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...
Grow with
AL Circle
After a decline in two consecutive days last week, alumina spot price showed restraint today, June 11, at RMB 2904 per tonne, according to Shanghai Metals Market. On June 7, the alumina spot price plunged from RMB 2998 per tonne to RMB 2954 per tonne and on June 8, it fell to RMB 2904 per tonne. Shanghai Metals Market believes that alumina spot price declined last week primarily because alumina producers as well as major traders in Shanxi and Henan began to sell spot cargoes. The slow pace of export shipments leaving the port in Guangxi also contributed to the fall of alumina spot price, as it increased the possibility of them being sold in the domestic market, which further suppressed domestic alumina prices. SMM anticipates that alumina spot price is likely to face more pressure in the...
After hovering at RMB 2998 per tonne from 1 st of June to 6 th of June, 2018, the average alumina spot price dwindled two days in a row, according to Shanghai Metals Market. While on June 7, the average alumina spot price plunged from RMB 2998 per tonne to RMB 2954 per tonne; on June 8, it further dipped to RMB 2904 per tonne. Despite the alumina spot price lowered on two consecutive days, the price had otherwise been reflecting a steady sentiment, with no frequent ups and downs. From the beginning of May till the mid, the average alumina spot price hovered at RMB 3118 per tonne. Then it dipped to RMB 3094 per tonne followed by RMB 3065 per tonne which continued almost till the end of the month. The month of June also displayed a steady alumina spot price, drifted at RMB 2998 per tonne...
Jamaican government is undergoing discussions with the United States Treasury Department to secure a waiver for Jamaica as the Administration moves to address any fallout from US sanctions against UC Rusal which has alumna/bauxite operations in Jamaica. “The talks are progressing favourably, but we cannot offer any guarantees at this time,” said Mining Minister Robert Montague told the House of Representatives in a statement on Tuesday. The sanctions against Rusal announced by the US in April, will affect operations at the Windalco Plant in Ewarton. West Indies Alumina Company or WINDALCO is a joint venture between the UC Rusal and the Government of Jamaica. UC Rusal owns 93% stake and manages the joint venture, while the government owns the remaining 7% share. Windalco comprises two...
The Malaysian Government finally gives a nod to Altech Chemicals for initiating a high purity alumina plant in Johor, with production capacity 4,500 tonnes per annum. Johor is located at the southern tip of mainland Malaysia. This news arrived following the last week’s news of Altech which said the company secured a suitable 4 hectares site for the plant in Malaysia’s Tanjung Langsat Industrial complex in Johor. The company has already laid down $5.1 million to secure a 30-year lease at the site and kept an option open for renewing to another 30 years. Altech will firstly, secure high purity kaoline product from its massive deposit near Meckering and then transport it to Malaysia for processing into a low contaminant alumina stream for industrial uses. According to Altech, the demand for...
Odisha-based Asia’s largest integrated aluminium complex National Aluminium Company’s (Nalco) business expansion is on a roll. It is ready to invest INR 7000 crore to INR 12000 crore to set up a 1.4 million tonne or 2 million tonne alumina refinery in Vishakapatnam, as disclosed in an exclusive interview to The Hindu. Nalco Chairman and Managing Director Tapan Kumar Chand said on Wednesday, May 30, 2018, that for setting up an alumina refinery, the company requested the Centre to consider allotment of bauxite mines. Nalco is in the process of acquiring a new block at Pottangi located on the Andhra-Odisha border. It also has bauxite ore blocks at Panchapatmali in Koraput district of neighbouring Odisha. Mr. Chand said nobody would oppose investment by Nalco as it is in the public sector...
The global trade data suggests that Bosnia and Herzegovina will import 33 per cent more alumina in 2018 than last year. Greece is the key country from where country sourced maximum volume of alumina. Greece exported an estimated 165643 tonnes of alumina to Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2017, according to recent statistics. Ireland and Germany exported about 4106 tonnes and 213 tonnes of alumina respectively last year. According to the international trade data Bosnia and Herzegovina imported about 170071 tonnes of alumina in 2017.The figure represented a drop from the previous year’s import volume when it reached 172600 tonnes. This year, the country is estimated to import 226743 tonnes of alumina in 2018, up 33 per cent. The cost of alumina imports in Bosnia and Herzegovina increased in 2017....
Shanghai Metal Market anticipated yesterday on May 28, 2018, that domestic alumina prices in China are going to witness a limited decline on the face of continual low stockpiling that allows sellers to hold their offers firm. Since the beginning of May, China’s domestic alumina prices have fallen RMB 70 per tonne. SMM also believes that the end of June is more likely to mark a sharp fall in domestic alumina prices as continuous declines in international prices would close the windows for exports, and new alumina capacity will come online in July. On top, alumina accumulated across ports in Guangxi province as package removal causes pollution and alumina producers are most likely to complete their deliveries of existing orders by late June. According to SMM, alumina price for four regions...
National Aluminium Company Limited (Nalco), a Navratna CPSE under Ministry of Mines, is looking out to tap the waste-to-wealth model using Chinese tech for processing mineral wastes and commercialising them, which in turn would help the company boost its bottom line. The company believes that by pursuing this out-of-the-box idea, it can recover 15 to 20 per cent of hidden alumina from its inventory of 60 million tonnes of red mud at captive bauxite deposits, located atop Panchpatmalli hills in southern Odisha’s Koraput district. Dr. Tapan Kumar Chand, Chairman of Nalco said, “For alumina extraction technology, we are discussing with a few IITs and the Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology (IMMT), Bhubaneswar. Nalco is keen to commercialize this alumina after extraction.” Over the...
After showing restraint over a long period of time from 3rd of May to 18th of May, 2018, alumina spot market price declined two days in a row. According to Shanghai Metal Market, average alumina spot price, which was hovering at RMB 3118 per tonne until May 18 , 2018 plunged to RMB 3094 per tonne on May 21, followed by a further shrink to RMB 3065 on Tuesday, May 22, 2018. This sudden plunge in alumina price is primarily due to lower demand among consumers and traders and also due to tight supply condition because of production cut at Norsk Hydro’s Alunorte, the world’s largest alumina refinery. Prices have dropped across all the major Chinese markets from May 21, 2018. In east, the price dropped from RMB 3160 per tonne to RMB 3140 per tonne on May 21 and then to RMB 3110 per tonne on May...
Aluminium Corporation of China Limited (Chalco) targets to export 30,000-50,000 tonnes of alumina in May, company’s president reported to Reuters on Thursday, May 17, 2018. Lu Dongliang, the vice president of Chalco also confirmed the news while speaking on the sidelines of the LME Asia Week conference in Hong Kong, adding, that its overall exports of raw materials, used for smelting aluminium, would be a little higher this month. Lu was, however, unable to say that to which countries China was exporting its alumina, explaining, “We sell to international companies and they do it.” Lu also could not give an estimation of Chalco’s total alumina exports in 2018, since the company evaluates the market situation only on a monthly basis. He added that the company could export a portion of its...
Hydro has appointed John Thuestad as new Executive Vice President for the business area Bauxite & Alumina effective June 1. Thuestad has more than 30 years of international experience from the metal and mining industry. "I am pleased that John Thuestad has accepted the position as new head of Bauxite & Alumina. Brazil has been of major strategic importance for Hydro since the acquisition of Vale's aluminum assets in 2011," says Hydro President and CEO Svein Richard Brandtzæg. "Pará has a unique position in the global aluminium industry with activities across the entire aluminium value chain, from bauxite and alumina to finished products," says Brandtzæg. Thuestad is currently holding the position as head of Extrusion Europe in the business area Extruded Solutions and joined Hydro as part...
We recently covered a news update that existing supply deals with Rusal’s Aughinish alumina refinery in Ireland would resume as the U.S. had extended the deadline for US and non-US citizens to wind up business with Rusal to late October. However, Minister for Business Heather Humphreys said that the situation regarding Aughinish Alumina still remained “critical”. She held a series of meetings with members in the Trump administration including commerce secretary Wilbur Ross on the status of the refinery. Ms Humphreys said that the deadline extension had given some “breathing space,” to the refinery but the situation remained critical. “The sanctions have inadvertently put the company’s future in jeopardy, and we’re facing a potentially devastating impact on employment in the regional...
Iran is estimated to witness a jump in alumina imports in the first half of 2018. The country imported an estimated 221359 tonnes of alumina from the global market in 2017. The country’s alumina imports from China climbed up significantly in March 2018.China, one of the major exporters of alumina to Iran, exported 157 tonnes of alumina in March, up 241 per cent year on year. The quantity of alumina imported from China totalled 424 tonnes in the first three months of 2018, an increase of 30 per cent in the same period previous year. As per global import-export data, Iran is estimated to import 376334 tonnes of alumina in the half of 2018, up 114 per cent in the same period previous year. In H2 2018, the country is estimated to import 279992 tonnes of alumina, up from 45750 tonnes in the...
We have recently covered a story on how Sanction against Rusal drove a quick surge in alumina export from China. China exported more than 300,000 tonnes of alumina as of May 4, since the profit window opened in April following the US sanctions against Rusal, SMM learned. The export started in Shandong and Guangxi provinces, but has recently expanded to Shanxi province. SMM believes China’s alumina export is set to decline but the downward room is limited as profits remain intact for the suppliers. They see that alumina output in Shandong and Guangxi is unlikely to drop in short and medium term and production in Shanxi as well as Henan provinces are rising on export margins, SMM believes. The following table shows today’s alumina prices in China: Major producers and traders now prefer...
China’s alumina imports hit a record low of 8,145 tonnes in March, down 98 per cent from the same period previous year. SMM reported that non-metallurgical grade alumina accounted for most of the imports in March and the volume of metallurgical grade was zero. SMM believes that tight global supplies and a bigger price gap between Chinese and overseas alumina will drive China to import less and export more. Data Source: metal.com Chinese alumina imports dropped 80 per cent from the same period previous year, according to China's customs data. China imported 184,905 tonnes of alumina from the global market in the first three months of 2018. China’s alumina imports from Japan were up 39 per cent YoY in March 2018. Japan exported 2,531 tonnes of alumina to China. France exported 2,417 tonnes...
The Greek Industrial Group reported on Thursday, May 3, 2018 that Mytilineos, a Greek-based industrial conglomerate whose companies are active in the sectors of metallurgy, energy, and EPC, is expecting a positive prospect for its alumina business in Greece despite surging alumina prices last month on the face of US sanctions against Russian aluminium companies including UC Rusal. The scarcity of alumina due to partial production shutdown at Norsk Hydro’s Alunorte’s alumina refinery in Brazil, following the bauxite output cut at Hydro’s Paragominas mine, had also created a buzz across the world. Nevertheless, amid all the muddles in the alumina sector across the world, Mytilineos is keeping hopes on its alumina business. As it reported in a first-quarter trading update, it has...
Italy imported US$452.2 billion worth of goods from around the globe last year. According to available export-import data, the country will import 23 per cent more alumina in the first half of 2018, compared to the same period last year. The market for high purity alumina witnessed growth during the past few years and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 20.7 per cent in terms of volume during the forecast period 2017-2023. The market is expected to garner $5,293 million by 2023, according to Allied Market Research. As per global export-import data, Italy is estimated to import 87411 tonnes of alumina in the half of 2018, up from 70866 tonnes of alumina in the same period previous year.In H2 2018, the country is estimated to export 80435 tonnes of alumina, up from 68971 tonnes in the...
A Brazilian federal judge yesterday upheld a lower court ruling that ordered Norsk Hydro to cut production at Alunorte alumina refinery by 50 per cent. Federal Judge Arthur Pinheiro Chaves said that failure to honor the conditions set by the courts would result in a daily fine of 1 million reais ($285,000), according to news published by Reuters. Hydro Alunorte, located in the region of Barcarena, is the world's largest alumina refinery and employs around 2,000 people and has a nameplate capacity of an annual 6.3 million tonnes. On average, 14 per cent of its production goes to the domestic market and the other 86 per cent is exported. Hydro holds 92.1 per cent of Alunorte ownership. A regional court issued a ruling on Wednesday, February 28, demanding Hydro to cut production by half at...
