Rio Tinto’s Boyne Smelters Limited and Capral Aluminium have claimed success in a recycling trial demonstrating the potential of a Made-in-Australia ‘closed-loop’ aluminium solution.

Boyne Smelters Limited in Gladstone has successfully trialled casting billet with a 20 per cent minimum recycled content per furnace charge.

This used post-production aluminium scrap from Capral’s Bremer Park extrusion plant in South-East Queensland.

Capral said the entire production process had been done in Australia, from the raw materials of bauxite and alumina to primary aluminium production, to Capral’s extrusion process, to Rio Tinto’s remelting of scrap into finished recycled billet product.

“Whilst Capral recycles the vast majority of our scrap, it must be sent offshore for processing and typically ends up in different types of products than what we would normally produce,” Capral divisional general manager of industrial solutions and supply Luke Hawkins said.

“We are excited to be working with Rio Tinto, our main domestic supplier, on this project; hopefully, in the not-too-distant future, we can recycle all of our scrap locally and use it to support circularity within the Australian aluminium industry.”

For Capral, the arrangement provides a strategic avenue to manage its waste stream efficiently while enhancing its sustainability credentials.

“We are driven by the industry to incorporate recycled content into our supply chain,” Mr Hawkins said.

“We’ve worked hard to introduce LocAl and LocAl Super Green, our lower carbon aluminium offer, and the addition of this aluminium material with 20 per cent recycled content is another important step in our evolving procurement strategy towards delivering more sustainable aluminium to Australian manufacturers.” 

Blending post-production recycled content with virgin material results in a billet that meets high-quality standards required by various industries such as construction and transport, according to Capral.