“Aluminium producers are eager for alternative applications for bath, to avoid the unpalatable options of on-site storage or landfill”, Dr Mark Cooksey, CEO of ABx Group

Dr Mark Cooksey is the CEO of ABx Group, which he joined in early 2020. He previously held process improvement and process development leadership positions with Rio Tinto, GE and CSIRO, the national science agency of Australia. Dr Cooksey has focused on process innovation throughout his 25-year career and he has extensive experience in developing and commercialising new processes in the minerals industry, particularly in the aluminium value chain.

AlCircle: Congratulations on being appointed as CEO of ABx Group. Could you share Alcore’s success story of producing commercial grade aluminium fluoride from smelter waste products? How is it important to the aluminium smelter?

Dr Mark Cooksey: Sodium enters the smelting process as an impurity in the alumina. Aluminium fluoride must be regularly added to the process to maintain the correct bath chemistry. There is no substitute. A lack of aluminium fluoride for even a week would cause serious disruption to the smelting process. Australia is the largest aluminium-producing region in the world without local aluminium fluoride production.

Most aluminium smelters produce excess bath (electrolyte), which historically has been sold to other smelters that require a bath, particularly new smelters. The global bath market has moved into a surplus because there are very few new smelters being constructed. Aluminium producers are eager for alternative applications for baths, to avoid the unpalatable options of on-site storage or landfill.

Alcore is an 83%-owned subsidiary of ABx Group. We have developed a process to recover fluorine from an aluminium smelter bath, which we use to produce aluminium fluoride. Development work has been undertaken at the Alcore Research Centre near Sydney, where a pilot plant is being constructed at the Alcore Research Centre to demonstrate the process on a larger scale. The production of aluminium fluoride from an aluminium smelter bath is an exemplary illustration of the circular economy.

Alcore plans to construct its first commercial plant in Bell Bay, Tasmania, near the existing aluminium smelter. The likely eventual capacity is 20,000 tonnes per year of aluminium fluoride.

AlCircle: How important is Sunrise Bauxite Project in Queensland for the ABx Group? Could you please detail us on its development?

Dr Mark Cooksey: We are excited to have signed a joint venture agreement with Alumin Pty Ltd for the development of the Sunrise Bauxite Project, comprising a bauxite mine at Binjour plateau and port operations at Bundaberg in Queensland. Binjour is located 115km inland of Bundaberg.

Alumin is an Australian special purpose vehicle company associated with our strategic marketing partner, Rawmin India. Under the agreement, Alumin will contribute up to A$18 million to the development costs. We anticipate that the JV agreement will fund all operations associated with the mine and port development. We are commencing the project approval process.

It is anticipated that the mine at Binjour will initially export 500,000 tonnes per year of metallurgical grade bauxite, then scale up to the full operational capacity of 2 million tonnes per year.

AlCircle: How do you envisage the year 2022 for the global aluminium industry following the Covid pandemic economic impact? Also, share your views on the bauxite sector for 2022.

Dr Mark Cooksey: The Covid-19 pandemic and geopolitical tensions have starkly demonstrated the fragility of global supply chains. Many companies are grappling with how to balance supply chain security and cost. I expect 2022 and beyond to involve substantial changes to supply chains, as some companies decide to use more local suppliers and sell to more local customers, even though this may lead to slightly higher costs.

This will demand that all companies communicate closely with their suppliers and customers. It may be risky to presume that long term supplier or customer relationships will continue unchanged.

This applies to the aluminium industry as much as any other, because currently there is high global interconnection.

AlCircle: How would you analyse ABx Group’s overall 2021performance? What is ABx Group’s performance anticipation for 2022?

Dr Mark Cooksey: 2021 was a transformative year for ABx Group. Alcore commenced construction of its pilot plant facility, and the Sunrise Bauxite Project joint venture was signed after an 18-month delay due to Covid-19. Significant funds were raised to enable ABx Group to proceed with all its developments.

In 2022, we expect that Alcore can demonstrate its process for recovering fluorine from an aluminium smelter bath at a pilot scale. This will enable the design process for the first commercial plant to commence. We also expect to significantly progress the approval processes for the Sunrise Bauxite Project.

AlCircle: What new expansion of projects and investments ABx Group is planning for 2022?

Dr Mark Cooksey: A relatively new significant opportunity for ABx Group is rare earth, as it has become the first company to discover rare earth in Tasmania. ABx Group has recently secured a new, larger exploration licence and is about to commence an expanded drilling program. Metallurgical testing is also about to commence, which will indicate the likely potential recovery of rare earth using leaching.

The aluminium fluoride, rare earth and bauxite projects are all clear examples of the ABx strategy: to create new sources and technologies for the supply of strategic minerals and chemicals.