Australia adds HPA, silicon to critical minerals list

The Australian government has added high purity alumina (HPA) and silicon — increasingly used in lithium-ion batteries and semi-conductors — to its list of critical minerals.

HPA and silicon were added to the list after consultation with the minerals industry and science agencies over the past 18 months, the government said, saying that semiconductors have already been identified as a key supply chain risk and demand is expected to rapidly increase in the next few years.

There are two HPA projects under development in Australia to meet rising demand from the battery sector, where HPA acts as a separator between battery cathodes and anodes, and from the LED lighting sector.

Perth-based FYI Resources and US-based Alcoa are jointly developing a project in Western Australia (WA) with piloting completed, while Alpha HPA is developing a 10,000 t/yr project at Gladstone in Queensland, with initial aluminium precursor from the first stage expected by the end of September. Australia can pivot off its alumina and kaolin clay resources to increase HPA output as demand rises.

SIMCOA, located near Bunbury in WA, is Australia's main silicon producer with capacity for around 52,000 t/yr. There are several silica sand projects in production or under development to produce raw material for export to downstream converters. Silicon has uses in semi-conductor chips, photovoltaic panels and strengthening aluminium alloys.

The addition of HPA and silicon to Australia's critical minerals list takes the list up to 26 minerals from 24. These include antimony, cobalt, lithium and tungsten, among others.

Australia has a range of programmes supporting the critical minerals sector, including the A$1.3bn ($920mn) Modern Manufacturing Initiative, which provides grants, the A$2bn Critical Minerals Facility, which provides loans, and the Critical Minerals Accelerator Initiative, which assists the progress of early and mid-stage projects.

By Angus Macmillan