Aluminium producer Alcoa has announced it will permanently close its Kwinana alumina refinery, located in Perth, Western Australia. The closure will cost the company US$890 million (A$1.35 billion). Alcoa, a global leader in bauxite, alumina, and aluminium products, has been operating for more than 135 years. They aim to offer sustainable solutions.
The Kwinana refinery has been mothballed since June 2024. Alcoa stated that the decision to permanently close the plant was made after determining that the facility’s age, operating costs, low bauxite grades, and current market conditions made a restart unviable. The company had explored multiple options to find a sustainable path to resuming operations without success.
Alcoa anticipates spending an additional US$600 million over the next six years related to asset retirement obligations and employee-related liabilities. The closure marks a setback for Australia’s ambition to expand its downstream processing and refining capabilities. Matt Reed, Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer at Alcoa, acknowledged the contributions of the Kwinana employees, contractors, and suppliers to Western Australia’s economic development over the past six decades.
Alcoa will now focus on safely decommissioning the operations and preparing the Kwinana site for future redevelopment. The company did not provide a specific timeline for the decommissioning process.
