Expansions in doubled production, and today, Yarwun produces more than three million tonnes of alumina per year, which is exported to customers in Asia, the Middle East and the Pacific region. New research will help us find out. The Yarwun and QAL refineries provide test platforms for our bauxite technologies globally, which helps market our northern Australian bauxite all around the world.
ASI certification means customers can be assured that the aluminium they purchase has been produced to the highest environmental, social and governance standards, ranging from greenhouse gas emissions to human rights. In October , we signed a statement of cooperation with the Queensland Government to seize the opportunities presented by clean energy and make Central Queensland an industrial and renewable energy powerhouse.
The partnership will help ensure Central Queensland can take advantage of our natural energy advantage and drive employment and economic outcomes from investment in renewable energy projects. This should help create the industrial demand needed to develop a globally competitive green energy solution and lead to more processing and manufacturing in Central Queensland. Creating alumina takes a lot of energy, which in turn creates greenhouse gas emissions.
We are partnering with the Australian Renewable Energy Agency to research using clean hydrogen to replace natural gas in the calcination process of alumina refining at Yarwun. We are also partnering with Sumitomo Corporation on a study into building a hydrogen pilot plant at Yarwun — if the project proceeds, the pilot plant would produce hydrogen for the Gladstone Hydrogen Ecosystem.
Here For Gladstone's formal programmes are governed by a Board made up of community and business leaders. For example, feedback showed that the Gladstone community are concerned about economic development and diversification. So, in consultation with the community, we launched the Here for Business programme in late that provides free business coaching and interest-free micro-finance loans to new or expanding businesses.
There have been 23 businesses participating in the programme with 74 local jobs created. We protect cultural heritage sites identified during archaeological surveys before the operation was built by safekeeping artefacts and protecting important scar tree sites from disturbance. Cultural awareness is also important to our culture at site; all of our employees must undergo cultural awareness training before starting their job at Yarwun.
We contribute in many ways to the Gladstone economy, including by sourcing goods and services locally wherever possible. We seek to play a positive role in the communities where we operate, as well as in wider society. Discover more about life at Rio Tinto. View 1 excerpt, cites methods. International Journal of Engineering and Technologies. The thermal activation conditions for enhancing the leaching of alumina from Nsu clay from south-eastern Nigeria was investigated.
The clay assayed Natural Resources. The thermal activation of Ngwo clay from southeastern Nigeria for optimal leaching of alumina was investigated.
Modelling and optimization of digestion efficiency of bauxite in Bayer process: Iran Alumina company. Amending highly acidic blowdown sludge by direct addition of beneficiated alumina refinery residue. This paper examines the relationship between sulfuric acid plant blowdown sludge and alumina refinery residue. Specifically, the research focuses on the neutralization of high levels of acidity in … Expand.
A field trial to engender micro-concentrations of lead II using a novel sorbent in highly acidic industrial wastewater at a smelter site in Derbyshire. This study examines the relationship between extreme acidity and heavy metals with a primary focus on lead in industrial wastewater and the role of chemical reagents derived from alumina refinery … Expand.
View 2 excerpts, cites methods. Principles of extractive metallurgy. Noise-induced hearing loss has been a significant problem in refineries. Heat and humidity are encountered in tropical locations. Although heat stroke has not been reported, heat exhaustion and miliaria rubra may occur. Control measures are necessary and have been discussed in detail elsewhere.
Whole-body vibration is commonly experienced while operating mobile equipment, such as scrapers, drilling rigs, excavators, and haulage trucks.
This can cause or exacerbate spinal disorders. In some cases remote-controlled vehicles are used where the terrain is so rough that whole-body vibration could be excessive. Road and vehicle maintenance are important control measures. Hand-arm vibration syndrome seems to be rare in bauxite mining and alumina refining. Vibrating hand tools are not an important part of the process at bauxite mines, but are common at alumina refineries. Nevertheless, most bauxite mines and alumina refineries are located in tropical climates, so cold-provoked vasospasm is less likely.
Bauxite is a low-level naturally occurring radioactive material. It contains small quantities of uranium U , thorium Th , and potassium 40 K. The bauxite ore, Bayer process materials before precipitation, mud residue, and sand residue are therefore of radiological interest, whereas the alumina product is not.
Total incremental composite doses for individuals were all less than the public exposure limit of 1. In summary, this is an issue that requires some consideration and monitoring at bauxite mines and alumina refineries, but is unlikely to be of concern. Solar ultraviolet exposures in surface bauxite mining operations and alumina refineries are likely to contribute to the occurrence of squamous cell and basal cell carcinomas, although this is an inference drawn from studies of outdoor workers in other industries.
Occupations involving substantial outdoor work seem not to be associated with an increased risk of melanoma. Tropical cyclones hurricanes can impact bauxite mines and alumina refineries in tropical locations. Bauxite is generally regarded as being relatively biologically inert.
More recently, epidemiological studies of employees exposed to bauxite dust have been conducted. A cross-sectional study of employees at a US bauxite mine, alumina refinery, and alumina-based chemical products plant studied lung function in relation to cumulative total dust exposures.
Because one third of the study cohort never smoked, the effects of dust exposure could be examined independent of the effects of smoking. The study did not report forced vital capacity FVC results, so it is not known whether the results reflect an obstructive or restrictive lung defect. Nevertheless, industrial bronchitis in response to high dust exposures is a possible explanation. Unfortunately, the exposure data did not distinguish between bauxite and other exposures such as alumina and caustic mist.
It is therefore somewhat difficult to interpret the findings in relation to bauxite. Also, the exposures were clearly much higher than those typically sustained during contemporary bauxite mining.
The prevalence was statistically significantly increased among nonsmokers who had longer tenure and higher cumulative total dust exposures.
After adjustment for age, height, and smoking, there was a small but statistically significant decline in FEV 1 7. The association between FEV 1 and the duration of employment was independent of bauxite exposure, which the researchers found difficult to explain. In summary, it seems that bauxite exposures in contemporary best-practice mining operations have not been demonstrated to be associated with clinically significant decrements in lung function or pneumoconiosis.
These were thought unlikely to be clinically of note. A cancer incidence and mortality study has been undertaken for a cohort of employees working in three bauxite mines and three alumina refineries in Western Australia.
Mortality for all cancers combined was not significantly different from the comparison population. There were no statistically significant trends seen with the duration of employment for any of the causes of death. Nevertheless, an independent review by the Western Australian Mesothelioma Registry found that mesothelioma was associated with exposures outside the aluminum industry in all but one case—for example, five of the nine cases had exposure to crocidolite at Wittenoom, an asbestos mining location in Western Australia.
For melanoma there was no increase in risk with the duration of employment. Subsequent analysis at one of the studied refineries found no statistically significant increase in the incidence of melanoma when state rather than national comparison data were used unpublished data. The researchers commented that there was no known exposure related to office work in this industry, and the finding may be an artifact of the large number of analyses performed in the study.
An internal analysis of the same cohort looked at cancer incidence, circulatory mortality, and respiratory mortality in relation to bauxite dust exposure and alumina dust exposure. These associations were based on very few cases, and for nonmalignant respiratory disease, the deaths represented a heterogeneous mixture of causes. Further follow-up is needed to clarify these preliminary findings.
There was no evidence of an excess risk of any cancer type with bauxite or alumina exposure. Serum aluminum levels have been measured in bauxite miners and a comparison group of employees at a wood processing factory, both in Surinam.
Some bauxites contain trace quantities of beryllium. The concentrations in mining and subsequent refining are unlikely to present a significant risk of beryllium sensitivity or chronic beryllium disease. Nevertheless, it is known that beryllium concentrates in the aluminum smelter bath if the alumina has originated from bauxite containing beryllium.
The prevalence of beryllium sensitivity in aluminum smelters has been reported to be 0. Bauxite contains trace quantities of mercury, which can give rise to elemental mercury vapor, especially in the upstream part of the refining process—typically in the digestion area.
Some refineries use condensers to remove mercury from vapor. Occasionally, collections of metallic mercury are encountered and removal is undertaken by trained staff using safe handling measures and appropriate personal protective equipment.
Routine biological monitoring for mercury is not therefore required at these alumina refineries. Older alumina refineries may still have asbestos in situ, so care is required to have a rigorous asbestos management plan. Chemical splashes still occur in refineries despite many engineering and administrative controls. Sometimes this is because of failure of equipment such as valves, or a loss of process control leading to spills from tanks.
A great majority of chemical splashes involve strong alkalis—usually caustic soda sodium hydroxide , which is present in refinery liquor throughout the circuit. Caustic splashes can cause serious chemical burns of the skin and eyes, and immediate decontamination is essential. The incidence of skin splashes among Australian refinery employees has been reported as 4.
These results were significantly different from those for employees who applied water first, with no signs of a chemical burn in only Diesel particulate is generated by diesel-powered mobile equipment, but exposures in bauxite mining occur at low levels compared with underground mining. Diesel exhaust is an International Agency for Research on Cancer group 1 human carcinogen—sufficient exposure can increase the risk of lung cancer.
Diesel-powered bob cats with impact equipment are used inside large tanks at alumina refineries to descale them. Additional controls in this situation include forced dilution ventilation and respiratory protection. Irritant dermal exposures and dermatitis can occur in a range of jobs at alumina refineries and to a lesser extent at bauxite mines.
Relevant agents include industrial solvents, alkalis, and acids. Considerable welding is undertaken at alumina refineries and to a lesser extent at bauxite mine workshops.
The control of exposure to welding fumes is therefore important with local exhaust ventilation and respiratory protection. Confined space entry is also an important issue at alumina refineries where there are very many process vessels of differing types. Entry permits ensure that all elements of a safe system of work are in place before anyone enters a confined space. Atmospheric monitoring is required to detect oxygen-deficient, toxic, or flammable atmospheres.
Ventilation of confined spaces before and during entry is common; however, additional respiratory protective equipment may also be necessary. Noncondensable gases are produced in the digestion section of the refining process from the breakdown of organic matter in bauxite.
They consist of a suite of volatile organic compounds and ammonia. They are called noncondensable gases because they do not condense to a liquid during cooling of the hot digestion stream. They are subsequently released from refinery vents and stacks—with time-weighted average concentrations in the workplace typically well below occupational exposure limits.
Some of the noncondensable gases are malodorous and irritating. Brief encounters of transient fugitive emissions occur occasionally and can give rise to complaints of malodor and short-term respiratory irritation. The risks of tropical diseases such as malaria and dengue fever are significant at some bauxite mining and alumina refining locations. Precautions to prevent mosquito bites are important, and malaria prophylaxis is sometimes prescribed.
Vaccinations for yellow fever are also required for travel to some locations. Access to travel medicine advice before, during, and after travel is important.
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