Irish Examiner
$1.2bn refinery secured until 2030
Edited by : AL CIRCLE
1 min read
THE future of the $1.2 billion (€873m) alumina refinery at Aughinish Alumina has been secured until 2030 at least, with the company commissioning a 195-acre development that has the capacity to hold over 17 million tonnes of bauxite residue or "red mud".
The owners of Europe’s largest alumina refinery, RUSAL Aughinish, yesterday confirmed that partial commissioning of the site has commenced and will continue in 2012 and 2013.
A spokesman said: "It is a major milestone for RUSAL Aughinish in that it delivers bauxite residue storage capacity until the year 2030 at approximately 2 million tonnes alumina production per year. This milestone, the partial commissioning of the Phase 2 Bauxite Reside Disposal Area (BRDA), was achieved on schedule and within budget."
Last year, the facility enjoyed a 50% increase in production with 1.86 million tonnes of alumina after processing 4.1 million tonnes of bauxite ore (leaving a residue of 1.2 million tonnes of waste in the BRDA).
This compares to 1.24 million tonnes of alumina produced after processing 2.7 million tonnes of bauxite ore in 2009 — approximately 70% of the bauxite processed by RUSAL Aughinish comes from Guinea in west Africa, with the remainder coming from Brazil.
The owners of Europe’s largest alumina refinery, RUSAL Aughinish, yesterday confirmed that partial commissioning of the site has commenced and will continue in 2012 and 2013.
A spokesman said: "It is a major milestone for RUSAL Aughinish in that it delivers bauxite residue storage capacity until the year 2030 at approximately 2 million tonnes alumina production per year. This milestone, the partial commissioning of the Phase 2 Bauxite Reside Disposal Area (BRDA), was achieved on schedule and within budget."
Last year, the facility enjoyed a 50% increase in production with 1.86 million tonnes of alumina after processing 4.1 million tonnes of bauxite ore (leaving a residue of 1.2 million tonnes of waste in the BRDA).
This compares to 1.24 million tonnes of alumina produced after processing 2.7 million tonnes of bauxite ore in 2009 — approximately 70% of the bauxite processed by RUSAL Aughinish comes from Guinea in west Africa, with the remainder coming from Brazil.
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