Africa & Asia’s alumina output rebuilds in H2 2023 much above 6.5 Mt, but annual output still fails to grow

According to the International Aluminium Institute survey, Africa & Asia’s (ex-China) alumina production from January to December 2023 totalled 13.31 million tonnes, accounting for 9.37 per cent of the world’s total output. On a year-on-year calculation, Africa & Asia’s alumina output in 2023 edged a fall of 3.48 per cent from 13.79 million tonnes.

In December, Africa & Asia’s alumina production amounted to 1.22 million tonnes, reflecting a month-on-month rise of 6.09 per cent from 1.15 million tonnes and a year-on-year increase of 7.96 per cent from 1.13 million tonnes. That brought the total production in the fourth quarter of the year to 3.51 million tonnes, up by 2.03 per cent from 3.44 million tonnes in Q3.

The decline in Africa & Asia’s annual alumina production of 2023 was primarily due to the sluggish output trend in the first half of the year. In H1 2023 ended June 30, the output totalled 6.36 million tonnes versus 6.95 million tonnes in H2. That indicated a hike of 9.28 per cent in H2 than the previous six months, according to IAI.

In December 2023, Africa & Asia’s (ex-China) daily average alumina production was 39,300 tonnes, up by 2.88 per cent from 38,200 tonnes in November and 7.97 per cent higher than 36,400 tonnes in December 2022.

The overall world alumina production in 2023 recorded a slight drop of 0.23 per cent Y-o-Y from 142.23 tonnes to 141.9 million tonnes. But according to AL Circle’s forecast in its latest report, titled Global Aluminium Industry Outlook 2024, the global alumina production in 2024 will grow 0.78 per cent Y-o-Y, reaching around 143 million tonnes.

Africa, in particular, is expected to contribute to the world’s future alumina production growth, with some of the upcoming refinery projects. For instance, Guinea Alumina Corporation (GAC) and the Aluminium Corporation of China (Chalco) inked a cooperation agreement in June 2023 to build an alumina refinery in Boké. Natural Oil Field Services (NOFSL), a Nigerian-based aluminum smelting company, also secured a contract with the Guinean government in March 2023 to develop an alumina refinery in Guinea-Conakry.