Australian Aluminium Council
Encyclopedia
The Australian Aluminium Council is an Australia
n industry association representing companies involved in bauxite
mining
and the refining
, production and distribution of aluminium
.
Miles Prosser has been the Executive Director of the Australian Aluminium Council since 2008.
, Alumina Limited, Rio Tinto Aluminium, 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.
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
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.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n industry association representing companies involved in bauxite
Bauxite
Bauxite is an aluminium ore and is the main source of aluminium. This form of rock consists mostly of the minerals gibbsite Al3, boehmite γ-AlO, and diaspore α-AlO, in a mixture with the two iron oxides goethite and hematite, the clay mineral kaolinite, and small amounts of anatase TiO2...
mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
and the refining
Refining
Refining is the process of purification of a substance or a form. The term is usually used of a natural resource that is almost in a usable form, but which is more useful in its pure form. For instance, most types of natural petroleum will burn straight from the ground, but it will burn poorly...
, production and distribution of aluminium
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
.
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 AlcoaAlcoa
Alcoa Inc. is the world's third largest producer of aluminum, behind Rio Tinto Alcan and Rusal. From its operational headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Alcoa conducts operations in 31 countries...
, Alumina Limited, Rio Tinto Aluminium, 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 standardsSpecification (technical standard)
A specification is an explicit set of requirements to be satisfied by a material, product, or service. Should a material, product or service fail to meet one or more of the applicable specifications, it may be referred to as being out of specification;the abbreviation OOS may also be used...
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
Greenhouse gas
A greenhouse gas is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone...
emissions trading
Emissions trading
Emissions trading is a market-based approach used to control pollution by providing economic incentives for achieving reductions in the emissions of pollutants....
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.