Electrolytic Zinc

Electrolytic Zinc or the Electrolyic Zinc Company of Australasia (frequently abbreviated to EZ ) was the company that operated a zinc refinery on the banks of the Derwent River in Risdon in Hobart in Tasmania between 1916 and 1984.

Refinery

The refinery was often given names such as the Risdon works,[1] the Zinc works,[2] reduction works.[3] The current usage and place name located at the Risdon works is identified as Lutana.

EZ era

The operations of the Risdon works were tied in with the mining of zinc in Rosebery on the West Coast of Tasmania.[4]

The company was founded as a subsidiary of Amalgamated Zinc (De Bavay's), under general manager H. W. Gepp,[5] to take advantage of the cheap and plentiful hydroelectric power then available.[6] The EZ name was established in 1920. The settlement of the suburb of Risdon was almost exclusively that of EZ workers.[7][8]

EZ company was a major employer in Hobart and an important part of the Tasmanian economy.[9][10]

Pollution from the works was an issue for the company, and successor companies that operated the works[11][12][13] as well as disposal of waste out to sea.[14][15]

Subsequent operators

The subsequent owners and operators of the Risdon works after the takeover in 1984 were:

Engineering heritage

The refinery received an Engineering Heritage National Marker from Engineers Australia as part of its Engineering Heritage Recognition Program.[17]

Notes
  1. Electrolytic Zinc Co. of Australasia (1958), Risdon works, Tasmania : description of activities, Electrolytic Zinc Co. of Australasia, retrieved 12 June 2015
  2. Alexander, Alison; Pasminco Metals – EZ (1992), The zinc works : producing zinc at Risdon, 1916-1991, Pasminco Metals – ̲EZ, ISBN 978-0-646-12450-6
  3. Electrolytic Zinc Co. of Australasia (1950), Electrolytic Zinc Company of Australasia Limited : mines : Rosebery and Williamsford, Tasmania ; reduction works : Risdon, Tasmania, Electrolytic Zinc Co. of Australasia?, retrieved 12 June 2015
  4. Electrolytic Zinc Co. of Australasia. West Coast Department (1960), Operations of Electrolytic Zinc Company of Australasia Limited, West Coast Department : Rosbery and Hercules Mines, Tasmania, Electrolytic Zinc Co. of Australasia Ltd, retrieved 12 June 2015
  5. "Mining News". The Advertiser (Adelaide). LIX (18, 163). South Australia. 30 December 1916. p. 12. Retrieved 11 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. "Mining". The Leader (Melbourne) (3158). Victoria, Australia. 15 July 1916. p. 22 (WEEKLY). Retrieved 12 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. "Risdon Electrolytic Zinc Works". The Mercury. Hobart, Tasmania. 19 May 1919. p. 4. Retrieved 12 June 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. Burrows, Anthony Ian (1978), An examination of the town planning idea of the garden suburb, and its application to industrial management within the co-operative movement in the early 1920s at the Electrolytic Zinc Company, Risdon, Tasmania, retrieved 12 June 2015
  9. Hagger, A. J. (Alfred James); Groenewold, Nicolaas, 1949-; Pasminco Metals-EZ; University of Tasmania. Centre for Regional Economic Analysis (1993), Contribution of Pasminco Metals - EZ Risdon plant to the Tasmanian economy in 1992-93 : report prepared for Pasminco Metals-EZ, Centre for Regional Economic Analysis, retrieved 12 June 2015CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. Trove summary of materials relating to works either by or about the company and its operations
  11. Environmental Geochemistry Services; Tasmania. Dept. of Environment and Planning; Menzies Centre for Population Health Research; John Miedecke and Partners (1991), Investigation of heavy metals in soil and vegetation around the Pasminco Metals-EZ refinery, Hobart : stage 1, Dept. of Environment and Planning, retrieved 12 June 2015
  12. Environmental Geochemistry International; Tasmania. Dept. of Environment and Planning; John Miedecke and Partners (1992), Heavy metals in soil and vegetation in the vicinity of the Pasminco Metals-EZ refinery, Hobart, Dept. of Environment and Planning, retrieved 12 June 2015
  13. TASUNI Research. Aquahealth Division; Jeffries, Maria; Tasmania. Department of Primary Industry and Fisheries; Australian Government Analytical Laboratories; Tasmania. Department of Environment and Land Management; Lutana Soil Contamination Working Group (Tas.) (1995), Investigation of heavy metals in indoor dust, soils and home-grown vegetables : investigations in the vicinity of the Pasminco Metals-EZ refinery, Hobart, Dept. of Environment and Land Management, retrieved 12 June 2015
  14. Dames & Moore; Pasminco Metals – EZ; Pasminco Australia Limited (1995), Development proposal & environmental management plan : a proposal to implement the paragoethite co-treatment process at Pasminco Metals-EZ, Pasminco Ltd, retrieved 12 June 2015
  15. Harris, P. T., O'Brien, P. E., Quilty, P., McMinn, A., Holdway, D., Exon, N. F., Hill, P. J., Wilson, C. W., 1999. "Sedimentation and continental slope processes in the vicinity of an ocean waste disposal site, southeastern Tasmania". Australian Journal of Earth Science 46, 577-591.
  16. http://mininglink.com.au/site/risdon-smelter – History of operations and takeovers
  17. "Electrolytic Zinc Works, Hobart, 1923-". Engineers Australia. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
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