← Critical Metals
Critical node· Critical Metals · Critical anchor
Weipa, bauxite (Queensland, Australia)
Weipa (Queensland), Australia12.63°S 141.87°E
computed criticality18/100
reading
Largest bauxite mine in the world; ≈20% of world production (Rio Tinto, 2023)
2024Fault line
The largest bauxite operation on the planet feeds the entire upstream aluminium chain, the metal of packaging, transport and grids. Australia is the world's leading bauxite producer, but a growing share of the ore leaves raw for China, which has become queen of alumina and primary aluminium. Extraction stays Australian; the energy-intensive processing has migrated to Asia.
Actors
Rio Tinto (Weipa, Gove)
Alumina refineries (China, Gladstone)
Feeds 1
Port of Shanghai, YangshanChokepoints↗Sources