Two major critical minerals projects in Queensland and South Australia are to receive hundreds of millions of dollars in federal government loans as part of the Albanese government’s new Future Made in Australia policy.
New loans worth $400 million will go to the Australian company Alpha HPA to deliver Australia’s first high-purity alumina processing facility in the Queensland port city of Gladstone.
The project is expected to create about 490 jobs during construction and more than 200 when it is completed.
The company will use Australian-owned intellectual property and technologies to produce high-purity alumina, which is a critical mineral used in LED lighting, semiconductors, lithium-ion batteries and other high-tech applications.
The loans will be provided by Export Finance Australia through the government’s $4 billion Critical Minerals Facility and Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility.
The government is also lending $185 million to Renascor Resources to fast-track the first stage of its South Australian Siviour Graphite Project at Arno Bay on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsular.
…