Alcore Limited - an 83 per cent-owned subsidiary of diversifying bauxite miner the ABx Group - recently finished commissioning the reactors at its technology centre on the New South Wales Central Coast.

The ultimate aim is to produce aluminium fluoride at Bell Bay for use in aluminium smelters and to replace imports.

"Alcore is developing a process which recovers fluorine from excess bath - an aluminium smelter waste product - to produce aluminium fluoride, which is a high-value additive essential for aluminium smelting," the ABx Group said.

"The commissioning of these reactors signifies an important milestone for the company, with the improved capability permitting advanced test work, with results to aid the finalisation of design for a larger capacity pilot plant."

ABx Group chief executive Mark Cooksey said successful commissioning of the reactors was a significant step forward in bringing the Alcore process into commercial production.

"The test results, combined with the expertise of our team and our partners, will allow Alcore to efficiently construct the pilot plant to best capture this emerging opportunity," Dr Cooksey said.

The company said the first stage of the process involved producing a highly concentrated sulfuric acid called oleum.

Two of the reactors could produce enough oleum for tests with bath in a specialised laboratory reactor.

Another of the new reactors would "react" oleum and bath to recover fluorine.

"This enables Alcore to rapidly investigate a larger range of process conditions with improved process control compared to previous experiments in the original Alcore laboratory," it said.

The company's first aluminium fluoride production plant is planned to be built at Bell Bay, near an existing aluminium smelter.

Production would be expected to start with about 50 jobs, potentially increasing to several hundred as output increased.

The ABx Group also has bauxite interests in Tasmania and on the mainland and is discovering rare earth elements in Tasmania's Central North.