Jul 28 2004
Air Liquide Australia Limited has signed a 15-year contract with Comalco Aluminium Limited for the supply of oxygen and nitrogen to its Gladstone refinery in Queensland. Comalco is a subsidiary of the global mining group Rio Tinto.
Comalco is in the process of building Stage 1 of an AUD$1.4 billion (815M€) alumina refinery at Gladstone in Queensland with a capacity of 1.4 million tonnes pa. Comalco needs large quantities of oxygen and nitrogen for application in its refinery processes for the removal of organic compounds from the slurry and to improve product quality and productivity. Air Liquide will install a new air separation unit of 70 tonnes/day capacity to meet Comalco's needs as well as service other industrial customers in Central Queensland. This project is of great strategic importance to Air Liquide in Australia, as it now establishes its own air gas production source in Queensland.
This builds on the strong relationship which Air Liquide developed with another Rio Tinto subsidiary, HIsmelt, and the construction of a new 900 tonnes/day air separation unit at Kwinana in Western Australia due for commissioning in October later this year.
Comalco is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rio Tinto and is a major supplier of bauxite, alumina and aluminium products to world markets. The company’s bauxite reserves mean Comalco is well placed to maximise the opportunities currently presented by the growth in global demand for alumina and aluminium, particularly from economies such as China.
Colin Kennedy, Senior Vice - President Asia, India, Pacific and member of the Executive Committee of Air Liquide said "We are very pleased to be selected by Comalco to supply industrial gases to its new alumina refinery in Gladstone on a long term basis. This further develops our business partnership with the Rio Tinto group and also gives us the opportunity to reinforce our presence in Queensland with local production of bulk air gases."
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