Geography Graduation Project

Raw-Material oriented Industry Sugar Milling

Introduction Raw-material oriented Industry - Raw-material oriented industries are those industries that are having their locations stuck close to source of raw materials. - Sugar milling is one of the examples of raw-material oriented industries. This slideshow will be talking about the following points: Features of RM-O industries. Case study – Sugar Milling

Features of RM-O industries RM-OI usually refers to industries which initially process scattered natural resources Material Index > 1 (weight-losing) Affected by nature of RM Fragility Perishability Value

Material Index is calculated by (Total weight of localized RM used) ------------------------------------------------ (Weight of finished products)

Weight-losing industry Sugar Milling Industry is a weight-losing industry, 7 tonnes of cane are needed for produce 1 tonnes of raw sugar MI= 7

Fragility ↑fragile RM = ↑RM-O ∵too difficult or expensive to transport ↑transport cost E.g. Saw mill found near forest

Perishability ↑perishable RM= ↑ RM-O ∵can keep the products in fresh state E.g. Fruit-canning Vegetables Milk

Value ↓RM value = ↑RM-O ∵↓value ≠worth to transport the cheap RM E.g. Aluminium Production

Case Study – Sugar Milling Queensland in Australia (Coastal) Along the 2100km of tropical and sub-tropical coast, there are 8000 cane farms and 34 sugar mills

What are the RMs?.? Cane (甘蔗) Sugar mills tend to locate near cane growing districts, why? To be discussed……..^.^

Requirements for growing cane Alluvial flats, particularly those with deep and well drained soils of volcanic origin Completely frost-free conditions Mean monthly temperature should not fall below about 18℃ Annual Rainfall >1000mm (optimum > 2000mm) However, a slightly drier period is required (for the canes to be sweetened), but should still be at least 75mm per month. Conclusion: Hot Wet Flat land Deep soils =River valleys along the coast of Queensland and far Northern NSW

Why cane is a decisive factor? Cane is burnt to remove weeds and leaves (to make cutting easier) Crops must be removed to the mill without delaying to avoid fermentation(發酵) of the juices in the cane stalk(莖) Hence, long distance haulage, stopovers(中途停留) while in transit and trans-shipment must be avoided Perishable 1 month later

Transport Cost Farmers find it unprofitable to be more than 65 km from the mills

Bulky and cumbersome(笨重) crop of low specific value (low value per unit weight) Difficult and costly to transport E.g. average yield = 84 tonnes per hectare Only 2.5 tonnes per hectare of wheat and most other cereals. Therefore, KEEP THE HAUL as SHORT as possible!!! Mills should locate in the midst of their assigned cane areas 34 mills scattered along the sugar coast are joined to their 8000 cane farm suppliers by some 3200 km of light railways

Sugar milling consists of a few relatively simple processes Sugar milling consists of a few relatively simple processes. First, the weighed cane is crushed between giant rollers to extract the juice from the stalk. Then, the impurities in the juice are removed by a cleaning process.

Third, the cleaned juice is concentrated into sugar crystals by a series of boiling and spinning processes. Finally, the crystals are dried in large revolving drums.

That’s all for our presentation Thank You~~>3< T.T’’ ^(00)^ >w<