【Ferro-alloys.com】: Australia has formally backed development of a new gallium refinery at Alcoa’s Wagerup operations in Western Australia, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese describing the project as an early cornerstone of the country’s expanded critical minerals partnership with the US.

Speaking during a site visit this week, Albanese said the refinery – developed by Alcoa in partnership with Japan’s Sojitz and supported by the US Export-Import Bank – would position Australia as a major supplier of a mineral critical to advanced electronics, defence technologies and clean-energy systems.

The project will extract gallium from the bauxite processed at Alcoa’s existing alumina facilities, creating an estimated 200 construction jobs in 2026 and “a couple of dozen” ongoing operational roles in the region. Alcoa employs about 1 500 staff at Wagerup and another 1 000 at Pinjarra.

Albanese said the new refinery was selected as one of the first projects in the pipeline identified under the Australia–US Critical Minerals Framework, signed recently in Washington. Canberra and Washington have jointly earmarked A$8.5-billion in identified projects, with an initial A$3-billion in combined government support targeted at accelerating Australian supply.

The Australian government will provide A$200-million in concessional equity finance to the Wagerup development.

“This is what a future made in Australia looks like,” Albanese said. “This project alone will produce around 10% of the world’s gallium, and it can scale further given the resource available here.”

Albanese emphasised that the refinery was expected to be under way by late 2026, calling it a “game-changing project” for Australia and the US as global competition intensifies for secure energy-transition metals and minerals. 

• [Editor:Alakay]