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 aluminium imports continue to surge, rising another 44% from the previous month and 83.7% from last year importing a total of 638,586 tonnes of alumina in December, according to the latest customs data. Australia, one of China’s biggest suppliers, alone contributed 399,121 tonnes in December rising 18.3% year-on-year. The supplier country’s alumina production has also seen a surge with BHP’s Worsley plant achieving record production in the December 2014 quarter. Brazil too contributed generously to China exporting 113,535 tonnes of alumina to China up by 15.4% from the previous month. In 2014, China imported a total of 5.27 million tonnes of alumina and 673,558 tonnes of bauxite from Malaysia pushing up the numbers of unwrought aluminium exports from China considerably. For the...
The Worsley refinery located in Western Australia saw a 3% increase in alumina production in the fourth quarter of 2014 compared to the previous year while BHP Billiton, who owns 86% stakes in Worsley has had an overall 13% quarter-on-quarter rise in alumina output in the fourth quarter of 2014 to 1.4 million tonnes. Worsley had been suffering from some calciner outage issue in the previous period which got resolved by December 2014 owing to the good production numbers said the company. In the December quarter it had contributed 1.06 million tonnes of alumina compared to 1.02 million tonnes for the same quarter in 2013. The production of the September quarter of 2014 was noticeably low at 893,000 tonnes.
Cash shortages caused many new alumina projects to be shelved or delayed in 2014, and should continue to affect production in Q1 2015, Shanghai Metals Market foresees. China’s alumina output rose 8.2% from a year ago to 4.54 million tonnes in December 2014, SMM data showed. High margins inspired refineries to restart mothballed lines or commission new capacities. However, tight cash led to slower output growth in 2014.
Altech Chemicals Limited is pleased to announce that as part of the current Bankable Feasibility Study (BFS) for its high purity alumina (HPA) project, it has optimised the proposed beneficiation process for the Meckering aluminous clay(kaolin) deposit. The results of the optimisation program confirm the significant benefits of wet processing (refer Figure 2), previously dry processing which involved the initial dry crushing, drying and screening of the material had been contemplated. The selection of wet processing is based on recent test-work conducted by Simulus Engineers and Simulus Laboratory’s in Perth, Australia. The test-work successfully demonstrated that Altech’s Meckering aluminous clay readily slurries in a water attritioner without the need for dry crushing and drying, prior...
While everybody is happy about the reopening of the Alpart refinery in 2016, parliamentarians Michael Peart and Richard Parchment say that this should not be seen as just an employment opportunity but a vehicle for overall development, especially in the most affected regions of South Manchester and South-Eastern St Elizabeth. In 1974, a Capital Development Fund was set up that would draw in the levies charged from the bauxite mining companies and use the sums to fund development. However, the Fund ended up supporting the government that was struggling at the time to make ends meet. This time the Fund would be used to serve its original purpose says Peart, who is a Member of Parliament for South Manchester. Parchment, representing South-East St Elizabeth, on the other hand points out to...
Orbite Aluminae Inc. today announced Investissement Quebec will be providing Orbite with a $3.025 million bridge loan, collateralized against the Company's investment tax credits receivable for the year 2014, estimated at $4.0 million. The loan, repayable by June 30, 2016, will carry an interest rate of 3.5% over the prevailing prime lending rate, which currently stands at 3%. Interest is payable monthly and the loan is subject to other customary terms and conditions. "We are pleased with this further contribution from Investissement Quebec towards the funding of our HPA production facility in Cap-Chat," stated Glenn Kelly , CEO of Orbite. "This arrangement shows how having a balance of investment tax credits receivable provides us with additional flexibility to arrange financing at...
With US aluminium production giant returning to profit with the Q4 results, the price of aluminium has seen a boost which has benefitted the Australian based company named Alumina. Alumina is in fact directly affected by Alcoa’s results as the two of them jointly own Alcoa World Alumina and Chemicals (AWAC) business, which owns alumina assets in Western Australia and the Portland aluminium smelter in Victoria, where Alcoa is the senior partner. Alcoa being one of the leading aluminium manufacturers in the world has significantly affected the price of aluminium which is forecasted to see a 20% or higher rise in 2015 soaring from the current price of $2,170 a tonne as demand becomes more robust in the aerospace and automotive industries. After-tax operating income in Alcoa’s alumina...
Altech Chemicals Limited is pleased to announce that following its strategic decision to select Johor Bahru, Malaysia as the preferred location for its proposed high purity alumina (HPA) processing plant, it has now incorporated a wholly-owned Malaysian subsidiary company, ‘Altech Chemicals Sdn Bhd’; the Company was formally advised of the incorporation on 6 January, 2015. The incorporation of Altech Chemicals Sdn Bhd represents a significant first step in Altech establishing its presence in Malaysia, and closely follows the Company’s submission of a Letter of Intent (LOI) for the reservation of a lot within the Tanjung Langsat Industrial Park, Johor Bahru. Importantly, the incorporation of its Malaysian subsidiary will enable the Company to advance the required documentation associated...
State-owned mining company PT Aneka Tambang (Antam) is planning to use around Rp 7 trillion (US$551 million) allotted by the government, which will act as a standby buyer for Antam’s planned rights issue, to finance its business projects. Antam president director Tato Miraza said that his firm would use the funds to finance the construction of a ferronickel smelter in East Halmahera (North Maluku), a smelter-grade alumina facility in Mempawah (West Kalimantan) and an anode slime project. The projects required around $1.6 billion, $1.7 billion and $100 million, respectively, he said. “We plan to carry out the rights issue sometime this year, from which we will get at least Rp 7 trillion from the government,” he went on, adding that his firm would possibly get more funds from other...
Yunnan Aluminium Co. released a statement on Friday, January 9, announcing their plan of acquiring 51% stake in Sino Lao Aluminium Corporation Limited (SLACO) paying $28.05 million, via their new subsidiary Yunnan Aluminium International Company Ltd. (YALICO). Once the deal is secured, YALICO plans to develop a 1 million-tpy alumina refinery along with a 3 million-tpy bauxite mine across the 147.86 square kilometers land in the Bolaven plateau in southern Laos. SLACO already holds the mining license for the bauxite resource in Laos’ southern Champasak Province where prospecting was conducted in two stages revealing that nearly 140 million tonnes of gibbsite quality bauxite was available in this piece of land with a 39.13% average grade found in the first stage and 41.31% grade found in...
Dubai International Capital (DIC) is launching the sale of German alumina products maker Altai's as the fund seeks to reduce its liabilities in the wake of a debt restructuring, two people familiar with the deal said. DIC has mandated Barclays (BARC.L) to explore the options of the possible divestment, the people said on Thursday. Altai's, around 80 percent owned by DIC with a stake also held by Blackstone (BX.N) unit GSO Capital Partners, has earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of around $100 million (66.37 million pounds), DIC Chief Executive David Smoot had said last year, without giving an expected valuation for the firm. Listed peers trade at an average of 6.8 times their earnings. If valued at a similar multiple, Altai's could bring up to roughly...
Orbite Aluminae Inc. is pleased to announce that the Canadian Intellectual Property Office has issued a notice of allowance for patent application No. 2,857,574, pertaining to Processes for Treating Red Mud. Orbite has paid the requisite fees and expects patent issuance within CIPO's usual timeframe of 9 to 12 weeks. Red mud is the waste product generated by the Bayer process, the industrial process used for refining bauxite to obtain alumina, the raw material for the electrolytic production of aluminium. A typical bauxite refinery generates one to two times as much red mud as it does alumina. That waste is typically stockpiled in open-air tailings ponds, although in some cases it has been disposed of in the ocean. Red mud represents a long-term environmental liability for the entire...
China’s alumina imports soared 63% month-on-month to 443,327 tonnes in November 2014, customs data showed. SMM attributes the growth to winter stocking by domestic aluminum smelters, tight domestic supply, and bullishness over alumina prices. Brazil and Venezuela were major contributors to the growth in import volumes, shipping a combined 147,000 tonnes to China. The price advantage of Brazilian and Venezuelan alumina stimulated Chinese buyers to step up imports, SMM understands. The CIF prices of alumina from Brazil and Venezuela were $357 per tonne and $347 per tonne, respectively, lower than $362 per tonne for Australian alumina and $374 per tonne for Indian alumina.
China’s alumina production hit record high of 4.4 million tonnes in November, SMM data showed. Strong alumina prices, high profit and strong demand from northeast China gave alumina refineries incentive to produce. Operating rates at Chinese alumina refineries rose 5 percentage points month-on-month to 86.4% in November, SMM survey showed. Shandong Xinfa Group, Bosai Minerals Group, among others, restarted idled capacity, while others, such as Shanxi Fusheng Aluminum Co. and Shandong Weiqiao Aluminum Co. put new capacity online. Prices for domestic alumina stayed high between 2,700-2,850 yuan ($439-463) per tonne, and profits in the industry ranged 200-600 yuan per tonne.
The latest Chinese custom data reveals that the country’s month-on-month alumina imports in November have gone up by 63% to 443,326 tonnes although when compared to November 2013, the imports have fallen 40.9%. Brazil is one of the major suppliers, exporting 98,400 tonnes of alumina which is twice the amount that was imported from Brazil over the same period last year. Australia, with 217,350 tonnes is the leading supplier of alumina for China although this amount has also dipped by 52.5% when compared to last year. The overall Chinese bauxite import has also dipped this year November when compared to the last by 51.6% to 2.57 million tonnes but last year’s exaggerated importing was mostly triggered by Indonesian ban scare and a desperate attempt to build stockpiles. The Chinese aluminium...
Queensland Alumina Limited's electrical integrity team has donated high voltage testing equipment to CQUniversity. The donation will allow CQUniversity TAFE Gladstone to continue offering an important high voltage testing course for all of Gladstone's electrical instrument apprentices. QAL's primary distribution supervisor Sean Nash and electrical integrity training officer Carly Bolton presented the equipment to CQU Pro Vice-Chancellor (TAFE) Dr Greg McMillan, Associate Vice-Chancellor Dr Owen Nevin and TAFE teacher George Scott. "This donation will benefit some 250 TAFE students currently undertaking an apprenticeship through TAFE Gladstone," Dr McMillan said. "It means they will be able to increase their capability to undertake testing in a workplace simulated environment to Australian...
The Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden) and lightweight metals leader Alcoa today announced that the alumina refinery at their joint venture aluminum complex in Saudi Arabia has successfully produced its first alumina from Saudi Arabian bauxite. The alumina refinery at Ras Al Khair is the first ever refinery to be constructed and operated in the region. The milestone marks the commencement of the final link in the supply chain of this fully integrated aluminum facility. The alumina refinery will refine Saudi Arabian bauxite, supplied from Ma’aden Aluminium’s mine at Al Ba’itha and transported by 600 km rail to Ras Al Khair. The alumina from this refinery will feed into the Ma’aden Aluminium Smelter which produces the aluminum needed for the Ma’aden Aluminium Rolling Mill. This fully...
Orbite Aluminae Inc. is pleased to announce that the Canadian Intellectual Property Office has granted and issued two new patents to Orbite. The two patents are Canadian patent 2,829,049, titled Processes for Recovering Rare Earth Elements from Aluminum-Bearing Materials, and Canadian patent 2,834,356, titled Methods for Preparing Hematite. Both patents give Orbite the exclusivity for the use of these inventions for a period of twenty (20) years following their respective filing date. "The two new patents demonstrate our ability to develop innovative technologies related to the extraction of valuable elements from a variety of feedstocks of low or negative value to their current owners," stated Glenn Kelly , CEO of Orbite. "We continue to strengthen our intellectual property portfolio and...
