The US aluminum trihydrate market strengthened in September 2026 as downstream procurement, rising overseas production costs, and shipping bottlenecks supported prices. In contrast, Bosnia’s market faced a quarterly correction as European buyers drew on accumulated inventories and lower caustic soda costs eased manufacturing pressures, highlighting diverging regional price trends. US aluminum trihydrate market gains on demand and supply constraints US aluminum trihydrate prices increased 2.38% month over month in September, supported by purchases from wire and cable manufacturers, electrical infrastructure compounders, and electric vehicle (EV) component producers. Demand remained particularly resilient for applications involving low-smoke cable compounds and flame-retardant materials....
China-based China Aluminum International Engineering Co., Ltd. (CHALIECO) has won a bid for an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract valued at approximately USD 833 million for a proposed alumina project in Vietnam, adding to investment activity in the country’s mineral processing sector. The project, being developed by Binh Phuoc Ore Mining and Beneficiation Joint Stock Company, is designed to process 2.4 million tonnes of alumina annually. The proposed contract is valued at around CNY 5.595 billion (USD 839.04 million), with completion expected within 27 months of the contract’s effective date. CHALIECO to oversee turnkey refinery development Under the proposed turnkey arrangement, CHALIECO’s responsibilities will cover the full project delivery process, from...
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The alumina market is going through the most topsy-turvy and volatile period with sharp rise and fall in prices and supply disruptions. The temporary closure of Hydro’s Alunorte alumina refinery in Brazil and uncertainties surrounding U.S. sanction on Rusal pushed up alumina price sky high driving the export market. According to China Customs data, China's exports of alumina increased more than fivefold MoM in September to 166,000 tonnes, the highest monthly volume in 2018. The country's year-to-date exports of alumina exceeded imports for the first time this year. China imported 30,000 tonnes of alumina in September, customs data said. China has finalized orders for the rest of this year for at least 100,000 tonnes of alumina per month. The monthly average spot price for domestic alumina...
Brazilian federal environment agency IBAMA has reportedly lifted the embargo on Hydro’s new Alunorte bauxite residue deposit area DRS2, but embargo from the federal court system still remains in place. IBAMA has lifted the embargo after reviewing information requested by Alunorte and SEMAS, the local environmental agency in the state of Para. This decision follows an exceptional authorisation granted by IBAMA to Alunorte on October 5, to utilise its state-of-the-art press filter technology in the processing of bauxite residues. However, the suspension of the embargo on Alunorte alumina refinery by IBAMA would not allow for an immediate resumption of DRS2 testing and commissioning phase, as the embargo from the federal court remains outstanding. The resumption of commissioning and tests...
Besides fish and tourism, aluminium is emerging as one of the significant industries in Iceland. According to the report, aluminium had a share of about 16 per cent to the country’s total export in the year 2017. There were three plans in operation with a total capacity of over 800,000 tonnes per year, putting Iceland at the 11 th place among aluminium-producing nations worldwide. The presence of abundant electrical power due to Iceland's geothermal and hydroelectric energy sources has led to the growth of this manufacturing sector. This indicates the significant of alumina import for the country which is entirely dependent on alumina to feed its smelters. According to the global export-import data, Iceland in 2018 is estimated to import around 1.713 million tonnes, up 1.54 per cent from...
According to the latest report released by China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on October 22, China’s alumina output in September increased by a healthy 8.2% year on year to 5.81 million tonnes. The volume also recorded a 3.9% growth month on month from August output of 5.59 million tonnes. With the increased September output, the total alumina production during the first nine months of 2018 stands at 50.57 million tonnes, registering a growth of 3.4% from the same period of 2017. The on-month increase seems to relate to the climb in alumina prices last month, driven by the temporary closure of Hydro’s Alunorte alumina refinery in Brazil and uncertainties surrounding U.S. sanction on Rusal. September average spot alumina price (RMB/t) The monthly average spot price for domestic...
According to China Customs data, China's exports of alumina increased more than fivefold from August to 166,000 tonnes in September, the highest monthly volume in 2018. Net exports of alumina in September stood at 136,000 tonnes. The country's year-to-date exports of alumina exceeded imports for the first time this year. China exported 539,000 tonnes of alumina in the first nine months of 2018. Net exports of alumina during January-September stood at 134,000 tonnes. September’s exports were mostly from contracts signed in July and August, given a backlog of cargoes at ports, reports SMM. China, historically a net importer of alumina, imported 30,000 tonnes of alumina in September, customs data said. Shanghai Metals Market expects the net exports to sustain in the rest of the year, as more...
Indonesia’s alumina production is boosting with time. The sole smelter-grade alumina refinery in the country PT Well Harvest Winning (WHW) has reportedly hit the production of more than 2 million metric tonnes of smelter-grade alumina (SGA) since June 2016 or the month of SGA refinery’s maiden operation. WHW public relations executive Hen Roliya said that 98.5 percent of the production was exported and the remaining was for state energy holding PT Inalum, which needs SGA to produce their aluminium ingot. "We have been selling [our SGA] to Inalum, which is 1.5 percent of our production. [...] And there will be an increase of sales to Inalum in November to 28,000 metric tonnes of SGA," she told The Jakarta Post on Friday. Inalum bought 31,179 metric tonnes of SGA from WHW in December 2017...
Australian metals miner South32 Limited released production results for Q1 FY 2019 on 18 October, reporting lower outputs at both alumina and aluminium operations. In the just-ended September quarter, South32 refined 1.15 million tonnes of alumina, off by 11 per cent from the preceding quarter. Worsley Alumina contributed 854,000 tonnes which was down by 9 per cent year on year and 13 per cent from the previous quarter. Maintenance work at South32’s Worsley alumina refinery in WA affected output by some 200,000 tonnes in August. However, South32 continues to expect 3.96 million tonnes of alumina production from the refinery in FY19. Brazil Alumina contributed 305,000 tonnes to the total, down by 9 per cent YoY and 3 per cent QoQ. However, South32 says unplanned maintenance and power...
Acording to a report from Platts, China's Shandong Chiping Xinfa Group has cut operating capacity at its Shanxi Jiaokou alumina refinery in northern China to 50% due to limited bauxite supply and power plant issues. This was confirmed by a company source on Thursday. The source also added that refinery is now running at 1.4 million tonne per year capacity, down from 2.8 million tonne per year, the source added. The sources however has not mentioned how long the cut will last and when the plant will resume normal output. The problems have not affected operations in Xinfa's other alumina refinery in Shanxi. Shanxi Xinfa Chemical refinery is currently operating at 1.8 million tonne per year operating rate. The company’s alumina refinery in Shandong province in eastern China that has an...
Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd, the largest aluminium smelter in Southeast Asia, is buying a 50 per cent stake in Japan Alumina Associates (Australia) Pty Ltd (JAA) for A$250 million (RM739 million). JAA holds a 10 per cent stake in Worsley Alumina unincorporated joint venture which owns and operates the Worsley alumina project, one of the world’s largest, longest life and lowest cost alumina producers. Chief executive officer Tan Sri Paul Koon said the proposed acquisition will provide Press Metal the opportunity to access five per cent of the annual production of the Worsley alumina project which amounts to 230,000 tonnes of alumina per annum. The acquisition, which is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2019, is an effective approach towards ensuring Press Metal’s...
Altech Chemicals Limited has received the Certificate of Grant for an Innovation Patent from the Australian Patent Office (IP Australia), for its process of producing high purity alumina (HPA) from kaolin (aluminous clay). Altech Chemicals managing director Iggy Tan said, “The journey to patent grant was quite arduous. We commenced the process in 2014 and have now received the Certificate of Grant – 4 years later. The patent will help protect the Company’s unique HPA production process and the technology that we have developed.” “Over the past 18 months it has been quite frustrating to read a number public announcements from other companies aiming to be HPA producers that have included HPA process flow diagrams that appeared to be blatant copies of Altech’s process – some even using the...
The alumina market is experiencing a year of unprecedented turbulence. Alumina, which sits in the aluminium production process between bauxite and refined metal, has historically been a highly efficient link in the supply chain. It hasn’t generated many headlines over the years because it has largely avoided any newsworthy disruption. It is, to quote Greg Wittbecker, analyst at the CRU research house, one of those markets “people have taken for granted”. Not any more. A series of supply hits have sent the alumina price on a rollercoaster ride this year, at one stage threatening the closure of several European aluminium smelters. This volatility poses some hard questions for aluminium producers, not least as to how alumina is priced. Alumina’s year of turmoil began in February, when a...
Vedanta Resources has released the production results of alumina for the second quarter and half year ended 30th September 2018. The alumina production in the Lanjigarh refinery grew in both Q2 FY 2019 and H1 FY 2019. The Lanjigarh refinery produced 348,000 tonnes of alumina in Q2 FY2019, an increase of 30 per cent from Q2 FY 2018 total of 269,000 tonnes. The increase was mainly due to due to debottlenecking and Odisha bauxite sourcing from Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC). The alumina production was 7 per cent higher quarter on quarter due to Odisha bauxite sourcing from OMC. The company said improved captive alumina production and indigenous bauxite are keys in our efforts to drive the aluminium costs lower. The alumina production from Lanjigarh refinery stood at 673,000 tonnes in H1 FY...
According to the latest update from Shanghai Metals Market, China’s alumina production in September grew 3 per cent year-on-year to stand at 5.95 million tonnes; while the total output during January-September came in at about 52.11 million tonnes, up 1.9 per cent from the same period last year. Daily output averaged at 198,000 tonnes in the same month, up 3.8 per cent from August, as higher profits encouraged southwestern refineries to raise production. Refineries in Shanxi and Henan provinces, at the same time, resumed operation from cutbacks or maintenance which as a whole boosted the overall production. SMM expects daily output to extend further growth in China by 2 per cent than the previous month, as production has resumed at State Power Investment Corp Shanxi Aluminium and new...
Alum, the only calcined alumina producer in Romania, will receive USD 25 million loan from the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDDB) and Garanti Bank Romania. BSTDB and Garanti Bank will provide USD 20 million and USD 5 million respectively. BSTDDB said the funding will be used to continue the Company’s investments aimed at reducing its carbon footprint, which have begun a decade ago. Earlier, Alum had replaced part of the existing equipment in order to make the production process more efficient and also to be in compliance with the European norms on environment protection. Gheorghe Dobra, CEO of Alum said: “Alum has implemented in the last years an extensive investment programme aimed to increase its energy and processes efficiency while complying with the environmental...
According to a report from Platts, China may add 5-6 million new alumina capacity by the end of 2018, the processing of which has started in the third quarter of 2018. Shandong Xinfa Group was said to have started up 1 million-1.2 million tpy new capacities in Shanxi. Henan East Hope is expected to start up 1 million-1.2 million tpy new capacities next month, also in Shanxi. State Power Investment's 1 million tpy project in Guizhou and Tianshan's 1 million tpy plant in Guangxi were expected to start by the end of 2018. According to a company source, Shandong Weiqiao has completed 1-2 million tpy expansion though it has not been started. They are awaiting proper approvals. Traders expect Guizhou and Guangxi projects to start in Q2 2019. "We heard Xinfa is expected to see first output from...
Norsk Hydro has announced today that Alunorte alumina refinery in Brazil is expected to be able to ramp up to 50 percent capacity within two weeks. The refinery has on October 8 agreed with the environmental agency of the state of Pará, SEMAS, to restart production under SEMAS’ supervision. This follows the exceptional authorization by federal environmental agency IBAMA late on Friday to utilize press filter technology in the processing of bauxite residues, Hydro said in its press release. John Thuestad, Head of Hydro’s Bauxite and Alumina business area said:“With firm documentation verifying the integrity of our bauxite residue disposal system when based on our press filter, and in alignment with SEMAS, we are now in a position to safely resume 50 percent operations at Alunorte.” “This...
A press release from Norsk Hydro confirms that the federal environmental agency IBAMA authorised alumina refinery Alunorte on October, 5th, to utilize its state-of-the art press filter technology in the processing of bauxite residues. This will extend the life of its DRS1 bauxite residue disposal area and allow Alunorte to continue operations on safe conditions. After getting green signal from IBAMA’s, Alunorte will now have to obtain authorization from SEMAS, Secretary of State for Environment and Sustainability to use the press filter on DRS1. This filter can covert the red mud slurry into stackable residues with considerably less water content than the drum filter. Once Alunorte receives this authorization, it can re-start refinery operations at 50% of capacity. “We are ready to...
An alternative route has been established from Azerbaijan to Tajikistan for the supply of alumina and other raw materials. This has been done specifically to meet the needs of the Tajik Aluminium Company (TALCO), the Tajik embassy in Azerbaijan reported to Trend on Friday, October 5. The new route opened is through Russia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan for reaching Tajikistan from Azerbaijan and thus bypasses Turkmenistan. The reason behind establishing this alternative route is the temporarily closed transit through Turkmenistan. Trucks with Azerbaijani raw materials have been standing idle on the Iranian-Turkmen border for past 50 days, reported a source at TALKO, adding that the parties are looking for alternative ways to supply raw materials from Baku through the ports of Aktau and Kuryk...
