Weipa is a coastal mining town in the local government area of Weipa Town in Queensland. It is one of the largest towns on the Cape York Peninsula. It exists because of the enormous bauxite deposits along the coast. The Port of Weipa is mainly involved in exports of bauxite. There are also shipments of live cattle from the port.
Weipa
Bauxite section on kaolinitic sandstone, 1969
Mining equipment at the Comalco (now Rio Tinto Aluminium) bauxite mine; Weipa, 1995
Former Weipa Immigrant Detention Centre, 2010. It closed in 2014.
Weipa Town is a local government area in Far North Queensland, Australia. It covers the town of Weipa on the western coast of the Cape York Peninsula, including the localities of Rocky Point, Trunding, Nanum, Evans Landing, and Weipa Airport. It is an unusual local government area as it is not governed and managed by a council elected by residents but rather by the company Rio Tinto Aluminium through a governing body called the Weipa Town Authority. In June 2018, Weipa Town had a population of 4,240.
Departure lounge, Weipa Airport, 2007