Alcoa of Australia has started the first shipment of 47,000t parcel of Western Australia (WA) bauxite as part of an export trial approved by the state government last year.
The shipment is bound for a Chinese alumina refinery, supporting the company’s strategy to grow its third-party bauxite business.
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It also complements the company’s mining activities, which supply bauxite to its alumina refineries in WA.
Alcoa Mining president Garret Dixon said: "Over 53 years, we have established sustainable mining practices to feed our three alumina refineries at Kwinana, Pinjarra and Wagerup.
"Bauxite exports provide the opportunity to strengthen our business by creating an additional revenue stream.
"They will help optimise the value of our Darling Range mineral lease for the company and the state without impacting the life of our WA refineries."
In April, US-based Alcoa signed more than $350m multiple supply contracts over the next two years for bauxite sourced from three of its mines located in Guinea and Brazil.
Alcoa reported 45.3 million bone dry metric tonnes of production last year.
The company owns seven active bauxite mines worldwide, operating four of them.
These mines include the Huntly and Willowdale mines in WA, and are located near key Atlantic and Pacific markets.
