AC18.23177

This Tailings Red Mud certified reference material is produced from bauxite residue (red mud) generated at Rio Tinto’s Amrun alumina refinery in Queensland, Australia. The material represents washed and diluted tailings stream from the Bayer Process following primary clarification and thickening.

During alumina production, caustic digestion of bauxite produces a highly alkaline residue composed of iron oxides, titanium minerals, aluminosilicates, desilication products (sodalite/cancrinite), and minor trace phases. Tailings red mud differs from thickener underflow in that it is lower in density, contains higher proportions of fines and entrained process liquor, and reflects the geochemical signature of secondary washing and neutralisation steps in refinery residue management.

This certified reference material has been characterised using various total analytical methodologies.