Alumina illuminated

Peter Brigg turns the spotlight onto Hydro Aluminium – and on the mammoth deal it has signed to buy millions of tonnes of Rio Tinto alumina over the next 25 years.

In this issue:

Foundation for sustainability

From the Foundation for a Sustainable Minerals Industry, evidence that business and social/environmental performance can be mutually reinforcing. Anne St John-Hall reports.

Measure for measure

Chris Morrissey looks at the winners and losers in the battle for unification in units of measurement.

Safety is first

Five minute interview with Elaine Dorward-King, Rio Tinto's head of Health, Safety and Environment.

Minerals paint a picture for our everyday lives

Colour, coverings and texture are more than skin deep. Graham Ellicott looks beneath the surfaces that surround us.

Borates fight the hidden hunger

In crops around the world, micronutrient levels need to be boosted to improve the quality of food being produced – and the health of the consumers. By John Player.

Hannah's secret sculpture garden

Metals and minerals underpin much of our material life, but art critic John Russell Taylor finds that they can offer more ethereal values, too.