High demand for semiconductors has led to an urgent need for critical minerals used in manufacturing such as high-purity alumina (HPA), with Queensland positioned to make a valuable contribution to global supplies.
Semiconductors are widely used in electronics, and the market is only projected to expand further as technology use increases. However, global supply chains have been exposed to the reality of disruption in recent years, heightened by an overreliance on a limited number of locations. Taiwan and South Korea are responsible for 60% and 20% of global semiconductor output respectively, according to the GlobalData Supply Chain Disruption report.
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As semiconductor demand rises and providers are limited, manufacturers and governments are seeking further supplies of minerals such as gallium and germanium, as well as HPA.
For mineral-rich states such as Queensland, this presents an immense opportunity to de-risk supply chains.
The HPA opportunity in Queensland
The properties of HPA make it extremely valuable, possessing corrosion resistance, good thermal conductivity, high melting point, chemical stability, and robust mechanical strength. Uses of HPA extend beyond semiconductors and is also essential for the production of light-emitting diodes (LEDs), lithium-ion batteries, and electric vehicle (EV) battery separators.
Synthetic sapphire for scratch-proof glass in smartphones is another notable use of HPA. High purity is required to prevent impurities from weakening the material properties over the long term. The higher the purity, the better the performance.
Bauxite is the dominant raw material for the commercial production of alumina, with Australia the world’s second-largest producer of the resource. Queensland is also home to one of the highest-grade bauxite deposits in the world.
“Queensland’s opportunity with HPA is a result of the great infrastructure in place to support its manufacture,” says Rob Williamson, managing director at Alpha HPA.
The company consists of particle engineers and manufacturers to provide a bespoke advanced material.
The traditional method of refining alumina from bauxite requires high temperatures and results in caustic waste. To address this, Queensland is home to two HPA extraction projects that are seeking to employ ethical, low-carbon methods. Alpha HPA uses gains value from waste at processing facilities, rather than extracting alumina from the ground and refining. This aligns strongly with the circular economy principles.
“Alpha HPA uses materials and reagents from both Orica and Rio Tinto to service our needs. It’s not an endowment in the ground we rely on – it’s the processing/refining from Rio and Orica that is key to us. Their presence in Queensland is also a result of how Queensland has ‘greased the skids’ for industry more broadly.”
What could transform Alpha’s production is a project in Gladstone, approximately 500km northwest of Brisbane. Here, Alpha HPA is developing what could be the world’s largest HPA production facility with the aim of producing 10,000 tonnes per annum. The extraction process is far less carbon-intensive than traditional methods, as it involves using industrial waste streams from aluminium smelting and extracting the alumina from chloride-based streams. The facility will also use hydrochloric acid recycling.
This process results in less waste and significantly fewer carbon emissions. The output of Alpha HPA’s proprietary solvent extraction and refining technology is 99.99% pure alumina. The little waste produced will be recycled, and the plant will run on renewable energy. As a result, the carbon footprint of operations is minimised.
“The key difference between Alpha HPA and others is that we don’t have to use finished aluminium metal, which has all the carbon emissions associated with producing it. This makes us 5kg of CO2/kg of HPA less than other manufacturers,” says Williamson. “That is 70% lower than others.”
Alpha HPA could eventually account for approximately 10% of global supply, delivering 99.995% purity compared with other markets that have levels of around 93%. And the higher the purity, the higher the value and performance.
How Queensland is furthering research into HPA development
Another key HPA project in Queensland is being built by Lava Blue, which is developing a research centre in Brisbane. At the Predictive Research into Speciality Materials (PRiSM) Centre, the company is gaining extensive insights into the development of HPA.
Lava Blue first partnered in 2018 with Queensland University of Technology to develop a process for production of HPA from sapphire-bearing kaolin deposits, which can be obtained at low cost. Alongside this, Lava Blue has partnerships with Vecco Group and Queensland Pacific Metals to use their mine waste and tailings from cobalt and nickel mining as the inputs for HPA production.
Now, Lava Blue is preparing for the facility to transition from research and development to small-scale production. The company’s process involves taking high-grade kaolin clay and leaching it with hydrochloric acid. Once the facility transitions from R&D to production, the company aims to produce between 8,000 tonnes and 10,000 tonnes per annum.
Furthermore, the Brisbane-based facility also has strong ESG credentials. Lava Blue intends for its plant to be the first solar-powered battery-integrated light industrial facilities in Australia. The site will have a 1.25MW/250kWh novel containerised battery on site.
The company is planning to use the facility to demonstrate that its processing systems for HPA can be used to manufacture other high-value materials in battery manufacturing.
Support in Queensland to advance the tech economy
Gallium is another element on Australia’s critical minerals list, with uses in anodes for alkali metal ion batteries. Gallium nitride has traditionally been used in defence and military applications, but is increasingly in demand for cable transmission, wireless infrastructure, electronics such as smartphones, and satellite markets. This mineral is abundant in Queensland thanks to the state’s zinc and bauxite deposits. The Queensland Geologic Survey has identified 41 discrete areas in the state that have high probabilities of finding deposits of gallium, along with indium and germanium.
However, none of these projects or innovations would be possible without supportive legislation and the backing from state and national governments.
Australia has a strong regulatory framework and geopolitical stability to provide a secure environment for investment, as well as a comprehensive industrial strategy for batteries. The Queensland Government is also doing much of the heavy lifting to ensure that companies have everything they need within the state for businesses to grow domestically and internationally. These positive actions are setting the foundations for economic and industry growth.
The Queensland Critical Minerals Strategy is a framework designed to release the potential of high-demand minerals. Within the strategy is an estimated $245m of initiatives to further research, build resilient value chains, and foster a transparent supply chain that adheres to the highest environmental standards.
“The Queensland Government has been very supportive of Alpha HPA right from the beginning,” says Williamson. “They have been a solid enabler and coordinator of approvals in a very helpful way through the OCG [Office of the Coordinator General]. They have also been generous in providing $21m in grant funding for the project.”
The assistance offered by the state government for industry is making a decisive difference in advancing projects and innovations in HPA and other critical minerals fundamental to the tech economy.
To read the latest version of Queensland’s Critical Minerals Prospectus and learn more about the opportunities for collaborations on projects and innovations in the state, download the document below.
