On Wednesday, Australian Bauxite Limited (ABx) 89 per cent-owned subsidiary ALCORE Limited announced what ABx chairman Mr Lennon described as its biggest milestone.

That involved producing aluminium fluoride from its research centre on the New South Wales Central Coast which was sufficiently pure for use in aluminium smelters.

In a speech prepared for Friday's ABx annual meeting, Mr Lennon said aluminium fluoride was a strategically important mineral product which allowed aluminium smelters to operate efficiently.

He said Australasian aluminium smelters imported more than 30,000 tonnes of aluminium fluoride from China in the last year.

"ALCORE plans to be the first producer of aluminium fluoride in the Southern Hemisphere, starting at the production rate of approximately 10,000 tonnes of aluminium fluoride per year and increasing five-fold as demand grows," Mr Lennon said.

"A domestic producer of aluminium fluoride should increase security of supply for aluminium smelters in Australasia and elsewhere in the Southern Hemisphere."

Mr Lennon said ALCORE planned to build its first production plant at Bell Bay, in an industrial precinct which had an aluminium smelter, a manganese smelter and an aluminium powder plant, all powered by hydro electricity.

"ALCORE's refine and recycle strategy involves the conversion of smelter waste into aluminium fluoride for recycling back to the smelter which would improve the environmental credentials of Bell Bay Aluminium," he said.

"Aluminium fluoride is also used in the next-generation rechargeable lithium ion battery industry."

Mr Lennon said ABx's next bauxite sale was due to be shipped from Bell Bay by August 19.

Its production at the Bald Hill mine near Campbell Town would start in early June.

"ABx and ALCORE both look forward to a positive end of 2020 and a fresh start in 2021," he said.