Sibelco Australia (formerly Unimin) is part of the Sibelco Group – a global industrial minerals and mining company. The company was founded as SCR – Sibelco NV in Belgium in 1872. The Sibelco Group supplies advanced industrial minerals for a diverse range of applications throughout the world including glass, ceramics, construction and engineering, metallurgy and casting, oil and gas recovery, and environmental protection.

Sibelco products form the starting point of things we all use every day. To find out more about the Sibelco Group please visit www.sibelco.com.au 

Sibelco Australia's mineral sands operations have a key role on the world minerals stage. We currently have sand mining operations on North Stradbroke Island (NSI) and a mineral processing plant at Pinkenba in Brisbane.

We operate the longest continuously operating sand mining operation in Queensland, dredging around 50 million tonnes of sand per year. We are a major player on the world minerals stage, producing around 70 000 tonnes of rutile, 50 000 tonnes of zircon and 150 000 tonnes of ilmenite each year for export to over 33 countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States and Japan.

Our products are used in a wide range of everyday items including confectionery, toothpaste, sunscreens, ceramics, plastics, and smart technologies such as pacemakers, medical implants, wildlife tracking devices, computer screens and racing bikes.

The company's small silica sand operation produces high quality silica which is used in glass applications including glass for bottles and windscreens, plasma TV screens and solar panels. Customers include the local glass plant at West End and overseas customers.

At Sibelco Australia, we are proud of our internationally renowned environmental management processes. We deliver innovative and progressive rehabilitation of native vegetation and ecosystems on NSI’s high sand dunes. We are committed to returning the areas we mine to self sustaining native ecosystems which will become a long term asset to the NSI and broader communities.

We create many employment opportunities in the communities in which we operate. Sibelco Australia’s NSI operations deliver  $130 million annually to the Queensland economy with contributions to NSI Gross Regional Production (GRP) of approximately 26% (Synergies Report 2010).

On 22 March 2011, Premier Anna Bligh announced all mineral sands mining on North Stradbroke Island (NSI) would be shut down by 2019 and that all mining would cease on NSI by 2025.

This decision by the Queensland Government breaks a black and white commitment made by the Premier in June 2010 that existing sand mining operations could continue until 2027.

We believe mining operations can continue to co-exist on NSI until 2027. Together with the people of NSI, Sibelco Australia will continue to build a strong community, deliver industry-leading environmental rehabilitation and support the economy through jobs and services.

Sibelco Australia have detailed our vision for a Sustainable Stradbroke to the Queensland Government and the community. Our vision provides an economically sound, environmentally and socially responsible means of achieving a sustainable future for NSI up to 2027 and beyond.

Sibelco Australia is committed to continuing to support a sustainable economy, a sustainable community and a sustainable environment on NSI.

Click here to find out more about our vision for a Sustainable Stradbroke.

History of Sibelco