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AUSTRALIA · ALUMINIUM

Bauxite by sea, alumina by conveyor

Weipa’s bauxite reaches the Gladstone refinery by ship; a conveyor then supplies Boyne’s aluminium smelter.

What moves, and where?

ConnectionMaterial and evidence
Weipa port

to Queensland Alumina refinery

Ship
Bauxite

QAL identifies Weipa as its bauxite origin and shipping to Gladstone as the transport leg. The maritime authority identifies Weipa as a bauxite export port.

Undated operating descriptions; reviewed September 2026

The origin marker represents the export port, not an individual mine. The line joins endpoints and does not depict a navigable sea route.

Queensland Alumina LimitedMaritime Safety Queensland
Queensland Alumina refinery

to Boyne smelter

Conveyor
Alumina

Rio Tinto describes a conveyor connection supplying alumina from Queensland Alumina to Boyne Smelters.

Undated operating description; reviewed September 2026

The source identifies a physical connection. The diagram does not reproduce its surveyed alignment.

Rio Tinto

Read the map with the evidence.

Each connection retains its own source period and material form. A reported industrial relationship does not establish the itinerary of an individual consumer product.

Source-reported Sodir pipeline geometries retain their published parts; other drawn connections join documented endpoints schematically.

Questions for the next step
  • The source does not isolate the contributing Weipa mine or pit.
  • Specific manufactured products, customers and waste destinations are not traced.

Primary sources

Evidence reviewed 2026-10-07. Publication dates below belong to the original sources.

  • Our productsQueensland Alumina Limited

    Bauxite and alumina sections: Weipa feedstock shipped to Gladstone.

    Operator facts paraphrased with attribution. No open license established for the publisher’s text.
  • Weipa port proceduresMaritime Safety Queensland

    Port description: bauxite exports to Gladstone refineries.

    Operator facts paraphrased with attribution. No open license established for the publisher’s text.
  • Boyne Smelters LimitedRio Tinto

    Opening operation description: QAL supplies alumina through a conveyor.

    Operator facts paraphrased with attribution. No open license established for the publisher’s text.

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