What is the Boyne smelter green switchover?

The Boyne aluminium smelter is one of Australia's largest single power users. In March 2026 Rio Tinto, Queensland and the Commonwealth signed a deal to keep it running to at least 2040 on solar and wind, underwritten by $7.5B of new renewable power contracts. The 2026–27 federal budget then put $1B behind Boyne Island. A Growth Precinct builds the cluster around the now-secured smelter — cheap sovereign power, then casting, extrusion and recycling onshore instead of shipping raw ingot away to be turned into finished goods and bought back.

How does Gladstone produce sovereign gallium?

Gallium — vital to computer chips, radar and electronic-warfare systems, and about 98% controlled by China, which restricted exports in 2023 — concentrates in the alumina refinery's process liquor and is normally just cycled back. A bolt-on extraction line recovers it, and Rio Tinto proved this exact process in 2025. Gladstone's refineries give Australia a sovereign gallium source as a byproduct of the metal it already makes.

What critical minerals come from red mud?

Refining alumina leaves a vast 'red mud' residue, today a waste liability. It holds scandium (which makes aluminium far stronger for aircraft and defence), rare earths and iron. Gladstone recovers them, and the cleaned residue feeds low-carbon cement for the national build. Rio Tinto is already piloting scandium recovery from Queensland red mud — turning the refinery's biggest waste stream into sovereign critical-mineral supply.

Growing Australia

Growing Australia is a fully-costed $190.1B sovereign industry plan to reduce cost-of-living pressure by rebuilding domestic capability in energy, manufacturing, cyber, food and regional partnerships.

The platform contains 48 investments across 26 Growth Precincts, with full costing assumptions and primary-source citations.

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