Orica

Orica Limited

Type	Public (ASX: ORI)
Industry	Mining Services
Founded	Australia
Headquarters	Melbourne, Australia
Key people	Peter Duncan (Chairman, Non Exec. Director) Graeme Liebelt (Managing Director, CEO)
Products	Explosives, Chemicals
Revenue	$6.5 billion (2010)
Employees	14,000 (2010)
Subsidiaries	Minova International, Orica Mining Services, Chemicals
Website	www.orica.com

Orica is a multinational corporation that manufactures various chemical products. It is the largest supplier of mining explosives in the world.^{[citation needed]}

History

Initially formed over 130 years ago as Jones, Scott and Co., a supplier of explosives during the Victorian gold rush, the company was bought by Nobel. Nobel later merged with several British chemical manufacturers to form Imperial Chemical Industries, In 1928, Imperial Chemical Industries of Australia and New Zealand (ICIANZ) was incorporated to acquire and coordinate all the Australasian interests of ICI Plc.

In July 1997, ICI Australia became an independent Australasian company after its parent company, ICI Plc, divested its 62.4 per cent shareholding in the company.

As a result of the selldown ICI Australia was required to change its name and on 2 February 1998 became known as Orica.

In 2010, Orica successfully demerged DuluxGroup leaving the company 90 percent focussed on the provision of services to the mining, construction and infrastructure industries.

Current position

Orica now operates three primary businesses:

• The Orica Mining Services division is the global market leader in the supply and servicing of commercial explosives and blasting systems to the mining, quarrying and infrastructure sectors.
• Orica Chemicals is the leading global supplier of sodium cyanide for use in gold extraction, and Australia and New Zealand's largest supplier and trader of chemical products to mining, water treatment and other industrial markets.
• Minova is the global leading manufacturer and supplier of strata support systems, ventilation, water control and geotechnical solutions to underground mining and tunnelling markets.

Orica's revenue in 2010 was A$6.5 billion, with a market capitalization of about $9.3 billion. The company employs about 14,000 people worldwide. Net profit after tax was $676 million.

The Managing Director and CEO of Orica is Graeme Liebelt, formerly Executive Director & CEO Mining Services division. Former managing director Malcolm Broomhead retired on 31 August 2005 due to health reasons. The board chairman is Peter Duncan, a former Chief Executive Officer of the Shell group of companies in Australia and former director of National Australia Bank Limited (NAB).

Orica House

ICI House

Main article: ICI House

Once Australia's tallest building, the former ICI Building in East Melbourne, now Orica House, was significant as Australia's tallest during the 1950s and was at the forefront of the high-rise boom in Australia's cities in the second half of the Twentieth Century.

It is one of the few post-war office buildings to be found on the Victorian Heritage Register.

Incidents

Orica had a higher level of environmental incidents through 2011 and 2012 compared to other chemical plants in western countries. Orica has been criticised over the delay in notifying the NSW EPA on most of these events.

Tragedy in Coahuila, Mexico

On September 10th, 2007, 28 people were killed and over 250 injured as a result of an accident between a pick-up and a truck which resulted in an explosion. The truck was transporting about 25 metric tons of ammonium nitrate for the company Orica near the cities of Monclova and Cuatro Cienegas. Exact numbers of the dead and injured vary according to source, but Orica's website state there were a total of 28 fatalities in 2007 - one worker and 27 contractors/members of the public.

Contamination of the Botany Aquifer, Sydney Australia

Production of chlorinated solvents over many years by ICI has resulted in significant contamination of the Botany Aquifer, a high quality sand aquifer located below the eastern suburbs of Sydney. The main chemical contaminant found in groundwater around the old ICI site is EDC (ethylene di-chloride) a persistent organic molecule and byproduct of the manufacture of PVC. Orica has built a A$167M Groundwater Treatment Plant to achieve containment of this contamination and provide high quality industrial water to Botany Industrial Park. Water produced by Orica's groundwater treatment plant saves Sydney's potable water supply around 5 mega litres per day (approx 0.5% of Sydney's water demand).

2011 Leaks

Throughout August and December 2011 Orica had six major chemicals incidents or leaks in Australia. The first one was a leak of hexavalent chromium from its ammonium nitrate plant near Stockton that effected 70 households, the second one was the release of Arsenic into the Hunter River at Newcastle, the third was of mercury vapours from its Botany site, the fourth was a leak of ammonia from their site at Kooragang Island the fifth was an ammonium nitrate leak of 20,000 litres at their Kooragang Island plant, only a day after being allowed to reopen and the sixth incident was a sulphuric acid leak of approximately 3000 to 4000 litres at their Port Kembla site. The fourth leak triggered a public forum and NSW Government investigation into the leaks, and the temporary shut down of the Kooragang Island plant.

Hexavalent Chromium Leak, Kooragang Island, Australia

Orica’s Kooragang Island chemical plant released hexavalent chromium into the atmosphere on Monday, August 8, 2011. The known carcinogen was released between 6 and 6:30pm and the spill continued for approximately 20 minutes. An estimated 45 kilograms of hexavalent chromium rained down over the Orica plant, with another 20 kilograms over the suburb of Stockton. Approximately 20 workers at the plant were exposed and 70 nearby homes in Stockton. Orica failed to notify government authorities until 16 hours after the incident and residents were not formally notified for three days. The Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) closed the ammonia plant at Kooragang Island, under a Prevention Notice on August 11, 2011. The hexavalent chromium leak is currently (December 2011) the subject of a New South Wales parliament upper house enquiry, to be concluded in February 2012.

Arsenic leak into the Hunter River, Kooragang Island, Australia

Effluent containing high levels of arsenic leaked into the Hunter River from Orica’s chemical plant on Kooragang Island on August 19, 2011 at 3pm. Arsenic had not been used on the site since 1993, however during a clean up of a hexavalent chromium spill on the site the week prior, old despoits of arsenic leaked into a storage pond and then leaked into the Hunter River. It is estimated the arsenic concentration was .067mg per litre, exceeding licence limits. The New South Wales Premier, Barry O’Farrell, said “two spills in a fortnight raise reasonable concerns about systemic failures in the way in which this company is operating its facilities.” Further, Premier O’Farrell said, “I’ve had a gutful of families being distressed, by potential threats to their safety and threats to their local environment.”

Ammonia leak, Kooragang Island, Australia

More than 900 kilograms leaked into the atmosphere from Orica’s plant on Kooragang Island, during a 45 minute period, on Wednesday, November 9, 2011. The leak was identified by firefighters responding to an alarm raised by the hospitalisation of two railway workers at Mayfield who were affected by the plume of escaping gas. Six fire units and a hazardous chemicals unit were called to the chemical plant to deal with the leak of the ammonia gas. Despite initially statements by Orica that it posed no public health risk, two rail workers in the nearby suburb of Mayfield East were overcome by ammonia fumes and were taken to hospital with breathing difficulties. Less than an hour before the ammonia leak, the Environment Protection Authority announced it would take Orica to court over the hexavalent chromium leak which occurred on August 8, 2011 at the same plant.

Mercury leak, Botany, Australia

The Orica chemical plant at Botany released mercury vapour into the atmosphere on September 27, 2011, breaching environmental standards for nine hours. An air monitor located near residents at Banksmeadow, detected the mercury vapour and the Office of Environment and Heritage was notified. Dr Mariann Lloyd Smith, said the length of time the emissions last was extraordinary, "Mercury is extremely toxic. It is recognised as one of the most important and most hazardous toxins that we deal with, and there is currently a UN negotiation for a global treaty on mercury to address this," she said. The mercury vapour was associated with mercury which had polluted the soil on the Orica site, due to leaking pipes. The New South Wales Minister for the Environment, the Hon. Robyn Parker, said “I am incredibly angry and disappointed that yet again we have another incident with Orica.”

Ammonium Nitrate Leak, Kooragang Island, Australia

More than 20,000 litres of ammonium nitrate leaked at Orica’s Kooragang Island chemical plant on December 7, 2011. Emergency services were called to the site including a HAZMAT team. The spill occurred less than a day after the Environmental Protection Agency announced they would allow the reopening of part of the Kooragang Island plant. Local residents continued to criticise the company for failing to notify residents in a timely manner and called for the plant to remain closed.

Sulphuric Acid leak, Port Kembla, Australia

A spill of approximately 3,000 to 4,000 litres of concentrated sulphuric acid occurred at Orica’s Port Kembla chemical plant on Friday, December 16, 2011. The cause of the leak is suspected to be a hole in the ship to shore pipeline. Acting chief environmental regulator Mark Gifford EPA said he was concerned about the ongoing incidents with Orica.

Lightning Ignites Hydrogen Stack, Kooragang Island, Australia

On Sunday, January 8, 2012 lightning ignited hydrogen being released from the Kooragang Island plant in Australia. Flames more than 20 metres high lept from the hydrogen stack and were reported to authorities by local residents.

Mercury Leak, Botany, Australia

On January 17, 2012 Orica reported a mercury leak at its Port Botany plant. The second mercury incident for Orica since August 2011. The EPA recorded an air sample of 0.49 milligrams of mercury per cubic metre. The regulatory limit is 0.2 milligrams. The leak occured in December 2011 and Orica failed to report the leak to authorities until January 17, 2012. The site of breach was the thermal desorbtion stack at the Companies carpark waste remediation project, which was closed when the breach occured. The Environmental Protection Authority said the incident was not linked to the mercury emissions breach at Orica's other Botany site on Beauchamp Road, in September.