Bauxite

The Northern Territory contains a number of lateritic bauxite deposits along its northern coastline. There are two bauxite mines in operation in the Northern Territory, both near Nhulunbuy in eastern Arnhem Land.

Total production

334 million tonnes

2023-24 production

12.6 million tonnes

Remaining JORC resources

>67.4 Mt @ 49.7% Al2O3

Value of production in 2023-24

$702 million

Production ranking in Australia

3^rd

Prospectivity

The Carpentaria Basin contains Rio Tinto Alcan’s Gove mine which accounts for nearly all past bauxite production and 90% of identified bauxite resources in the Northern Territory (NT). A smaller Aboriginal-owned mining operation at the Dhupuma Plateau near Gove commenced operation in 2017.

Read the bauxite factsheet PDF (1.5 MB)

Mines

Gove mine – Rio Tinto

Rio Tinto's Gove bauxite mine near Nhulunbuy has been in production in the Carpentaria Basin since 1971. An alumina refinery operated in Gove from 1972 until 2014 but all bauxite is now exported. Bauxite at Gove averages 3.7m in thickness and occurs in deeply lateritised, dissected plateau remnants overlying the Cretaceous Yirrkala Formation. The gibbsitic bauxite is low in silica (3% reactive SiO₂) and is mainly pisolitic and tubular in nature.

Region	Name	Annual production	Resource	Company
Carpentaria Basin	Gove	11.6 Mt bauxite (2023)	67.4 Mt @ 49.7% Al2O3	Rio Tinto

Dhupuma Plateau – Gulkula Mining Company: Carpentaria Basin

Gulkula Mining Pty Ltd operates Dhupuma Plateau, a second bauxite mine in the Carpentaira Basin, near Gove immediately south of the Gove mineral lease. The Aboriginal-owned Gulkula Mining Pty Ltd opened in August 2017 and is expected to ramp up to full annual production of 500,000 tpa bauxite within the first four years, and continue this rate of production for a projected 15 year mine life.

The mine is associated with a Mining Training Centre for local Aboriginal people, established with the support of Rio Tinto. The ore is sold to Rio Tinto’s Gove operation.

Region	Name	Annual production	Resource	Company
Carpentaria Basin	Dhupuma Plateau	Average production rate of 0.7 to 0.8 million tonnes per annum	JORC resource not publicly announced	Gulkula Mining Pty Ltd