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OPERATIONS / ALUMINA
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ALUMINA
AUGHINISH ALUMINA
 Aughinish Alumina is
the largest alumina refinery in Europe and the largest of the nine alumina
facilities operated by UC RUSAL.
The plant was built between 1978 and 1983 and during construction employed over
6,000 construction workers. It represented an investment of USD 1 billion in
the Irish economy. The refinery started processing imported bauxites into
alumina in September 1983. The annual contribution of Aughinish Alumina to the
local economy exceeds EUR 100 million.
The current annual output reaches 1.8 million tonnes. The alumina refining
process at Aughinish Alumina is carried out by the 481 employees of the
facility.
| Geography |
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RUSAL Aughinish is an alumina refinery
situated on the 1000 acre Aughinish Island, on the south side of the Shannon
Estuary near Foynes, 20 miles downstream from Limerick City in the Republic of
Ireland. Ireland is the most westerly country of the European Union, separated
from Great Britain by the North Channel on the northeast and the Irish Sea on
the east. Ireland is an island of 84,288 sq. km (32,544 square miles) with a
population of 5 million. It has the fastest growing economy in the European
Union. Regarding the administrative divisions, the Republic of Ireland consists
of 27 counties and 4 boroughs administered separately, each enjoying a level of
autonomy within their counties. The capital of the Republic is Dublin. Ireland
has the fastest growing economy in the European Union. The official languages
are Irish (Gaeilge, one of the Gaelic languages) and English. Euro is the
country’s monetary unit.
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Technology
The plant currently produces 1.8 million tonnes of alumina (Al2O3) per annum,
extracting alumina from bauxites by the Bayer process. 70 % of the bauxite
arriving to the plant originates in the Republic of Guinea (West Africa), the
rest coming from Brazil. The plant’s terminal also provides facilities for
exporting the alumina to smelters in Europe and Scandinavia. Gradually the bulk
of the material will be forwarded to aluminum plants within the RUSAL
organization both in Russia and in other regions.
The Bayer process is an energy-intensive technology and consumes large amounts
of fuel oil and energy. To satisfy the refinery’s demand for energy, a 150
megawatt Combined Heat & Power Plant (CHP Plant) was built on the site of
Aughinish Alumina. Currently, the CHP Plant generates steam and energy for the
refinery and supplies surplus energy to the National Grid. RUSAL Aughinish is
one of the most energy efficient alumina refineries in the world.
To learn more about aluminium production please visit
http://www.aluminiumleader.com/en/
Certificates
The RUSAL Aughinish operation is accredited to Advanced Level 8 in the
International Safety Rating System (ISRS) and holds an INAB quality
accreditation for its laboratory. The company obtained ISO 9002 quality
accreditation in August 1995 and ISO 14001 environmental accreditation in
August 2000 and was awarded 'Excellence Through People' accreditation by FAS,
Ireland's National Training and Employment Authority, in 1997. In October 2003,
the refinery was certified under ISO 9001:2000.
In line with its commitment to the idea of energy efficiency, RUSAL Aughinish
became the first Company in Ireland to receive accreditation to a formal Danish
energy standard – DS2403, in 2005.
Environment
Aughinish Refinery used state-of-the-art technologies when designing its
programme for environmental protection and monitoring. The plant has received
an Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control license (IPPLC)
from Ireland's Environment Protection Agency to cover all environmental
operating conditions and emissions. In August 2000, the refinery’s
environmental management system was certified under ISO 14001 and comprehensive
environmental audits are carried out every six months.
Aughinish has established a nature trail network on the island incorporating
bird hides and observation areas, along with butterfly and dragonfly
sanctuaries. The company has planted tens of thousands of trees around the
island and has established a Bird Sanctuary. More than 100 species of birds
have been identified and the sanctuary is regularly visited by Birdwatch
Ireland.
Management
Managing Director – Damien Clancy
Contact Information
Aughinish Island
Askeaton
Co. Limerick
Ireland
Tel. 353-61-604000
Email: margaret.mccarthy@augh.com
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