18 MARCH 2015AlCircle.com
Yarwun diversifying to alumina hydrate; Gove added as a source of bauxite
Edited by : AL CIRCLE
1 min read
A part of the bauxite required for the Rio Tinto Alcan’s Yarwun site will come from Gove said the acting general manager Greg Bacon.
The plant requires seven million tonnes of bauxite at present and six million of it comes from the Weipa site owned by Rio, only one million is being sourced from Gove bauxite site.
Rio Tinto has also started dealing in alumina hydrate this year which is used in fertilizers, paints, inks and glass manufacturing. The compound is created by stopping one step short in the process of alumina refining, before the calcination process.
Bacon says this makes maintenance of the plant easier and cost effective as the entire operation need not shut down in case maintenance is required. "We can reduce our energy consumption on site so we aren't having to fire that up in the calcines and it goes straight out to the customer in the hydrated form."
While 3 million tonnes of alumina is due to be exported this year, 300,000 hydrate will also be added to the export list.
The plant requires seven million tonnes of bauxite at present and six million of it comes from the Weipa site owned by Rio, only one million is being sourced from Gove bauxite site.
Rio Tinto has also started dealing in alumina hydrate this year which is used in fertilizers, paints, inks and glass manufacturing. The compound is created by stopping one step short in the process of alumina refining, before the calcination process.
Bacon says this makes maintenance of the plant easier and cost effective as the entire operation need not shut down in case maintenance is required. "We can reduce our energy consumption on site so we aren't having to fire that up in the calcines and it goes straight out to the customer in the hydrated form."
While 3 million tonnes of alumina is due to be exported this year, 300,000 hydrate will also be added to the export list.
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