Since 1963, Alcoa has mined bauxite from the foothills of Australia’s Darling Range under a special political agreement that skirts regulation, guarantees access to scarce water and assures low royalty rates.By Jamie Wiggan and Quinn Glabicki, PublicSourceThis story was originally published by PublicSource, a nonprofit newsroom serving the Pittsburgh region, and supported by the Pulitzer Center. For more of its journalism, visit publicsource.org.