Work To Begin On Bauxite Project

Press, Volume C, Issue 29513, 15 May 1961, Page 12

Work To Begin On Bauxite Project

(New Zealand Press Association) INVERCARGILL, May 14. Work will begin soon on the dredging of an eight-nule access channel into the Embley river at Weipa on Cape York Peninsula in Northern Queensland, it is announced by Comalco Industries Proprietary, Ltd. Dredging of a shipping channel is the first main step in the proposed £4oni Weipa developments involving a 360,000 tons a year alumina plant, bauxite mining facilities, port and township.

Alumina extracted in Queensland from Weipa bauxite will be reduced at the smelter in Southland to aluminium. A contract for the dredging to be undertaken for the bauxite and alumina subsidiary of Comalco Industries in Queensland has been let to the Westminster Dredging Company, of Sydney. Cost of the dredging will be more than £1,000,000 and work is expected to start in June, says the Comalco Industries statement. It will involve removal of about 5,000.000 cubic yards of material. The channel will be dredged to a depth of 27ft

below datum line by September, 1962. This will allow full availability at the new port for ships drawing up to 29ft. Availability for ships with shallower draughts will be possible earlier. The statement says the contract provides for further deepening in successive stages beyond 27ft up to a maximum of 33ft. Signing of the contract comes after several years of investigation by Comalco, including test work in Holland on a scale model of the Albatross Bay-Emblev Estuary area adjacent to Weipa.