Hundreds of jobs will be lost as a major alumina refinery shuts down in Western Australia .

The US-based Alcoa Corporation has announced it would permanently close its Kwinana refinery, which curtailed production in June last year.

The refinery currently has about 220 employees, a number Alcoa said would be "reduced" during 2026 in the closure process.

Some employees will remain beyond 2026 to prepare the site for future redevelopment.

Factors in the decision to shut down the refinery included the age of the facility, scale and operating costs, market conditions and bauxite grade challenges.

"Alcoa operated the Kwinana refinery for a number of years in a challenging environment and made the difficult decision to permanently close the facility after unsuccessfully exploring mul

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