Team Members: Lauren Walker, Nicole Godbout, and Ben Carsner
Overview
Bauxite, an aluminum ore, is the main source of the world’s aluminum metal. Bauxite is naturally gray but iron oxide impurities causes it to appear reddish brown. Most bauxite reserves are located near the equator in tropical and subtropical regions. Australia, China, Brazil, India, and Guinea are the top producers of bauxite in the world.
Bauxite, found near the surface of the Earth, is usually extracted by the process of strip mining. Nearly 70% of dry bauxite is processed into alumina, and then into aluminum. The remaining bauxite is used in various ways such as an abrasive in sandpaper and as a proppant during fracking. Aluminum is used all over the world for a huge variety of products due to its lightweight and malleable properties. Aluminum can be found in cans, foils, kitchen utensils, window frames, and airplane parts. While the demand for aluminum is increasing, known reserves of bauxite are sufficient to meet demands. Increased aluminum recycling has extended the life of bauxite reserves.
Strip mining, the process used to obtain bauxite, rids the land of all native vegetation and topsoil. This results in loss of habitat for plants and animals, and also causes the potential for soil erosion and water contamination due to disturbances in surface hydrology (EPA, August 1978). The metals uncovered during the process of mining can easily wash into nearby water sources due to the lack of plants root systems, making water toxic to the plants and animals who drink it. The mining also causes an increase in dust that covers surrounding areas, pollutes the air, and can cause acid rain.
The processing of bauxite into aluminum metal is extremely energy intensive. Processing plants often reside in places with hydroelectric energy. Dams threaten ecosystems by altering river flow and holding back sediment that would otherwise move downstream, resulting in the loss of a fully functioning ecosystem. While refining and smelting aluminum releases numerous harmful greenhouse gasses, many companies in the industry cooperate with the Voluntary Aluminum Industrial Partnership to track, reduce, and report emissions related to primary aluminum production. Because of these environmental impacts and high energy requirements for the processing of bauxite ore into aluminum, the recycling of aluminum worldwide is high, and requires only 5% of the energy needed for primary extraction and production.
Boddington, Australia
Bauxite is mined near the town of Boddington in Western Australia. The mine is owned by South32, a global metals and mining company. The Dwelling Up State Forest and Lane Pool Reserve are located fifteen minutes west of the mine site; the Hotham river is located to the south east. These natural areas contain the northern Jarrah Forests and provide ideal locations for picnics, hikes, camping, and birdwatching for locals and visitors to enjoy. The mining of bauxite has been a concern due to an insufficiency of data on the effects of bauxite mining on the region. Strip mining removes all native vegetation, resulting in loss of habitat and potential for soil erosion and water contamination due to the disturbance of the hydrologic system from loss of extensive root systems (The Technical Advisory Group, August 1978). However, the Australian Aluminum Council is taking steps to rehabilitate used bauxite reserves into their original self-sustaining Jarrah Forest ecosystem. This organization and its partners work to improve drainage, promote root growth, and plant seeds of the previous ground cover species.
The town of Boddington is relatively young, having been built in the 1920s. Originally a timber town, the Dwellingup fires in 1961 devastated the timber industry and Boddington. It was the opening of the Wesley bauxite mine in 1978, owned by South 23, that created a thriving town once again. Currently, the Boddington mine is the largest private employer in the South West region of Australia, with the vast majority of employees and contractors living in local communities, injecting more than $1 million a day into the community through wages. South23 claims to support local business and invest in the community; the company promises to focus on the things that are important to residents of Boddington by employing locally, supporting local businesses, and looking after the environment. The companies Community Grants program provides donations of $1,000-$5,000 to local community groups. This strong economic and social relationship between the mine owners and the workers and residents of Boddington results in mutual benefits.
The Wesley mine brought wealth back to Boddington. Without mining, many people would be out of jobs. Australia provides 31% of the worlds bauxite and the Wesley mine contributes to this global domination of refined bauxite. Both mining and crushing occurs at the site; the bauxite is then transported to the alumina refinery via an overland conveyor system that stretches more than 50km throughout Australia. This is one of the largest mineral conveyer belts in the Southern Hemisphere. From Australia, the refined bauxite is shipped across the world to be processed into aluminum. Boddington owes its revival to the mining. The place of Boddington could not thrive without bauxite mining.
Kuantan, Malaysia
Bauxite is also mined in Kuantan, the capital city of the Pahang province in Malaysia, located on the eastern coast which faces the South China Sea. Many rivers run through and around the large city of Kuantan and empty into the ocean; the Sagu River accounts for the domestic water supply. The Kuantan area is classified as a “tropical rainforest climate” and is normally rainy and warm. The area contains many parks and beaches that both humans and animals enjoy. One of the main sources of income for Kuantan is tourism, in part due to the rapid modernization of the city. Attractions to visitors include waterfalls, beaches, shopping, and high end hotels. Kuantan and the surrounding area contain many palm tree plantations and other farms, such as the popular and poignant durian fruit. Many people native to Kuantan are farmers in the hills outside of the city.
It was only in the last few years that bauxite mining boomed in Kuatan, increasing from an annual output of 200,000 tonnes in 2013, to nearly 20 million tonnes in 2015. The landscape of green rainforests is now marked with red gashes where bauxite has been rapidly mined. Bauxite runoff has polluted the Sagu river, filling the city’s drinking water with heavy metals like arsenic and mercury. Furthermore, once an area has been mined for bauxite, it is takes a very long time to return the land back to it’s natural state. The bauxite mines are located in very close proximity to communities and farms, since much of the land was bought from farmers for large sums of money. In recent years many farmers and other community members have complained about the mining destroying arable land and tainting the water supply. Because the mining of bauxite happened so rapidly, the government did not create enough regulations that would have mitigated the effects of bauxite mining on the community.
In January of 2015 the Malaysian government put a hold on bauxite mining until better policies could be put in place to regulate the mining. Many residents want bauxite mining to be banned altogether because the government and the large mining companies are the main ones receiving the benefits, while the local people are left with the water contamination and blankets of red dust that covers their trees and homes. The moratorium has been extended multiple times and the current date for it to be lifted is March 31st, 2017.
Rio de Janiero, Brazil
A major location for the refinement of bauxite into aluminum is the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro. The Rio de Janeiro basin is a strategic location for aluminum refinement, containing over 50 rivers. The large amount of moving water in the basin means dams can produce enough hydroelectric energy to meet the high demands of aluminum production. Rio de Janeiro is well known for its natural beauty, beaches and mountain views attract tourists from all over the world. Tropical rainforests used to cover over ninety percent of the land, but urbanization and agriculture have led to large portions of forest being lost. Despite wide deforestation, the Brazilian state has taken steps to conserve natural areas creating parks, forests, and designating 5.5% of its land for advances in sustainable development.
Aluminum smelting facilities are generally found outside of the populated areas of the state. One of the reasons for this separation is that the facilities need to be closer to hydroelectric plants because of their power consumption. Another major reason for this separation from heavily populated areas is that during the smelting process, greenhouse gasses, including perfluorocarbons (PFC), sulfur dioxide (S02), carbon dioxide (CO2) and Fluoride gases are released into the atmosphere. Fluoride is extremely toxic in high doses; exposure to high fluoride that has leached into waterways or been released as gas from a refining facility causes decreased absorption of carbon dioxide in plants. Over-absorption of fluoride in a person’s bones will lead to chronic pain and possible neurological damage (Setepla 1995).
Due to the energy intensive process of refining bauxite into aluminum, the aluminum industry promotes high recycling rates as it takes much less energy and is less expensive. Brazil currently holds a recovery rate of aluminum cans at 98.2%. This is the highest in the world. Despite the huge amounts of recycling, the aluminum industry still has to produce new aluminum to meet the current demand. The high-energy requirements make use of the many dams throughout Rio de Janeiro and has driven the construction of hydroelectric dams. However, many citizens argue that the aluminum industry receives the majority of the benefits from hydroelectric dams, as they pay dam owners for the energy directly, by-passing the government, and leaving taxpayers to pay for the upkeep of the dams. The potential for new dams to support the growing aluminum economy in Brazil threatens people who live in future reservoirs and forces them to relocate. While may are not happy with the current structure, others see it as necessary. Overall aluminum consumption in Brazil is growing rapidly, especially in Rio de Janeiro where Aluminum was used to update existing facilities for the world cup, as well as construct spaces for the 2016 olympic games.
Comparison and Conclusion
At the current rate of extraction, bauxite reserves will last over 100 years, and considering undiscovered reserves, this number reaches to over 400 years. The high recycling rate of aluminum will extend this number even more meaning bauxite is here to stay. As the second most used metal in the world, with consumption systematically increasing each year, the places mining and production occur and effect is important. Situating minerals allows us to consider not only the effects of mining and processing on the environment, but also to consider the role of place in understanding the far-reaching impacts of the mineral on communities around the world. The mining of bauxite and its processing into aluminum reveals the complex nature of the most abundant metal ore on earth. In one case, bauxite provided a revival to a dying town, while in another the quick boom and bust cycle of mining left native farmers unsure of their future. Processing reveals the qualms of mass producing high energy goods.
Important lessons that follow the situating of bauxite is the impact of government’s regulation on the mining and processing sites. Community relations between companies and the people in a place reveal how personal bauxite mining is to those directly involved in the process. In Boddington, Australia, the community is dependent on bauxite mines for employment, and the government works with the mining company to limit loss of native vegetation and soil erosion through documentation. This differs from Kuantan, Malaysia, where the government’s lack of control led to a complete shutdown of mining in order to protect the communities and ecosystems near the mines. The economy of Rio de Janeiro depends on refining industries, but is threatened by the increasing need for more power and resources that do not directly benefit the people of Rio. When the government is directly involved and holds mining companies accountable there is a greater chance bauxite will provide a sustainable economic and social livelihood for all involved.
Consumers of aluminum should understand the process and communities involved in bauxite production. They should know that the process of mining bauxite and creating aluminum alters landscapes from their natural form and requires a lot of energy, but provides jobs for many people in such regions. Recycling aluminum greatly decreases the amount of energy needed to turn it into a usable material and consumers can take this into consideration when purchasing products and deciding whether or not to recycle when finished with products. Understanding the connections that people have with bauxite mining and processing into aluminum leads to a greater understanding of the materials’ effects on the world as a whole.
References
Bray, E. Lee. 2017. “Bauxite and Alumina.” U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries. https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/bauxite/
Tecnometal, Setepla. 1995. Environmental Aspects of Bauxite, Alumina, and Aluminum Production in Brazil. UNCTAD. http://unctad.org/en/Docs/pocomd49.en.pdf.
The Technical Advisory Group. August 1978. “Bauxite Mining in the Darling Range, Western Australia.” Bulletin No. 44. Department of Conservation and Environment, Wester Australia: Environmental Protection Authority http://edit.epa.wa.gov.au/EPADocLib/EPA-bulletin_44.pdf