Capral and Rio Tinto find success in closed loop recycling trial

Australia’s largest extruder and distributor of aluminium products, Capra, has successfully trialled the recycled-content billet supplied by Rio Tinto at Boyne Smelters Limited (BSL), using 50 t to 100 t of post-production aluminium scrap from its Bremer Park extrusion plant in south-east Queensland.

The scrap was remelted and cast into billets, resulting in a new product with a minimum of 20% recycled content. This creates a new era of environmentally conscious local aluminium production. Capral is exploring options for incorporating this sustainable material into its product offer.

This closed-loop approach not only minimises waste, but also reduces carbon intensity of extrusions produced from such billets.

Capra says this trial has successfully demonstrated the potential of a Made in Australia closed loop aluminium solution, in line with the Australian government’s Future Made in Australia policy. The entire production process has been done entirely in Australia, from 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. 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,” comments Luke Hawkins, Capral divisional general manager of industrial solutions and upply.

By supplying post-production scrap to Rio Tinto, Capral closes the loop, ensuring that materials remain in circulation in Australia and are converted into useful products.

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. 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% recycled content is another important step in our evolving procurement strategy towards delivering more sustainable aluminium to Australian manufacturers," adds Luke.

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. This approach demonstrates the viability of closed-loop recycling and challenges traditional notions of production efficiency and resource utilisation.

Capral is Australasia’s only Aluminium Stewardship Initiative certified extruder and is committed to procuring and managing aluminium within the value chain.