Talk:Orica

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Orica Limited (asx: ORI) is an Australian-based multinational corporation that is the world’s largest provider of commercial explosives and blasting systems to the mining, quarrying, oil and gas and construction markets, a supplier of sodium cyanide for gold extraction, and a specialist provider of ground support services in mining and tunnelling.

Founded in 1874, Orica has more than 140 years of history and has a workforce of around 11,500 employees and contractors, servicing customers across more than 100 countries. Orica is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (asx: ORI).

History
Initially formed over 140 years ago as Jones, Scott and Co., a supplier of explosives during the Victorian gold rush, the company was bought by Nobel Industries. 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 Dulux Group leaving the company to focus on the provision of services to the mining, construction and infrastructure industries.

In November 2014, Orica Limited announced the sale of its Chemicals business to the Blackstone Group. The sale was completed on 2 March 2015, and the Chemicals business now operates under the name 'Ixom'.

Financial Performance
Orica's revenue in 2016 was AUD$5.1 billion and statutory net profit after tax (NPAT) attributable to the shareholders of Orica for the full year ended 30 September 2016 was $343 million.

Other key components of the 2016 financial result included:
 * Total ammonium nitrate (AN) product volumes of 3.54 million tonnes (pcp: 3.76 mt)
 * Underlying EBITDA of $908 million (pcp: $978 million)
 * Business improvements delivered incremental net benefits of $76 million
 * Capital Expenditure of $263 million (below the forecast provided at the 2016 interim results of approximately $320 million)
 * Gearing of 36% (pcp: 40%), reflecting the reduction in net debt to $1,549 million (pcp: $2,026 million)
 * Net operating and investing cash flows up 80% at $633 million
 * Final ordinary dividend of 29 cents per share (55% payout ratio), franked at 8 cents per share, and representing a full year payout ratio of 48% and a final combined dividend for the financial year of 49.5 cents per share.

Leadership
Chairman

The Board chairman is Malcolm Broomhead, Non-Executive Director of Orica Limited since December 2015 and Chairman as of 1 January 2016. Chairman of the Corporate Governance and Nominations Committee.

Director of BHP Billiton Ltd & Plc. Former Chairman of Asciano Limited.

Director of the Walter & Eliza Hall Institute, Chairman of the Australia China One Belt One Road Advisory Board and Council Member of Opportunity International Australia.

Managing Director and CEO

The Managing Director and CEO of Orica is Alberto Calderon. Non-Executive Director since August 2013. Appointed Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer on 19 May 2015.

Former Group Executive and Chief Executive of BHP Billiton, Aluminium, Nickel and Corporate Development. Former Chief Executive Officer of Cerrejón Coal Company and Colombian oil company, Ecopetrol. Member of Investment Advisory Committee for New York Mining Fund AR Capital GP II Ltd.

Sustainability
Orica is a member of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), the Australian SAM Sustainability Index (AuSSI) and the FTSE4Good Index. These Indexes provide a benchmark for the performance of investments in sustainable companies and funds. Orica releases an annual Sustainability Report that outlines performance against key sustainability metrics.

In 2014, Orica was identified as a global leader in Natural Capital Decoupling, which shows the ability of organisations to ‘decouple’ financial growth from environmental impact, by increasing revenue whilst decreasing their absolute impact.

Markets/Industries
Orica operates across the following markets and industries:
 * Surface Metal
 * Surface Coal
 * Underground Mining
 * Underground Construction
 * Construction
 * Quarrying
 * Oil and Gas

Products & Services
Orica operates three primary business areas:

Orica is the world’s largest provider of commercial explosives and blasting systems to the mining, quarrying, oil and gas and construction markets.
 * Blasting

Products and services include:
 * Contracted Services
 * Initiators
 * Boosters
 * Bulk Explosives
 * Packaged Explosives
 * Data, Reporting & Analytics
 * Supplementary Services
 * Seismic Systems

Trade names used for packaged explosives include: Senatel™, Fortel™, Apex™, Amex™, Impact™, Simex™, Powergel™ and Eurodyn™. "Power Gel" was a U.S. Registered Trademark for Hercules Inc. in 1967, but it is now owned by Orica Explosives Technology Pty Ltd.

In 2015 Orica Limited restructured its ground support operations under a dedicated global management team, and re-established the well-known and highly regarded Minova name and brand.
 * Ground Support (Minova)

Minova is a global manufacturer and supplier of chemical and mechanical earth control products, adhesives and support equipment. With manufacturing plants on five continents and operations in more than 25 countries, Minova is a provider of ground support solutions for the underground mining, construction, tunnelling and civil engineering industries.

Minova is a member of the Orica Group.

Products and services include: For more information regarding Minova, please visit 'www.minovaglobal.com'
 * Steel Bolts and Plates
 * Glassfibre Reinforced Polymer bolts
 * Injectable Chemicals and Foams
 * Mesh
 * Resin Capsules
 * Cementitious Grouts & Coatings
 * Pumps
 * Soil Anchoring Systems
 * Ballast Bonding Polymers
 * Accessories and Engineering Services

Orica is a supplier of sodium cyanide for gold extraction.
 * Sodium Cyanide

Products and services include:
 * Analysers
 * PRO Service
 * Data, Reporting & Analytics
 * Sparge
 * Training

Cycling Sponsorship
Orica is co-naming sponsor of the Orica–Scott men’s and women’s professional cycling team.

In June 2016, Orica announced that it would be exiting its sponsorship of the men’s and women’s cycling teams at the end of the 2017 calendar year.

Orica House


Once Australia's tallest building, the former ICI Building in East Melbourne, now Orica House, was Australia's tallest during the 1950s and was one of the first high-rise buildings in Australia's cities. It is one of the few post-war office buildings to be found on the Victorian Heritage Register.

Bullying Scandal
In March 2015 then CEO Ian Smith was ousted from the business due to bullying of a female employee.

Chlorination of the Botany aquifer
Remediation began in 2005 after production of chlorinated solvents by ICI over many years resulted in significant contamination of the aquifer, a high quality sand aquifer located below the eastern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. The main chemical contaminant found in groundwater around the old ICI site is EDC (1,2-dichloroethane), a persistent organic pollutant and byproduct of the manufacture of PVC. Orica has built an A$167 million Groundwater Treatment Plant (GTP) to achieve containment of this contamination and provide high quality industrial water to Botany Industrial Park. Water produced by Orica's GTP saves Sydney's potable water supply around 5 ML per day (approx 0.5% of Sydney's water demand). Residents in the area were banned from accessing the groundwater. Orica estimated in 2012 that the GTP had been in operation for seven years of its 30year design life cycle.

Mercury leak, 2011
The Botany chemical plant released mercury vapour into the atmosphere on 27 September 2011, breaching environmental standards for nine hours. An air monitor located near residents at 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. Robyn Parker, the New South Wales Minister for the Environment & Heritage said "I am incredibly angry and disappointed that yet again we have another incident with Orica." In January 2013, the NSW EPA announced that it would conduct a review of off-site emissions of mercury.

Mercury leak, 2012
On 17 January 2012 Orica reported a mercury leak at its Port Botany plant, the second mercury incident since August 2011. In a series of samples of environmental air, the EPA recorded a mercury level of 0.0049 g/m3; more than double the regulatory limit of 0.002 g/m3. The leak occurred in December 2011 and Orica failed to report the leak to authorities until the following month. The site of the breach was the thermal desorbtion stack at the company's carpark waste remediation project, which was closed when the breach occurred. The NSW Environmental Protection Authority said the incident was not linked to the mercury emissions breach in September at Orica's other Botany site on Beauchamp Road.

Cyanide leaks, 2012
On 8 June 2012 the Queensland Department of Environment launched a legal prosecution against Orica in the Gladstone Magistrates' Court. The company was charged with 279 counts of willfully contravening its approvals in relation to alleged cyanide leaks into Harbour. The government claimed that in January and February 2012, Orica discharged effluent water containing heightened levels of cyanide into Gladstone Harbour. "The charges are related to allegations that the company did not inform The Department of the Environment. The charges related to a breach of conditions rather than any environmental harm per se".

Kooragang Island, New South Wales
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 affected 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 its site at Kooragang Island; the fifth was an ammonium nitrate leak of 20000 l at its Kooragang Island plant, only a day after being allowed to reopen; and the sixth incident was a sulphuric acid leak of approximately 3000 - 4000 l at its 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, 2011
Orica’s Kooragang Island chemical plant released hexavalent chromium into the atmosphere on 8 August 2011. The known carcinogen was released between 6 and 6:30pm and the spill continued for approximately 20 minutes. An estimated 1 kg of hexavalent chromium was discharged from the Orica plant, with another 35 - 60 g over the suburb of Stockton. Approximately 20 workers at the plant were exposed as well as 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. Under a Prevention Notice issued on 11 August 2011, the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) closed the ammonia plant at Kooragang Island. The hexavalent chromium leak was the subject of a New South Wales Parliament Upper House inquiry, that was concluded in February 2012.

Hunter River arsenic leak, 2011
Effluent containing high levels of arsenic leaked into the Hunter River from the Kooragang Island chemical plant on 19 August 2011 at 3pm. Arsenic had not been used on the site since 1993, however during a cleanup of a hexavalent chromium spill on the site the week prior, old deposits of arsenic leaked into a storage pond and drained into the Hunter River. It was estimated the arsenic concentration was 0.067 milligrams per litre, exceeding licence limits. Barry O'Farrell, the NSW Premier said "two spills in a fortnight raise reasonable concerns about systemic failures in the way in which this company is operating its facilities." O'Farrell continued, "I've had a gutful of families being distressed, by potential threats to their safety and threats to their local environment."

Ammonia leak, 2011
On 9 November 2011 more than 900 kg of ammonia was initially suspected of venting to the atmosphere from the Kooragang Island plant during a 45-minute period. The venting was due to a relief valve operating to prevent overpressure of a liquid ammonia tank. Engineering studies subsequently revised the amount down to ~90 kg. The leak was identified by firefighters responding to an alarm raised by the hospitalisation of two railway workers at 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 initial statements by Orica that the leak posed no public health risk, two rail workers in the nearby suburb of 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 8 August 2011 at the same plant.

Ammonium nitrate leak, 2011
On 7 December 2011, in excess of 20000 l of weak ammonium nitrate (<35%) solution/fertilizer leaked onto grassed areas at the Kooragang Island chemical plant. Emergency services were called to the site including a HAZMAT team. The spill occurred less than a day after the Environmental Protection Agency announced it 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.

Hydrogen stack fire, 2012
On 8 January 2012 lightning ignited hydrogen being released from the plant. Flames higher than 20 m leapt from the hydrogen stack and were reported by local residents to authorities.

Sulphuric acid leak, 2011
A spill of approximately 3000 - 4000 l of concentrated sulphuric acid occurred at the chemical plant on 16 December 2011. The leak was suspected to be caused by a hole in the ship-to-shore pipeline. Acting chief environmental regulator Mark Gifford from the NSW EPA said he was concerned about the ongoing incidents with Orica.

Explosion, 2007
On 10 September 2007, 28 people were killed and over 250 injured in Coahuila, Mexico, 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 under contract for the company Orica near the cities of Monclova and Cuatro Cienegas. Exact numbers of the dead and injured vary according to source. Orica's website stated there were a total of 28 fatalities in 2007 - one worker and 27 contractors/members of the public.

Language
Rephrase "pick-up and a trailer" re. incident. —DIV (128.250.80.15 (talk) 23:50, 17 March 2008 (UTC))

Undue weight?
I'm not generally a wikipedia editor so forgive me if I'm doing this wrong, but I just happened across this article and it seems to me that the "Incidents" section is way out of balance with the rest of the article in length (it seems to be more than half the article!), and focuses entirely on incidents since 2007 and almost entirely on incidents since 2011, all within Australia. Perhaps this section should be shrunk down or the size of the rest of the article increased. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.32.176.234 (talk) 21:09, 8 May 2012 (UTC)

australia
Orica incidents could end up in court, AAP, September 28, 2011 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 114.76.108.227 (talk) 00:55, 28 September 2011 (UTC)

Content
I think that someone messed with the article by writing "With the growing global financial crisis, the Orica board opted to restructure its entire workforce. As of September 2013, the entire Orica workforce is composed of 100,000 Minions under their new line manager, Malanie Tran." in the History section — Preceding unsigned comment added by Cranic16 (talk • contribs) 13:43, 7 October 2013 (UTC)

Incidents in Australia
This section needs restructuring. There are six incidents listed under "Kooragang Island"

- Hexavalent chromium leak (KI)

- Arsenic leak into Hunter river (KI)

- Mercury vapours (Botany)

- Ammonia leak (KI)

- Ammonium nitrate leak (KI)

- Sulfuric acid leak (Port Kembla)

but two of them were not at KI. The mercury vapours leak at Botany is described three paragraphs earlier, while the sulfuric acid leak is described (correctly) under Port Kembla six paragraphs later.

The paragraph about the six incidents should be relocated to follow the In Australia heading. Perhaps list the incidents in chronological order rather than by site?

Prisoner of Zenda (talk) 05:54, 17 December 2019 (UTC)