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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A leading player in the field of aluminium production, UC RUSAL has launched a pilot project at there aluminium smelter (UAZ) to extract primary scandium concentrate from red mud. Nearly 2.5 tonnes of primary scandium oxide concentrate can be produced in the new unit. In the course of 2014, a total of 74 million rubles have been invested in the project. For converting primary scandium concentrates into marketable commercial products, the company is planning to create a pilot plant, along with the technology needed. The content of scandium oxide is expected to reach 99.0%% in that case. The pilot plant will be capable of producing 500kg per year and the market price for such products is between USD 3,000 – USD 5,000 per kg. Aluminium-scandium alloys would be produced at the RUSAL’s...
Unions have called on mining giant BHP Billiton to guarantee entitlements and enterprise agreements for workers affected by its demerger. BHP plans to offload the majority of its aluminium, manganese, nickel and silver assets into a new company that is to be listed on the Australian share market by mid-2015. Assets selected for the new company include Illawarra Coal in NSW, Queensland’s Cannington silver mine, a manganese mine in the Northern Territory and an alumina refinery in Western Australia. Australian Workers’ Union National Secretary Scott McDine will meet with management to ensure guarantees are provided around the transfer of all employee entitlements to the new company. The union wants all current negotiated enterprise agreements to be maintained, and it will seek assurances...
The Australian-based Alumina faced huge losses in the first half of the year till June as compared to last year. This was primarily due to the closure of the Point Henry Smelter located in the state of Victoria fuelled by the continuing weakness in alumina prices. The company incurred a net loss of $ 47.4 million, a huge leap from the $2.4 million in the first half of last year. This resulted in the company’s inability to pay interim dividend. Alcoa Inc.’s Alcoa World Alumina and Chemicals is the prime support for Alumina where its 40% stakes are invested. Alcoa Inc. is the largest producer of alumina powder in the world. They decided to close their Point Henry smelter as it was no longer financially fruitful. After 51 years in service, the smelter closed this month. Although Alumina is...
Australia Minerals and Mining Group has revealed the appointment of Iggy Tan as managing director effective 25 August 2014. Tan will be responsible for managing and implementing the next stage of AKA's strategic business objectives, which includes the commercialisation of the high purity alumina project in Western Australia. Tan has been involved in the commissioning and start-up of seven resource projects in Australia and overseas. He holds vast experience in chemical mineral processing, off-take marketing of high purity mineral and chemical products, and managing feasibility studies.
Dull demand and prices in the rare earths market have led Nippon Light Metal to take the decision to stop developing its red mud beneficiation-based project in Jamaica. The Japanese company will continue refining the process while waiting for more profitable market conditions. Japan-based Nippon Light Metal Co. and the Jamaican government have decided to stop developing a process to extract rare earths from red mud effluent left over from bauxite refinement, due to unfavourable market conditions. Nippon and the Jamaican Bauxite Institute (JBI) said the decision was taken as current low prices and higher cost of production are not supporting the project In the meantime, Nippon and the Jamaica Bauxite Institute (JBI), continue to attempt to refine the technology, which they own 50:50 and...
Orbite Aluminae Inc. announced today that it has commenced construction activities at its high purity alumina (HPA) production facility in Cap-Chat, Québec. This first phase of construction entails the structural reinforcement of the HPA building structure required for the subsequent installation of the Outotec calcination equipment. The contract was awarded to a contractor from the Gaspe region in Québec, Atelier de Soudure Gilles Roy. “Following more than six months of design review and detailed engineering, we are pleased to begin this final phase of construction at our HPA facility,” said Denis Arguin, Orbite’s VP of Engineering and Operations. “The site has been prepped for construction and our construction management team is in place and operational. We look forward to driving...
China’s alumina imports will slow for the remainder of the year following a 67.82% year-on-year surge in H1 as prices for imported alumina will follow primary aluminum up, Shanghai Metals Market foresees. Inbound shipments in June, though rocketing 307.75% from a year ago to 372,300 tonnes, did retreat from April’s peak, bringing imports to 2.76 million tonnes throughout the first six months, China customs data showed. Port stocks hit over 1 million tonnes at one point as domestic traders ramped up imports in response to Indonesia’s export ban and production cuts in China. This, along with depressed prices for imported alumina, curtailed appetite for imports, SMM understood.
China’s alumina production slowed to 22.77 million tonnes in H1 2014, up by 6.50%, due to production cuts and expansion delays, Shanghai Metals Market learned. Alumina producers reliant on imported ore cut output against depressed alumina prices in H1 and Indonesia’s export ban. Moreover, new alumina capacity came on stream at a slower pace, SMM’s survey found. Output in June inched up 1.69% on the year to 3.89 million tonnes, according to the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association (CNIA).
Sesa Sterlite, a Vedanta group company, will spend up to Rs 8,000 crore in the next three to four years to expand its Lanjigarh refinery in Odisha, after it received consent from villagers last week, a senior official, who declined to be named, said. Sesa Sterlite recently got villagers' approval to expand capacity of Vedanta Aluminium's refinery in Lanjigarh to produce 6 MT of alumina from the present capacity of just 1 MT, according to the Odisha government. "Formal approval of MoEF will be sought in 15 days. The application might be taken up by the Environment Appraisal Committee in their monthly meetings either in August or September. Once we have a formal approval, we will start expanding the refinery," said the official. The official said the total cost of the project is Rs...
Cape Alumina's shares are in pre-open this morning, following the ASX granting the company a trading halt. CBX requested the halt after it received a proposal in relation to a control transaction from the company’s major shareholder, MetroCoal. MetroCoal currently owns 57%, with China Xinfa Group 12%. CBX is focussed on developing its Cape York bauxite projects. The company is currently undertaking the work required to define a DSO resource at the Bauxite Hills project, which will reduce the need to beneficiate the bauxite and significantly reducing capital and operating costs. The halt will remain in place until the opening of trade on Wednesday 6th August 2014, or earlier if an announcement is made to the market.
Alumina Limited was downgraded by investment analysts at Deutsche Bank to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday. They currently have a $1.45 target price on the stock. Alumina Limited opened at 1.605 on Tuesday. Alumina Limited has a 52 week low of A$0.935 and a 52 week high of A$1.625. The stock has a 50-day moving average of A$1.43 and a 200-day moving average of A$1.33. The company’s market cap is A$4.504 billion. Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Analysts at Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Alumina Limited to $1.60 in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock. Alumina Limited, is an Australia-based company.
The public hearing at Lanjigarh to decide Sesa Sterlite Ltd (SSL) refinery expansion project concluded successfully in presence of district officials and the authorities of State Pollution Control Board (SPCB), a company spokesman said in a statement. The public hearing was held by SPCB on basis of SSL's fresh application for environmental clearance to expand the refinery's capacity from one Million Tonne per Annum (MTPA) to six MTPA, Additional district magistrate (ADM) of Kalahandi Sasadhara Naik said. "There was interaction with public on the issue. The statements and opinion of people of project affected areas in the public hearing have been recorded," the ADM said adding the public hearing was held in a peaceful manner. The public hearing concluded ‘successfully’ in a peaceful...
Vedanta Aluminium, controlled by billionaire Anil Agarwal, moved closer to raising its alumina refining capacity by six fold from 1 million tonnes per year (tpy) after villagers near the plant voiced no objection to the expansion. Most of the nearly 2,000 people present on Wednesday at the public hearing in Biswanathpur village of Odisha were “OK” with the project to expand the refinery, said B.K. Upadhyaya, the top bureaucrat of the district where the village is located. Vedanta Aluminium has been struggling to source sufficient bauxite to feed the 1 million tpy alumina refinery since its commissioning in August 2007. It has been buying bauxite from other states as well as importing more than 1 million tpy of alumina. Plans to mine bauxite in Odisha for the alumina refinery are on hold...
UC RUSAL, a leading global aluminium producer, announces the completion of the work to allow the Aughinish alumina refinery, Europe’s largest alumina producer, switch from heavy fuel oil to gas as its main energy source. This will reduce the sites overall environmental footprint, coupled with cash cost savings to reach USD11-13 per tonne in the second half of 2014. The three oil-fired boilers are now on standby while the two modern steam generators designed to produce a total of 300 tonnes per hour of reliable, high-pressure superheated steam have been commissioned. The shift from oil-fired boilers to gas-powered steam generators will result in the complete removal of all emissions associated with Heavy Fuel Oil. RUSAL has invested approximately EUR 15 million in the project. Steam...
During the 2nd quarter of 2014, Orbite continued the development of its HPA project with its engineering partners Seneca for detailed engineering, Groupe Alphard for project management and procurement, with Outotec for the supply of its calcination system, and with CMI for the supply of the acid recovery system for the production of high purity alumina. At its Technology Development Center (“TDC”) in Laval, Québec, the Corporation performed additional pilot trials on HPA synthesis and purification steps to optimize product quality, production yields, as well as operating costs. Equipment testing was also pursued to define operating parameters to customize product for specific applications. At the Cap-Chat HPA facility, the Corporation ran a production campaign of aluminum hexahydrate...
During the 2nd quarter of 2014, Orbite continued the development of its HPA project with its engineering partners Seneca for detailed engineering, Groupe Alphard for project management and procurement, with Outotec for the supply of its calcination system, and with CMI for the supply of the acid recovery system for the production of high purity alumina. At its Technology Development Center (“TDC”) in Laval, Québec, the Corporation performed additional pilot trials on HPA synthesis and purification steps to optimize product quality, production yields, as well as operating costs. Equipment testing was also pursued to define operating parameters to customize product for specific applications. At the Cap-Chat HPA facility, the Corporation ran a production campaign of aluminum hexahydrate...
In what should serve as a relief for Anil Agarwal's alumina project, the Odisha government will soon grant three laterite deposits that can partially feed the company's controversial refinery in Kalahandi. Raw material uncertainty has plagued Vedanta Aluminium, now merged with Sesa Sterlite, ever since August of last year when local tribals, in a first of its kind referendum ordered by the Supreme Court, rejected the mining project. Laterite, with some beneficiation and combined with the bauxite the company has been forced to import or source from Gujarat, can be used input to make alumina. According to senior official in the state and the company, the government has zeroed in on three such deposits, covering an area of 140 hectares near Jaipur, in Koraput district. "They had 5-6...
Alumina is a fine powder that is used in the manufacture of aluminum, abrasives, refractory material, and various household products. Large users of alumina often arrange to have it shipped to their plants in 100-ton capacity railcars. The quality and consistency of the alumina, which can vary within each railcar, can affect the manufacturing process. Some processes can detect and compensate for gradual changes without any significant loss of product quality. However, rapid changes may result in a significant loss of finished product because of unacceptable variations. At a plant operated by one of Jenike & Johanson’s clients, a pneumatic line conveys alumina from railcars to a 12-ft-diam storage bin. This bin was originally designed for mass flow, but the resulting first-in/first-out...
