How is bauxite mined?
The Aurukun Bauxite Project includes a 10 Million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) bauxite mine and related infrastructure at Aurukun and a 2.3 Mtpa alumina refinery and related infrastructure at Abbot Point. The bauxite at Aurukun is found half a metre below the topsoil in layers three-four metres in thickness. Front end loaders use a shallow, open-cut technique to mine and load the bauxite into dump trucks. The bauxite is transported to the beneficiation plant. At the beneficiation plant, the bauxite ore is washed through a scrubber to remove the higher silica fines. The resulting product at Aurukun contains over 50% alumina content. The end product is called dry beneficiated bauxite. The majority of dry beneficiated bauxite will be transported from Aurukun by conveyor to the coast and on to Abbot Point by ship. The remaining dry beneficiated bauxite will be exported to third party countries including China.
