As few minerals can be directly used in the form in which they are mined, most minerals undergo processing and treatment before use. Mineral processing takes place at several sites in Tasmania:
- Cement Australia Holdings Pty Ltd, Railton, where one of the world's largest deposits of limestone is mined to provide Goliath Cement with the raw material to make Portland cement. While the raw cement is distributed statewide and used to cement fill in west coast underground mines, the bulk is shipped out of Devonport to mainland Australia
- Comalco, Bell Bay smelter where alumina is converted to aluminium metal. Downstream industries next to the Comalco site use the raw aluminium to produce such products as the aluminium powder used in explosives and in metallic paints
- Impact Fertilisers Pty Ltd, where a by-product of the production of zinc at Risdon, sulphuric acid, is used on site to make farm fertilisers. Imported phosphate rock is the other raw material used. Most production is shipped to mainland Australian ports
- Tasmanian Electro Metallurgical Company Pty Ltd (TEMCO) smelter at Georgetown, where manganese ore, iron ore and coal from mainland Australia are mixed with local quartzite and limestone to produce ferro- and silico-manganese alloys, used in overseas steel industries; and
- Zinifex Hobart Smelter, located at Risdon near Hobart, which uses zinc mineral concentrates to produce zinc metal, with major by-products including sulphuric acid, secondary leach residue, copper sulphate and cadmium.
The value of metallurgical production from Tasmanian and imported ores (including aluminium, cadmium, cement, ferromanganese, silicomanganese, sinter, superphosphate and zinc) was $951,385,751 in 2002-03 and $912,027,959 in 2003-04.
MINERAL PROCESSING OPERATIONS, Tasmania - 2003-04
|
| Business | Units | Amount |
|
| Cement Australia Holdings Pty Ltd |  | |
| Production | | |
| - clinker | tonnes | 1,115,000 |
| - cement | tonnes | 1,205,000 |
| Employment | no. | 163 |
| Capital expenditure | $m | 3.7 |
| | |
| Comalco | | |
| Production - aluminium | tonnes | 166,000 |
| Employment | no. | 629 |
| Capital expenditure | $m | 31 |
| | |
| Impact Fertilisers | | |
| Production - single superphosphate | tonnes | 180,000 |
| Employment | | |
| - employees | no. | 105 |
| - contractors | no. | 20 |
| - Total | no. | 125 |
| | |
| Tasmanian Electro Metallurgical Co Pty Ltd | | |
| Production | | |
| - ferro-manganese | tonnes | 133,000 |
| - silicon-manganese | tonnes | 116,000 |
| - sinter | tonnes | 214,000 |
| Employment | no. | 275 |
| Capital Expenditure | $m | 7.6 |
| | |
| Zinifex Hobart Smelter | | |
| Production | | |
| - zinc metal | tonnes | 250,000 |
| - EZDA | tonnes | 122,000 |
| - sulphuric acid | tonnes | 420,000 |
| - paragoethite | tonnes | 110,000 |
|
Source: Mineral Resources Tasmania, Annual Review 2003-04. |
| | |
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