{"id":233780,"date":"2025-10-23T00:54:46","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T00:54:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/233780\/"},"modified":"2025-10-23T00:54:46","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T00:54:46","slug":"waroona-weighs-up-planned-gallium-refinery-funded-by-us-australia-critical-minerals-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/233780\/","title":{"rendered":"Waroona weighs up planned gallium refinery funded by US-Australia critical minerals deal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Locals are hopeful a $13 billion US-Australia critical minerals deal set to build a new gallium refinery south of Perth will boost jobs and revitalise towns, but green groups are concerned about the environmental impacts of processing on shore.<\/p>\n

The Waroona community is one of the first to be involved in the new bilateral deal<\/a>, which is aimed at breaking China’s near-monopoly on the world’s supply of critical minerals.<\/p>\n

As part of the deal, US and Australian governments will fund a new gallium refinery at Wagerup<\/a>, 120 kilometres south of Perth, which will be co-located at US mining giant Alcoa’s existing alumina refinery.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Waroona is one of several towns situated on the South Western Highway, a key agricultural route south of Perth. (ABC News: West Matteeussen)<\/p>\n

Gallium is a little-known critical mineral prized by the US military-industrial complex, and has become the talk of the town in Waroona since the announcement.<\/p>\n

Bernie Worthington runs Drakesbrook Fine Wines, one of the area’s few wineries, and has conflicting feelings about the project.<\/p>\n

“Anything that brings some economic benefit to the town has to be good,” he said.<\/p>\n

“But at the same time, we’re in a beautiful, pristine area here.<\/p>\n

\"Bernie<\/p>\n

Bernie Worthington says he has conflicting feelings about the project. (ABC News: West Matteeussen)<\/p>\n

“The wine is a direct result of what happens to the environment.”<\/p>\n

Gallium is found in trace amounts in bauxite, which is mostly mined for aluminium production.<\/p>\n

How we use critical minerals<\/a><\/p>\n

Rare earths are found all over the globe, but as technology advances they’re becoming part of our everyday lives.<\/p>\n

The rare mineral is a key component of LED lighting, telecommunications and modern defence technologies.<\/p>\n

‘A cynical ploy’<\/p>\n

The gallium project comes as Alcoa plans to expand its nearby Willowdale and Huntly mines until 2027, clearing more of WA’s northern jarrah forests in the process.<\/p>\n

The state’s Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) is poring over 59,000 public submissions about the proposal and is yet to deliver its assessment.<\/p>\n

Kingsley Dixon is an academic and botanist who owns a 4.8 hectare farm near Waroona.<\/p>\n

\"He<\/p>\n

Kingsley Dixon says the project would involve clearing some of the world’s most biodiverse and ancient forest. (ABC News: West Matteeussen)<\/p>\n

He is a vocal opponent of Alcoa’s designs for the bauxite deposits beneath the jarrah forests.<\/p>\n

“For some people, they would consider this a cynical ploy to justify the largest clearing of the world’s most biodiverse and ancient forest,” Dr Dixon said.<\/p>\n

“A critical metal should not mean the loss of a critically endangered ecosystem and critically endangered animals.<\/p>\n

“That’s what we’re now facing. It’s a simple choice.”<\/p>\n

Questions over how $13b critical minerals deal will benefit WA<\/a><\/p>\n

WA’s slice of the US\u2013Australia critical minerals deal is being heralded as a huge win, but critics are asking how much US aluminium giant Alcoa’s boon will benefit Western Australians.<\/p>\n

Alcoa has said the gallium project is unrelated to the EPA’s assessment, and that it is committed to “responsibly mining bauxite”.<\/p>\n

Alcoa is exempt from most of the state’s environmental legislation and is instead governed under state agreements, which are approved by the minister for state and industry development.<\/p>\n

Jobs for the town<\/p>\n

Alcoa has operated in Waroona since the 1960s and its uniforms are a familiar sight on the main street.<\/p>\n

Shire of Waroona President Mike Walmsley said the US mining firm played a key role in the local economy.<\/p>\n

\"Profile<\/p>\n

Mike Walmsley says Alcoa plays a key role in supporting the local economy. (ABC News: West Matteeussen)<\/p>\n

“I think Alcoa are here for the long run. You either embrace that or you don’t,” he said.<\/p>\n

Rusty Geller is chair of the Peel Environmental Protection Alliance and lives 10 kilometres from Alcoa’s Pinjarra refinery.<\/p>\n

He said there had to be a balance between environmental stewardship and local jobs.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Alcoa has operated in Waroona since the 1960s. (ABC News: West Matteeussen)<\/p>\n

“I firmly believe you can’t have a strong economy without a strong environment, they go hand in hand,” he said.<\/p>\n

Mr Geller said he would be more supportive of the gallium plant if it made use of Alcoa’s existing stockpiles of bauxite mining waste.<\/p>\n

“Our fear is that it gets lost in the mix and Alcoa spins it that they’ve got to get these expansions through so they can get gallium over to Donald Trump,” he said.<\/p>\n

Processing concerns<\/p>\n

The extraction of gallium from bauxite ore can involve the use of harsh chemicals and requires the disposal of the remaining waste.<\/p>\n

Mr Worthington said he was worried about the unintended consequences of a refinery down the road at Wagerup.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Some people fear the project could deter tourists from the town and region. (ABC News: West Matteeussen)<\/p>\n

“We don’t [want] a dirty process that might impact on our product,” he said.<\/p>\n

“Anything dirty is going to keep the day trippers and the tourists away.”<\/p>\n

This is not the first time a foreign government has attempted to refine gallium alongside Alcoa.<\/p>\n

In 1989, French government-controlled chemical company Rh\u00f4ne-Poulenc built a $50 million plant next to Alcoa’s alumina refinery at Pinjarra, 35 kilometres north of Wagerup.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The new gallium refinery will be co-located at Alcoa’s existing aluminium refinery. (ABC News: Cason Ho)<\/p>\n

The EPA at the time raised concerns about the second stage of the project due to the storage of large quantities of ammonium nitrate \u2014 a by-product traditionally used in explosives and fertiliser manufacturing \u2014 and the risk it could seep into the region’s waterways.<\/p>\n

Another concern was the disposal of “gangue residue”, which is a low-level radioactive waste from the gallium extraction process.<\/p>\n

It is not clear whether those historical risks would be repeated at the Wagerup plant, or how Alcoa would manage them.<\/p>\n

The ABC has contacted Alcoa for comment.<\/p>\n

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