The Gladstone area is the Industrial Land of the Giants with:
- The world's largest alumina refinery
- Australia's largest aluminium smelter
- Queensland's biggest power station
- Australia's largest cement operation
- The states largest multi-cargo port
- An industry using a world first technology to extract oil from shale, and
- A new alumina refinery
Gladstone's industrial growth was launched in the sixties, with recognition of the excellent harbour combined with the availability of services, transport systems and raw materials. Gladstone industries operate round the clock and employ several thousand people providing a sound economic base for the region.
Some 53 million tonnes of cargo passes through the Port of Gladstone each year- including 37.5 million tonnes of export coal from open cut mines in the rich Bowen Basin reserve. The port moves over 30% of the State's exports and close to 10% of the Nation's exports by volume. Gladstone port is the fourth largest coal exporter in the world.
Harbour trade, administered by the Central Queensland Ports Authority includes grain exports by globex from the Central Queensland area supporting the major movement of materials is Queensland Rail, handling vast tonnages for industry and export.
Queensland Alumina Limited operates the largest alumina refinery in the world, processing in excess of 8.5 million tonnes of bauxite, imported from Weipa, to produce 3.7 million tonnes of the worlds best quality alumina (Aluminium oxide)- some of which is used by Boyne Smelters Limited to produce more than half a million tonnes of aluminium a year.
BSL produces about 20% of Australia's aluminium production and injects $350 million dollars back into the local community for goods and services.
The Comalco Alumina Refinery is currently under construction and is due to commence operations towards the end of 2004. The first stage will produce 1.4 million tonnes a year of alumina. More than 80% of the $1.4 billion construction cost of the refinery will be spent in Australia.
The Gladstone Power Station produces 20% of Queensland's electrical needs providing to both the state and the industries within the Gladstone region.
Starting in 1981, Cement Australia Qld Pty Ltd processes limestone and clay to produce clinker as an ingredient in cement production. Using Australia's largest cement kiln QCL produces 1.6 million tonnes of clinker and cement annually.
Orica Australia is also located in the Gladstone Industrial Area and produces chemicals to supply the mining industries. The company produce sodium cyanide, used to extract gold from ore.
Queensland Energy Resources Limited (QERL) is pioneering the development of a breakthrough technology to unlock Australia's world class oil shale deposits. The company controls 17.3 billion barrels (net) of oil shale resources in the ten deposits in Central Queensland and could support production of more than one million barrels of oil a day upon full development.
Lake Awoonga is the key water resource for existing and future industry in the region. The Gladstone Area Water Board supplies raw and treated water for industrial purposes to Gladstone and surrounding areas by pipeline from the Awoonga Dam.
Gladstone caters well for future industrial growth with extensive planning for services, land and infrastructure requirements. Existing industry, infrastructure, resources and skilled labour enhance the attractiveness of the Region to potential new industries.
