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Industrial Relations At Queensland Alumina: An Overview

Alumina production is a necessary intermediate stage between mining the ore and producing the finished metal aluminium. Queensland Alumina Limited (QAL), a consortium of several leading international aluminium producers, obtains its bauxite supply from Weipa and functions as a tolling operation supplying alumina to the participant owners in proportion to their equity in the Company. Production commenced in March 1967 at a rate of 600,000 tonnes of alumina per annum. Since that time, the operation has undergone four expansions which have more than quadrupled the original output.

The refinery, situated at Gladstone, is the largest in the world and is presently capable of producing in excess of 2.7 million tonnes of alumina annually, a large proportion of which is exported to overseas markets. The operation is highly capital intensive, incorporating advanced technology particularly in the area of process control. The production process itself is a continuous one operating in a physical environment involving potentially hazardous chemicals and a hostile abrasive technology.

The management practice is circumscribed by two essential requirements; to be internationally competitive in terms of cost and to be reliable in terms of supply. QAL's continued viability as a major world producer is highly dependent on its ability to meet both these requirements.

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