The Australian aluminum industry has been operating in Australia for over 50 years, and throughout that time has been a significant contributor to the Australian economy. The industry currently consists of:

• 5 Bauxite mines
• 7 Alumina refineries
• 6 Aluminium smelters
• 12 Extrusion mills (19 presses)
• 2 Rolled product plants

Australia is the world’s leading producer of bauxite. In 2010, Australian bauxite production was 71.5 million tonnes (Mt) – up 3 per cent from the 69.5 Mt recorded for 2009.

Australian metallurgical alumina production in 2010 was 20.3 million tonnes. Chemical grade alumina production was around 0.5 million tonnes in 2010. Australia is the second largest producer of alumina in the world with 25 per cent of global production.

Australian primary aluminium metal production was 1.94 million tonnes in 2010 – marginally lower than the 1.95 Mt recorded in 2009. The 2010 result reflects the continued impact of the Global Financial Crisis on production.
Overall the Australian smelting industry maintained its position as the fourth largest producer of primary aluminium in the world, despite the reduced production levels.

As can be seen in the accompanying map most Australian aluminium operations are located in regional areas, thus providing substantial economic benefits to these areas and to the economy in general.

Employment in the bauxite, alumina and aluminium sectors of the industry is centred on regional areas reflecting the location of the main production facilities. In 2010 the bauxite, alumina and aluminium operations employed around 16,700 employees, of which 13,800 were directly employed (13,000 in 2009) and around 2,900 were contractors (4,400 in 2009).

Aluminium use in Australia is mainly in building and construction, transport and packaging applications, and is estimated to be around 450,000 t. The estimated capital replacement cost of Australian production capacity is over AUD$50 billion.