Business Spectator
Alumina shows interest in BHP's Brazilian assets
Edited by : AL CIRCLE
1 min read
Alumina Limited chief executive John Bevan has said that the miner could be interested in buying BHP Billiton Ltd's alumina assets, following reports that BHP is considering selling its bauxite, alumina and aluminum assets in Brazil, according to The Australian Financial Review.
“Alumar [in Brazil] is clearly one of our best assets,” Mr Bevan said while Alumina reported a half-year underlying loss of $US8.2 billion, according to the AFR.
“[Alcoa World Alumina & Chemicals (AWAC)] owns most of the joint venture and BHP owns 36 per cent of it. Clearly there is an attraction there. But whether we participate in that, we'll just have to wait and see how the process works.”
Because of AWAC's role as a joint-venture partner with BHP, it would likely hold a pre-emptive right over the BHP stake.
Rio Tinto Ltd, which is a smaller partner in the joint venture, has already indicated it is not interesting in expanding its aluminium division at a time when market conditions have weakened.
BHP is expected to unveil at least $US1 billion worth of write-downs in its aluminium division when it releases its full-year results next Wednesday, according to the AFR.
“Alumar [in Brazil] is clearly one of our best assets,” Mr Bevan said while Alumina reported a half-year underlying loss of $US8.2 billion, according to the AFR.
“[Alcoa World Alumina & Chemicals (AWAC)] owns most of the joint venture and BHP owns 36 per cent of it. Clearly there is an attraction there. But whether we participate in that, we'll just have to wait and see how the process works.”
Because of AWAC's role as a joint-venture partner with BHP, it would likely hold a pre-emptive right over the BHP stake.
Rio Tinto Ltd, which is a smaller partner in the joint venture, has already indicated it is not interesting in expanding its aluminium division at a time when market conditions have weakened.
BHP is expected to unveil at least $US1 billion worth of write-downs in its aluminium division when it releases its full-year results next Wednesday, according to the AFR.
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