Aluminium
- Neville Hughes, a mine site Artisan at Boddington Bauxite Mine
BHP Billiton is a major producer of primary aluminium, with a total operating capacity from our operating sites of around 1.3 million tonnes of aluminium, approximately 14 million tonnes of bauxite and 4 million tonnes of alumina per annum.
Our network of operations has sites in South America, southern Africa and Australia. These include:
- Primary aluminium smelters – Hillside Aluminium (South Africa), Bayside Aluminium (South Africa), Mozal (Mozambique), Alumar (Brazil)
- Alumina refineries – Worsley (Australia), Paranam (Suriname), Alumar (Brazil)
- Bauxite mines – MRN (Brazil), BMS (Suriname), Boddington (Australia).
Aluminium services key market segments such as the automotive sector, the packaging sector and the construction industry.
2006 Sustainability Performance Overview
Key aspects of Aluminium’s sustainability performance for the reporting period 2005/06 were:
- We have sustained our target Total Recordable Injury Frequency Rate with year end TRIFR being 4.12.
- We continued to roll out the BHP Billiton Fatal Risk Control Protocols.
- Behaviour-based HSE programs were enhanced with a continued drive across all sites to report near miss incidents and take appropriate action to rectify, reduce risk and raise awareness.
- No significant environmental incidents occurred.
- All managed sites maintained their ISO 14001 certification.
- The CSG continued the implementation of a leading practice occupational health management program.
- We continued the implementation of the Fit for Work/Fit for Life guideline program as part of our holistic approach to health and safety for all employees.
- Contractor management training at all sites has progressed well, with around 70 per cent of employees trained so far.
- We have continued to operate and support community programs in all countries where we operate, with international recognition being attained for community health initiatives in Mozambique and South Africa.
- Read more: Aluminium 2006 Environmental Data Summary.
2007 Sustainability Outlook
Looking ahead for the Aluminium CSG, a focus on the BHP Billiton Key Sustainability Challenges will include the following:
Eliminating Fatal Risks
- Zero Harm is based on having appropriate programs and systems implemented, understood and adhered to by all. Continued implementation of the BHP Billiton Fatal Risk Control Protocols and behaviour based HSE programs for all employees will remain a high priority for leadership. Application of these programs at all sites will be maintained through self-assessments and cross-asset audits, with continuous improvement the desired result of each audit.
Sustainable Community Development and Closure of Operations
- We are continuing to focus on the control and reporting of emissions to improve air quality around our operations and ensure transparency with our key stakeholders.
- In line with the Company’s Closure Standard, a review of closure plans for all sites is well advanced, with the bauxite mines in Suriname receiving significant management input. All plans will be finalised in the 2007 financial year.
- Programs to improve cross-cultural awareness have been identified as an opportunity to improve leadership effectiveness in the operations and will be tracked for wider application in all operations.
- Our focus on human rights responsibilities and community development activities will expand to ensure that our programs are relevant to the communities in which we operate.
- Community projects will continue to focus on fostering positive partnerships with the communities and governments. Programs will be designed to impact overall HSEC needs as well as capacity building, but with an increased focus on the HIV/AIDS pandemic in southern Africa and South America.
Access to and Management of Resources
- Access to available water resources is under increasing pressure from population growth and an increasing prevalence of drought. The efficient and effective use of water is a priority, with a particular focus on recycling process water.
- High-quality environmental studies associated with new developments or projects are designed to ensure minimum impact on natural resources.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
- Aluminium smelting, being energy intensive, will ensure a continuous focus on energy efficiency to curtail cost, minimise impact and achieve BHP Billiton Corporate HSEC targets
Occupational and Community Health
- We will focus on the continued application of the CSG occupational health program for all employees and additional reporting metrics will be employed to improve our understanding of health performance. The need to establish maintenance and assessment programs to ensure sustained monitoring of occupational health programs is key, as is skills development in occupational health.
- The impact of HIV/AIDS on the smelters, as well as the communities in which we operate, will continue to be a threat into the future. For this reason an ongoing program of AIDS education within the operations, as well as in the communities, remains a high priority. In addition, skills training and succession planning is an important human resources management function.
- The threat of health pandemics, such as avian flu, now exist globally; steps to mitigate this impact are being taken; and it will remain high on the agenda in the coming year.
