Australia has amongst the highest standards of bauxite mining globally, and our bauxite sector has potential for strong growth. At the same time changes are occurring in global bauxite supply with new countries and new operators entering the market.
Sustainable bauxite mining practices are critical to the global reputation of the industry. Sustainable practices should be perceived and valued as a competitive advantage for all mining companies.
In an attempt to address this issue, The International Aluminium Institute (IAI) has produced Sustainable Bauxite Mining Guidelines. The project was managed by the Australian Aluminium Council. Key companies in the aluminium industry partially funded the production of these guidelines, along with the IAI, and participated in the collation of material for the guidelines.
The guidelines aim to identify and communicate the criteria and encourage emerging bauxite suppliers to improve their practices in line with the rest of the global industry. The applicability to a range of countries has been enhanced through the use of case studies from areas as diverse as Australia, Brazil, Jamaica, Guinea, India, Indonesia and Malaysia.
