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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Century Aluminum announced in a company statement that it has secured a supply deal for alumina from a refinery in Louisiana. The fear of shortage of this most valuable input material for aluminium following the shutdown of Alunorte alumina refinery in Brazil compelled the company to get into this deal. The news of Alunorte shutdown also caused Century shares tumble 12% yesterday. The Gramercy alumina refinery in Louisiana is one of the last alumina refineries in the U.S., owned by Noranda Alumina. The metal will be delivered during 2019-24 through London-based trader Concord Resources that has recently acquired an equity position in New Day Aluminium Holdings, the parent company of Noranda Bauxite and Alumina. “The transaction demonstrates our confidence in the future of the US aluminium...
With the faster growth in aluminium production, the world seems to see a continuous hike in demand for alumina, particularly in China and the Middle East. This in the future is expected to open up new trading opportunities for the alumina producing countries such as Australia, which is already the world’s largest producer of bauxite and alumina and also ranks as the world’s largest alumina exporter. So to say, Australia aluminium market is an export-oriented one and mostly limited to upstream sector. According to Australian Aluminium Council, Australia exported a total amount of 17188 thousand tonnes of alumina in 2017. In 2016, this volume had stood a little down at 17183 thousand tonnes, as per the data revealed by the Council. Consequently, Australia’s revenue from alumina export also...
Alumina producers, including South 32 and Alumina Limited, on Thursday, October 4, reportedly experienced a sharp rise in shares post Norsk Hydro’s announcement of production shut at the world’s biggest alumina refinery Alunorte. Shares in Alumina Ltd rose as much as 11 percent on Thursday, October 4, while South 32 gained as much as 7.3 percent to hit a record high of $A4.25. Australian bauxite miner Metro Mining rallied 5 percent. Aluminium producer Chalco in China is expected to be the main beneficiary of the Alunorte shutdown, said Citi in a note, as it maintained a “Buy” recommendation on the state-owned firm. Shares of Nalco in India also reported a jump by 11 per cent on Wednesday, October 3, while Vedanta’s shares gained 3.2 per cent. In the US trading on the same day, Alcoa...
After completing the preliminary feasibility study (PFS) late last month, FYI Resources has now reportedly commenced a bankable feasibility study (BFS) for its 100 per cent-owned Cadoux Kaolin Project in Western Australia. The company recently detailed a US$ 178 million capital cost for the project as well. The company says it is now fully funded to complete the BFS. Earlier, the preliminary feasibility study (PFS) was modelled on a 25-year old project life, which revealed construction forecast to commence in the fourth quarter of 2019. Managing Director Roland Hill said: “The PFS demonstrates FYI Resources is in the attractive position with the potential of becoming a long-life, low-cost and high margin High-Quality Alumina producer.” In regards to the commencement of bankable...
According to a report by CARE Ratings, India’s aluminium production, which was at 3.39 million tonnes in 2017-18, is forecast to remain stable or grow a little to 3.42 million tonnes in the fiscal year 2018-19. The giants like National Aluminium Company (Nalco), Bharat Aluminium (Balco), a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources, and Hindalco are some of the key players in the Indian aluminium sectors. {newsStudioGallery} Having said that, a good number of aluminium producers and cement and ceramic producers in India import a substantial amount of alumina for consumption. One of them is Vedanta Aluminium that has been importing a large amount of alumina to feed its smelters, as being unable to source bauxite from Odisha for its Lanjigarh refinery as promised. In fact, it is noteworthy that...
As announced by a press release from Norsk Hydro dated October 3, it’s alumina refinery Alunorte in Brazil is preparing for full curtailment of its operation. The decision, according to the press release was taken as the bauxite residue deposit area 1 (DRS1) is almost in its full capacity, due to the ban on using the state-of-the-art press filter and the newly developed bauxite residue deposit area (DRS2). Alunorte has been running at 50% capacity since March, following bans from Brazilian authorities. Though environmental authorities confirmed that there was no spill or overflow from the residue areas, the ban prevented Alunorte from utilizing the newest bauxite residue deposit area (DRS2), which was under commissioning in February, and the state-of-art press filter technology. The...
Altech Chemicals Limited recently participated in BATTERY OSAKA, a three-day international rechargeable battery exhibition held in Osaka, Japan from 26 to 28 September 2018. The company provided an update on the recent developments and the outlook for high purity alumina (HPA) demand in the lithium-ion battery sector. BATTERY OSAKA is one of two international rechargeable battery exhibitions held in Japan each year, and is a significant event for the lithium-ion battery industry. The exhibition, now in its 5th year, attracts representatives from major lithium-ion battery manufacturers, materials suppliers and equipment suppliers that are mostly located in Japan, South Korea and China. Altech presented its HPA project and marketing plan in an exhibition booth in collaboration with...
Anrak Aluminium Limited (AAL), a joint venture of Penna Group and Ras Al Khaimah is optimistic about starting operations of its 1.5 million tonne alumina refinery in Visakhapatnam in the next few months after Hyderabad High Court passing a judgement in favour of it. The refinery is lying no-operational even after five years of its construction. The High Court has recently asked the State Bank of India (SBI) to withdraw its petition against the one-time settlement proposed by the Anrak Aluminium. The company has spent INR 6,000 crore on building the refinery. The AAL has agreed for one-time settlement of INR 1,275 crore to the SBI-led consortium of lenders against a loan of INR3,461 crore. In their appeal they said that the refinery was built on the promise of bauxite, agreed upon by the...
Saudi Arabian aluminium industry is growing immensely in last few years after the country decided to venture into a parallel non-oil economy. A joint venture between the Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden) and Alcoa Ma’aden Aluminium (MA), Ma’aden Aluminium is a significant contributor to the growth of the Saudi Arabian economy. The company is inching towards becoming the largest and most efficient integrated aluminium complex in the world. Ma’aden has the only operating alumina refinery in the Gulf region and it imports the large part of its bauxite from various bauxite producing regions, while exporting the alumina to India and UAE. As shown by our data, Saudi Arabia exported about 984 tonnes of alumina in 2016 and earned revenues of US$ 149,004. In 2017, the export volume dropped...
The US-sanctioned Russian parent company of Aughinish Alumina, one of the major industrial employers in the mid-west, has reportedly guaranteed a €28 million financial package to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in case of its closure. There are fears that the US sanctions may lead to production slash by up to 70pc at Aughinish or a shutdown. Out of 70pc, the refinery supplies some 30pc of all aluminium in Europe. In the event of closure, the company will guarantee a €28 million-euro package to the Environmental Protection Agency for decommissioning and aftercare of the site, according to the Irish Independent. The Irish Government is engaged in intense negotiations with the United States to ensure a job security for 450 people who are directly employed, as well as hundreds more...
2018 first half has seen some unprecedented developments in the global alumina and aluminium market scenario that have turned the market upside down making all previous forecasts redundant. The initiations The aluminium supply scenario received the first hit when Trump imposed a global tariff of 25 per cent on steel imports and 10 per cent tariff on aluminium imported from all countries in March 2018. Though a few countries got exemptions on the tariff, all its major trading partners including Canada, Mexico, European Union and China were imposed heavy tariffs initiating the beginning of a long trade wars between these countries with the US. The supply scenario of alumina was disrupted by one major happening in the beginning of 2018. The fifty per cent capacity closure in Hydro’s Alunorte...
According to a research report, the Netherlands is the ninth largest export economy in the world, exporting $435 billion of goods each year, out of which aluminium accounts for US$ 1.74 billion on average. In 2017, in particular, the Netherlands’ aluminium export accounted for US$5.62 billion, contributing a share of 10.06 per cent globally. {newsStudioGallery} The Netherlands is home to one of the notable aluminium smelting operations in the world, based in Delfzijl. The Delfzijl aluminium smelter in Farmsum, the Netherlands, started its journey as Aldel in 1966. The company engages in aluminium smelting and also offers rolling ingots and aluminium extrusion billets to the rolling mills and extrusion companies. So, possessing one of the biggest aluminium markets in the world, it is...
FYI Resources Ltd. has reportedly completed the preliminary feasibility study (PFS) for its 100 per cent-owned Cadoux Kaolin Project in Western Australia. PFS confirms that the objective of FYI with this project is to become a predominant vertically-integrated, long life producer of high-purity alumina (HPA). According to FYI PFS’ report, the project would be producing up to 8,000 tonnes of HPA per annum with low capital and operating costs, and would be delivering a net present value (NPV0 of US$506 million for a 25-year project life. FYI managing director Roland Hill said: “The PFS demonstrates FYI Resources is in the attractive position with the potential of becoming a long-life, low cost and high margin HPA producer.” He further added, “The positive economics are a result of realistic...
The owners of the Aughinish Alumina refinery in West Limerick have reportedly secured a temporary reprieve over threat to alumina jobs from the Trump administration. The news arrived after the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) granted a three-week extension until November 12 on last Friday, for investors to divest holdings of debt, equity, and other assets in Rusal and its sister company EN+. The Irish Government was engaged in a high-stakes battle to save up to 1,700 jobs in the Mid-West. Germany and France also lobbied Washington to back down as Aughinish is a key strategic asset for Europe. Some 750 people are directly employed at Aughinish while an additional 1,000 people are indirectly employed in roles such as subcontracting. Ireland had sought a minimum 12-month...
The existence of aluminium ore in Jamaica was known by scientists from the beginning of the 19th Century and by 1957, the country became the leading bauxite producer in the world. The production of alumina also increased, especially after the mid-1960s. By 1968, Alcan had brought the capacity of its two refineries to more than 1 million tonnes a year. In 1969 a new plant was commissioned at Nain, St. Elizabeth, by Alpart, then a consortium of Kaiser, Reynolds and Anaconda, another U.S. company. By 1974 Jamaica achieved the second highest position in the world as an alumina exporter. According to Jamaica Bauxite Institute, the country in 2017 produced 1.78 tonnes, out of which its estimated export volume stood at 1.63 million tonnes, found the global export-import data. In 2016, the...
According to the latest update by Shanghai Metals Market, Aluminum Corporation of China Limited (Chinalco) on Monday, September 17, announced its plan to invest some RMB 5.81 billion to construct a new alumina project in Fangchenggang of Guangxi province. The project on completion will be reportedly having an annual capacity of 2 million tonnes. Guangxi Huasheng New Materials will monitor the construction and operation of the project, as per the news. In light of this, Chinalco also plans to increase the capital of Guangxi Huasheng by RMB 838 million, SMM learned. This new project will leverage Chinalco’s overseas bauxite projects and regional aluminium projects, according to the company’s announcement. Chinalco is the world's second-largest alumina producer and third-largest primary...
According to the latest USGS report on bauxite and alumina import by the United States in the second Quarter 2018, the volume found dropped from 434, 190 tonnes in the first quarter of the year to 353,000 tonnes. This shows that the alumina import volume by the US stood down 23 per cent quarter-on-quarter but grew year-on-year as per the report released by USGS. In the second quarter of 2017, the United States had imported around 300,050 tonnes of alumina in total, 15 per cent less from Q2 2018 while in the second quarter of 2016; the country imported 16 per cent lesser to 296,520 tonnes. {newsStudioGallery} Brazil accounted for the major share of alumina supply to the US in Q2 2018 by exporting 41 per cent of the total volume, followed by Australia (28%), and Jamaica (12%). Imports in...
Alumina 2018, the 11th AQW International Conference, which starts today in Gladstone Queensland is organised by the Alumina Quality Workshop (AQW) Inc. and is expected to attract 300 industry players to the city from all over the world. The three-day global mining conference has kicked with more than 300 leading industry producers and suppliers as delegates. The event this year will also feature speakers from Queensland Alumina Limited and Rio Tinto Yarwun. Rio Tinto Aluminium Pacific Operations managing director Bruce Cox during his keynote address highlighted the need of ever- improving efficiency and responsibility for business growth. "Our bauxite to alumina to aluminium supply chain invests A$3.7 billion in Australian wages, suppliers and community contributions every year," Mr Cox...
