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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China’s alumina output will rise further in July due to release from new and restarted capacity, SMM predicts. Shandong Weiqiao Group’s 1 million-tpy new alumina project will begin to release output in late July. The rest of the year will see limited additional new capacities coming online, according to SMM survey. SMM data showed China’s alumina output was 4.86 million tonnes in June, up 0.31% from May and 2.99 per cent from a year ago.
Perth, Australia based metals and mining company South32 reported significant rise in alumina production at its Worsley Alumina operation and Brazil Alumina refinery for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2016. As per the company's latest release, alumina production rose three per cent year-on-year to reach 5,296,000 tonnes in FY 2016. This, in all sense, is a landmark achievement for South32 a spin-off from the mining behemoth BHP Billiton. It exceeded or met full year forecasts for alumina, aluminium and other segments. However, the company posted a dip in its alumina output for the fourth quarter of 2016. Alumina production was down three per cent at 1,296,000 tonnes in Q4 FY16, said the company release. "We have built a strong foundation in our first full year of operation, despite the...
Leading primary aluminium producer UC RUSAL has signed of an agreement with Alumina Partners of Jamaica (‘Alpart’) to sell its 100 per cent stake in the latter to the Chinese state industrial group, JIUQUAN IRON & STEEL (GROUP) Co. Ltd (‘JISCO’), as a part of their assets optimization and debt ratio reduction programme. The deal amount has been fixed at $299 million. To expedite the transfer of Alpart ownership, RUSAL and JISCO will also enter into a separate Consulting and Technical Service Agreement, to be made effective within 18 months from closing of the deal. “We are very pleased with the achieved agreement. The deal is of financial interest for us, in that it does not affect the vertically integrated production chain of the company. RUSAL’s production facilities both in Russia and...
The China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association (CNIA) summoned domestic major alumina producers, including Chalco, Jinjiang Group, Shandong Xinfa Group, etc. for a meeting in Beijing last Thursday. Persistent declines in alumina prices might be the main reason why the meeting was held, SMM understood. Will the gathering give a boost to battered alumina prices? The meeting will do little to arrest price declines, unless meeting participants reach a consensus over joint production cuts or alumina stockpiling, SMM noted. SMM data showed weighted average price in domestic four major regions had fallen to 1,807 yuan/tonne as of last Thursday, June 14th.
Altech Chemicals Ltd's managing director, Iggy Tan, said that the company received strong interest in the company's entry into the high purity alumina (HPA) market at a conference in Shenzhen, China. Altech’s plan is to offer a finished product range that will include HPA tailored for the synthetic sapphire and lithium-ion battery separator sheet manufacturing sectors, two rapidly growing segments of the HPA market. The company said that the design of its Malaysian plant incorporates the specialised equipment required for the production of “nano” HPA particles. The size of HPA nano particles is typically less than 1 micron (1/1000 of 1mm) and is the preferred particle size for the fast growing lithium-ion battery separator sheet-manufacturing sector. HPA supply squeeze Tan said that with...
Global lightweight metal giant Alcoa posted growth in the combined Upstream division, Alcoa Corporation, for the second quarter 2016. The company's Alumina and Primary Metals segments reported revenue of $2.3 billion, ATOI of $150 million and adjusted EBITDA of $358 million. The total revenue of the Upstream division grew 7 per cent owing to 22 percent higher alumina prices, and 2 percent higher aluminium pricing and organic growth. These segments generated $199 million in productivity in Q2 ($379 million year-to-date) as part of its business improvement program, and are on track to deliver a combined $550 million in productivity savings for 2016. Alcoa's Alumina division generated ATOI of $109 million in the second quarter, an increase of $101 million from $8 million in the first quarter...
Aluminum Corp of China (CHALCO), the country's biggest producer of alumina and primary aluminium, posted profits of 330 million yuan ($49.4 million) during the first half of the year, the highest level in almost five years. The company attributed its excellent performance largely to reduced production costs. Costs of electrolytic aluminium, alumina and electrolytic copper fell 400 yuan, 2,500 yuan and 5,200 yuan per tonne, respectively, said Yu Dehui, general manager of CHALCO. Although prices of the three products dropped year on year during the first half, the company managed to improve profitability.
Alumina says production at its AWAC joint venture with Alcoa held steady through the second quarter, with its returns falling despite improved margins. The ASX-listed Alumina (AWC) said AWAC production came in at 3.2 million tonnes, exactly in line with first quarter numbers. Its total dividends and capital returns from the joint venture fell, however, to $34.3 million, from $49.4m in the prior quarter. The slide in returns was likely linked to the final instalment of a WA gas prepayment, Alcoa numbers suggest, given Alumina said the improvement in margins it had tipped upon the release of first quarter numbers in April had eventuated. “Second quarter margins benefited from higher API prices and further productivity gains as well as the closure of higher cost capacity,” Alumina chief...
Australia’s Department of Industry, Innovation & Science has projected global alumina deficits of 4 million mt in 2016 and 2017. Global consumption in 2016 is anticipated to rise 3 per cent year on year to 116 million mt and production to rise 3 per cent to 112 million mt, the DIIS said Friday (June 8) in a report. The office anticipates global alumina consumption rising 7 per cent in 2017 to 125 million mt, supported by higher aluminum output in China, Russia and the Middle East. It said global alumina production is anticipated to increase by 7 per cent to nearly 121 million mt, driven by capacity restarts in China and new output in Jamaica, India, Indonesia, Vietnam and the UAE. The DIIS said it would expect the price of alumina to average $238/mt FOB Australia in 2016, rising to...
Orbite Technologies Inc. today provided an operational update on the Company's progress with the construction of its high purity alumina (HPA) plant. • CNC Mecanique was demobilized as planned from the site the week of June 27th. • The remaining piping mechanical work was awarded to Fjordtech Industries Inc., who started preparation the week of June 27th and commenced work on July 4th. • The contract for the remaining electrical and instrumentation work was awarded to Electro Kingsey the week of June 27th. Mobilization and work will commence on July 11th, and will be completed concurrently with completion of the piping work by Fjordtech. • Both contracts were awarded following a competitive bid process, on a fixed-price basis with penalty provisions for late delivery, and stipulate an 8...
The Port of Corpus Christi had recently announced that it made a bid to buy the Sherwin Alumina plant, which is in bankruptcy. The Port said it offered $33 million for the plant and offered to spend $13 million in capital, deferred maintenance and environmental improvements if Sherwin Alumina or another company continues to operate the plant. However, industry experts are of the opinion that it would be difficult for the Port to carry on with the alumina business. The aluminium processing business is like oil refining. Most of its maintenance and operating cost is fixed costs including capital, labour and energy cost in the form of natural gas and electricity. When the plant has to operate at reduced capacity due to economic recession and low demand, it's impossible to reduce the fixed...
Australia's Alumina Ltd says its opposition to a break-up of US giant Alcoa has been validated by new details of the split. Nine months after it first flagged plans to break itself into two companies, Alcoa officially confirmed on Thursday morning that it would go ahead with the plan to separate its upstream and downstream assets. The New York-based company filed legal documents that outline how the split will be conducted, and those documents confirmed that the assets Alcoa shares with Alumina would be spun into a new legal entity. The two companies jointly own a collection of bauxite mines, alumina refineries and aluminium smelters called the "AWAC joint venture", with Alcoa owning 60 per cent and Alumina owning 40 per cent. Melbourne-based Alumina said confirmation that the joint...
According to the latest Mineral Industry Surveys data published by the USGS, imports of alumina during the first quarter of 2016 were 262,000 metric tons (t), 6 per cent less than those in the fourth quarter of 2015 and 48 per cent less than those in the first quarter of 2015. The leading sources of imported alumina during the first quarter of 2016 were Brazil (27 per cent), Australia (34 per cent), and Jamaica (19 per cent). Decreased imports of alumina during the last 2 quarters were attributed to the shutdowns of several aluminium smelters in the United States. Exports of alumina during the first quarter of 2016 were 420,000 t, 32 per cent less than those in the fourth quarter of 2015 and the same as those in the first quarter of 2015, revealed data published by USGS. The leading...
The Australian alumina daily assessment slipped $1/mt day on day to $239/mt FOB Wednesday, weakened by lackluster demand. Falling Chinese domestic alumina prices, and rising freight rates in Asia have also put downward pressure on the FOB alumina price. In the last two days, smelters have put the buyers ceiling at $237-$238/mt FOB Australia. Stockholders were waiting in the wings at $240/mt FOB Australia. Chinese consumers remained out of the market, saying there was plenty of cheaper domestic tons. They were also expecting further downside to Chinese domestic prices due to ample supply and unstable domestic aluminum prices. The China alumina daily assessment for Shanxi province fell Yuan 20 ($3)/mt to Yuan 1,880/mt ex-works in cash Wednesday, pulled down by ample supply among refiners...
The People’s Republic of China’s China Hongqiao Group Ltd., the world’s top aluminium producer by volume, announced that it entered into an agreement last week to purchase the entire equity interests of Binzhou Municipal Beihai Xinhe New Material Co., Ltd. for US$320 million. Beihai Xinhe’s equity interests were held by China International Trust and Investment Corporation (CITIC Group), a state-owned investment company. The firm has an alumina production capacity of 2 million metric tons per annum, and has a power production capacity of 240 megawatts. According to the announcement, an independent appraiser found the low appraisal value of Beihai Xinhe to be US$335,611,330.86 on the last day of 2015. The firm, which is a Chinese limited-liability company, was established August 24, 2011...
China imported 175,400 mt of alumina in May, up 70.82 per cent MoM, but down 48.51 per cent YoY, according to China Customs. Import volumes remained low. Imports from India and Vietnam, which accounted for 17.43 per cent and 11.29 per cent, respectively, of total imports, increased markedly from April. Australia remained the top supplier, accounting for 68.27 per cent of total imports. SMM learned that Chinese traders remain little interested in imports at present. Some traders are even planning to resell alumina due for arrival in the future to other countries. This is because import activities are in losses and demand from the Middle East and India is growing. China’s alumina imports will remain at low levels in the future.
Shandong Binzhou Beihai Company put its large alumina project into operations in Shandong recently, the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association (CNIA) said in its website. The project has an annual capacity of 1 million tonnes, according to the website. In an earilier release, SMM predicted that the operational alumina capacity in China will continue growing in June due to restarted and new capacity. SMM sees annualized operational alumina capacity in the country at 58.29 million tonnes in June. China’s alumina output rose 5 per cent month-on-month and 1.96 per cent year-on-year to 4.85 million tonnes in May, and annualized operational alumina capacity totaled 57.09 million tonnes, SMM statistics showed.
China Hongqiao Group will spend 2.12 billion yuan ($319 million) in acquiring all stakes in one Chinese alumina producer, reported industry sources. The alumina producer to be acquired, namely Binzhou Beihai Xinhe New Materials Co., now has designed annual alumina capacity at 2 million tonnes and 240-megawatt power generating units. The move will help improve China Hongqiao Group’s raw material and power self-sufficiency.
