after the bath pilot batch reactor achieved the highest fluorine recovery to date of 97%.
The bath pilot batch reactor, which is located at the ALCORE Technology Centre in New South Wales, has been designed for the recovery of fluorine from aluminium smelter bath waste to produce high-value hydrogen fluoride.
The latest reactor results have improved on the previous recovery result of 93%. This latest recovery rate was achieved using the reactor, followed by further manual processing of some product material in a separate furnace.
In the company’s latest test run, the reactor delivered 85% fluorine recovery in the first stage — which is the highest achieved from a single stage, as reported.
Since the bath pilot reactor was commissioned in October 2023, ALCORE has carried out a range of test runs, typically processing 10kg total of bath and sulphuric acid.
The ABx subsidiary has also outlined steady increases in fluorine recovery through optimisation of particle size, reactor temperature, acid concentration, and feed ratio.
Write to Adam Orlando at Mining.com.au
Images: ABx
