The small Cape York town of Weipa was built around one of the largest bauxite mines in the world. We join a bus tour to watch the extraction of the orange ore. Hard hats and safety glasses are mandatory as we watch massive scrapers loading 150-tonne trucks with the bauxite that becomes aluminium after processing.
Comalco's setup is environmentally-friendly with mined areas being replanted – they're just three metres lower than before being mined. Wildlife channels are left for birds and animals to move between the bush areas.
