Rio tinto’s $1.9 billion Amrun bauxite project is 75 percent complete.
The project is expected to start production in mid-2019, with an annual bauxite capacity of 22.8m tonnes.
Rio tinto’s bauxite is used to supply alumina refineries on the east coast of Queensland.
At present, the company is gradually shifting its focus to export to the Chinese market.
The Amrun project is also a testing ground for Rio tinto’s “mine of the future” project.
“The mine of the future” is a project of Rio tinto group focusing on technology and innovation in recent years.
Rio tinto will set up a remote operations center for the Amrun project in webb.
At present, the project is still using artificial trucks, but the company is currently studying the application of autonomous trucks in the future.
In addition to the Amrun project, Metro minerals has started production at its Bauxite Hills project, about 100 kilometers north of weber, and is expected to produce its first Bauxite mine in April. The project aims to produce 2 million tons of Bauxite annually.
In 2014, bauxite prices were reported at more than $73 a ton, but in recent months, bauxite prices around the world have traded below $50 a ton.
Bauxite prices have been around $51.50 a tonne in recent days.