ABx Group’s subsidiary, Alcore, is making steady progress on its pilot plant project near the Bell Bay aluminium smelter in Tasmania. The company has partnered with BFluor Chemicals and Kempe Engineering to support this initiative. Regulatory steps are also moving forward, with Alcore receiving official environmental guidelines from EPA Tasmania for its environmental effects report.
Key components for the facility, such as the oleum plant and bath reactors, have been ordered and are scheduled for delivery by year-end. The pilot plant will showcase Alcore’s proprietary technology to convert aluminium smelting waste into valuable industrial chemicals, including hydrogen fluoride.
The pilot plant, situated at a leased site next to Rio Tinto’s Bell Bay smelter, is designed to convert hydrogen fluoride into aluminium fluoride—a critical ingredient in the aluminium smelting process that Australia currently imports entirely.
Despite being a leading aluminium producer, Australia lacks domestic production of aluminium fluoride, relying predominantly on imports from China. Backed by a $1 million loan from the Tasmanian Government, the project aims to position Bell Bay as a strategic centre for Alcore's innovative technology.
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