The Australian Aluminium Council is an Australian
industry association
A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry. An industry trade association partici ...
representing companies involved in
bauxite
Bauxite is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (Al(OH)3), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)) and diaspore (α-AlO ...
mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...
and the
refining, production and distribution of
aluminium
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...
.
Miles Prosser has been the Executive Director of the Australian Aluminium Council since 2008.
Membership
Council members include some of Australia's largest companies, including
Alcoa, Alumina Limited,
Rio Tinto Aluminium
Rio Tinto Aluminium (previously known as Comalco) is now known as Rio Tinto Alcan after Rio's takeover of Alcan. It was the world's eighth largest aluminium company. It mines and manufactures bauxite, alumina and primary aluminium.
Rio Tinto Al ...
, and Hydro Aluminium. Member companies of the Australian Aluminium Council produce 26 percent of global
alumina sales and are collectively the fifth largest producer of aluminium. The Australian aluminium industry employs around 17,000 workers directly and generates export earnings worth over $8.3 billion.
Role of the Council
The Council is the peak industry association representing the Australian Aluminium industry. The Council promotes the use of Australian aluminium products nationally and internationally. A
technical standards
A technical standard is an established norm or requirement for a repeatable technical task which is applied to a common and repeated use of rules, conditions, guidelines or characteristics for products or related processes and production methods, ...
group within the Council also develops and maintains material specifications and technical data for industry use, and the Council produces an annual statistical analysis of materials consumption, aluminium production and exports by Australia's six aluminium smelters and one aluminum-rolled product plant.
As an industry advocate, the Council has strongly opposed
greenhouse gas emissions trading
Emissions trading is a market-based approach to controlling pollution by providing economic incentives for reducing the emissions of pollutants. The concept is also known as cap and trade (CAT) or emissions trading scheme (ETS). Carbon emission ...
schemes on the basis that anti-emission technology is insufficient to minimise the cost impact on producers, and that international action on greenhouse gases should precede Australian programs. The Council also notes that while greenhouse gas emissions from Australian aluminium smelters rose 29 percent since 1990 to a peak of 13.9 million tonnes in 2006, this lags behind a 64 percent increase in aluminium production over the same period.
See also
*
Mining in Australia
Mining in Australia has long been a significant primary sector industry and contributor to the Australian economy by providing export income, royalty payments and employment. Historically, mining booms have also encouraged population growth ...
References
External links
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Business organisations based in Australia
Aluminium companies of Australia
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