Top five bauxite mining companies in Australia

The global economic growth is estimated to underpin solid demand for aluminium, and hence the significance of bauxite as the ore for the white metal. Australia is geared to serve world demand for bauxite especially from China.

Australia, the world's largest producer of bauxite, accounts for approximately one-third of global production in 2016-17. The country is expected to produce 82.7 million tonnes of bauxite in FY 2016-2017 (July-June), up 1.22% YOY, as confirmed by the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science. This country’s bauxite production is expected to grow at a rate of 6% per year for next three financial years to reach 98 million tonnes in fiscal 2019-2020.

There are currently five bauxite mines in Australia providing feedstock for the seven alumina refineries. The country’s export volume is projected to increase at an annual rate of 3.4% from FY 2017-2018 to 29 million tonnes in FY 2021-2022. 

Following are the five companies that are engaged in mining bauxite in Australia. Please note the listings are dynamic and are not based on priority order.

ALCOA (Alcoa World Alumina and Chemicals)

Alcoa of Australia Limited (Alcoa) is owned 60 per cent by Alcoa Corporation and 40 per cent by Alumina Limited. The company operates two bauxite mines in Western Australia (Huntly and Willowdale). Huntly mine is the world’s second largest bauxite mine. The company mines approximately 32 million bone dry metric tonnes of bauxite each year.

“Bauxite ore from Willowdale and Huntly mines helps to produce approximately 43 per cent of Australia’s alumina and 20 per cent of Australia’s aluminium, the company said.

Rio Tinto

The company’s Gove operation is located on the Gove Peninsula in Northern Territory on extensive deposits of high grade bauxite.  The company owns and operates the Weipa bauxite mine on Western Cape York Peninsula in Queensland. It exports over 27 million tonnes of bauxite annually.

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Rio Tinto reports four per cent increase in bauxite production in the first half of 2017 at 24.2 million tonnes in comparison to the same period of 2016. The increase was driven by record production at both Gove and Weipa bauxite mines. The company’s gross sales revenues stood at $957 million for bauxite in H1 2017

Rio Tinto projects 48 to 50 million tonnes of bauxite production for the full year 2017. 

South32

South32 refines bauxite at its Australian Worsely Alumina. The bauxite is mined near the town of Boddington in the South West of Australia. It is transported on an overland conveyor belt to a refinery and then turned into white alumina powder for export to smelters around the world. The mine has a production capacity of about 8 million tons of bauxite.

Australian Bauxite Limited

Australian Bauxite Limited has its first bauxite mine in Tasmania and holds the core of the Eastern Australian Bauxite Province. The company produces high grade metallurgical-grade bauxite, cement-grade bauxite and fertiliser-grade bauxite.

Recently, Australian Bauxite Limited announced the confirmation of its next bauxite sale. The company confirmed a sale of 30,000 tonnes of cement grade bauxite from its Bald Hill Bauxite mine.

Queensland Alumina Limited

Queensland Alumina Limited’s bauxite is mined in Weipa, far north Queensland and shipped over 2000 kilometres south to Gladstone. The alumina refinery in the city of Gladstone refines the bauxite shipped from Weipa.

The upcoming bauxite projects in the state of Queensland Metro Mining's Bauxite Hills project (5 million tpy) and Rio Tinto's Amrun project (23 million tpy) are anticipated to increase the country’s bauxite production in the coming years.

Another small scale mine at Weipa, Urquhart Bauxite, is expected to begin production in the coming months. Metallica Minerals, a listed mining company, will ship bauxite to Asian markets from the nearby Hey Point mine.  

Bauxite Resources Ltd (BRL) focusses on exploration and development of high quality bauxite resources throughout the Darling Range, Western Australia, a proven bauxite and alumina producing region.