Overview

A growing global industrial base

Gladstone is home to some of the largest and lowest cost mineral and metal producers and has a growing reputation as Australia’s economic powerhouse. A number of major international industries see Gladstone as the ideal investment partner. These include:

Queensland Alumina Limited (QAL) – the largest alumina refinery in the world;
Boyne Smelters Limited (BSL) – Australia’s largest aluminium smelter;
Cement Australia (CA) – Australia’s largest manufacturer and distributor of cement;
Orica Australia – one of the largest producers of sodium cyanide in Australia and the third largest in the world;
Queensland Energy Resources Limited (QERL); Stuart Oil Shale Project formerly owned by Southern Pacific Petroleum; and
Rio Tinto Aluminium Yarwun (RTAY) – the world’s first greenfield alumina refinery to be constructed since 1985.

The Gladstone Region also has a well developed industry support sector providing engineering and supply services to the region. The services provided involve the maintenance of components, provision of equipment and spare part refurbishing, as well as the construction of new equipment and facilities for these major manufacturing and minerals processing plants.

The Gladstone Engineering Alliance (GEA) was established to capitalise on this strong industry support sector and to further develop industry support capabilities into the future. The alliance aims to assist its members to optimise their competitiveness by working together on common issues, contract information and ideas, and to institute training programs to lift the individual and overall staff skills and management standards

TESTIMONIALS FROM INDUSTRY

QAL: "As the world’s largest alumina refinery, Queensland Alumina Limited (QAL) has been an integral part of Gladstone’s economic fabric for over 38 years. The city and the community are supportive of industry, they understand that industry is required to create wealth in the region and actively participate to encourage industry to improve the quality of life for all." QAL Managing Director Mr Johann van Zyl , June 2005.

RTAY: Rio Tinto has chosen Gladstone as the location for its significant investments in light metals processing due to the strong support of the local community and the State and Federal Government, the excellent rail and port infrastructure and the solid construction and operations skills base.

Orica: "Orica has a 16 year presence in the Gladstone region with one of our largest manufacturing sites located on the Yarwun Industrial Estate. Since 1989 Orica has continued to invest significantly in the Yarwun operations with the latest investment, a $135M doubling of our ammonium nitrate capacity. The attraction of Gladstone to Orica is the excellent infrastructure, access to key raw materials, proximity to market, support of the local community, support of all levels of government and most importantly the “can do attitude” of our workforce and the support industries in the Gladstone region." Brett McNeil, Yarwun Site Manager, Orica Australia Ltd, July 2005.

CQPA: Central Queensland Ports Authority (CQPA) Port of Gladstone is the largest multi-commodity port in Queensland , and is home to the world’s fifth largest coal export terminal – RG Tanna Coal Terminal. The port imports raw material and exports finished products such as coal, mineral and agricultural resources to more than 35 countries worldwide. The port handles in excess of 60 million tonnes per annum, with coal exports alone currently contributing in excess of 42 million tonnes to the port’s annual throughput. The Port of Gladstone is proud to work alongside Gladstone’s major industries in developing the economic strength of the Central Queensland region, the State of Queensland and Australia.

Rio Tinto Aluminium Yarwun