Alcoa Australia has announced the termination of a joint venture (JV) with WA-based FYI Resources.
The JV was intended to allow Alcoa’s entry into the growing high-purity alumina (HPA) market.
The partnership, announced in 2021, was intended for development activities to produce HPA in response to increasing demand for sustainable products. HPA sees uses in the production of LED lighting, lithium-ion batteries, and more.
Under the agreement, Alcoa held a controlling 65 per cent interest in the project.
A full-scale HPA plant was set for construction in 2024 at a projected cost of approximately $293 million.
After completing stage one development activities, Alcoa has decided to call off the deal.
“While our work with FYI has demonstrated the merit of the process to produce high-purity alumina, Alcoa has decided not to pursue a development pathway with FYI at this time,” Alcoa executive vice president Renato Bacchi said.
“We thank the FYI team for their collaboration and the successful pilot trials completed during the first phase of the project.”
The withdrawal was felt on the stock market, with FYI’s share prices falling by 64 per cent on the day of the announcement.
But the WA company remains undeterred.
“While this is not the outcome we envisaged, the HPA project has advanced considerably, benefitting from Alcoa’s rigour and $7 million investment,” FYI managing director Roland Hill commented.
“We will move ahead with our HPA development strategy, having retained our original intellectual property and all information and data gathered during development.
“Importantly, we also retain joint access to all assets and customer relationships built during the joint development stage.”