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 rose in November as new capacity came on stream, Shanghai Metals Market has learned. Production hit 3.8 million tonnes last month, up 29% year-on-year. Output throughout the first eleven months totaled 40.7 million tonnes, also an increase of 17% from a year ago, according to the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association (CNIA). New aluminum capacities came online in Xinjiang, Qinghai, Inner Mongolia and Chongqing, boosting alumina demand. In response, Shanxi Xinfa Chemical Co., Chalco (Huaxing) Aluminum Co., Henan Xiangjiang Wanji Aluminum Co. and Shandong Weiqiao Group put new alumina capacities into operation, contributing to the production growth. New alumina capacity in China exceeded 7 million tpy in 2013, bringing the country’s total alumina capacity to...
A purchase order shows Libertas Copper will pay about $3 million for approximately 430 metric tons of copper rods from bankrupt aluminum producer Ormet Corp., while the sale of Ormet's former Burnside, La. alumina refinery to Almatis Inc. is complete. The company continues selling the raw materials needed to manufacture aluminum in an effort to pay off its debts. Judge Mary Walrath of the U.S. District Bankruptcy Court in Delaware approved the sale to Libertas after Ormet attorneys conducted an auction for the copper rods, court records show. Court records indicate Ormet has permission to sell alumina - which becomes aluminum through the smelting process - to Switzerland-based Trafigura for $281 per metric ton. Ormet was also scheduled to auction off carbon anodes on Thursday, but there...
Morgan Advanced Materials, a leading supplier of high purity Alumina custom-made, high precision ceramic components, provided a prototype plasma cavity for the Helicon Double Layer Thruster (HDLT), a new gas plasma space engine for use on satellites being developed by the Australian National University (ANU). Gas plasma engines are used in electric propulsion, a technology becoming more and more popular, because it uses "greener" propellants, rather than more toxic chemicals. Engineers at Morgan provided design feedback and a review of tolerances before developing the cavity prototype, made of its proprietary material, AL300, a high purity alumina known for its excellent electrical properties. After developing an in-house process to produce the components, Morgan was able to achieve first...
Indopura Resources, a joint venture between companies from Indonesia, Singapore, and China, started the construction of its $500 million chemical grade alumina plant in Kubu, West Kalimantan, in an attempt to tap rich bauxite resources in the region. Indonesia is seeking to reap more added value from its rich mineral resources, with a planned mineral ore export ban starting Jan. 14. The government issued a ministerial decree banning exports of some raw minerals — including bauxite — that would require the country’s miners to process their mineral ore before exporting. “We are committed to investing in bauxite refinery in West Kalimantan, which has bauxite deposits of about 4.3 billion tons,” M. Arief Winata, Indopura’s managing director told reporters in a ground-breaking ceremony on...
A central Queensland refinery has been fined more than $100,000 for releasing damaging aerosol spray last year. Queensland Alumina Limited (QAL) pleaded guilty in the Gladstone Magistrates Court to allowing the release of caustic aerosol spray from its refinery in November 2012. The spray damaged cars and houses nearby. QAL has already paid out more than $100,000 in compensation. Yesterday, the company was ordered to pay a fine of $125,000, plus $9,000 in legal costs. State Environment Minister Andrew Powell says it sends a clear message to the industry. "Those companies that do the wrong thing will be caught, there are consequences, we will prosecute, and as this case shows there are significant penalties," he said. A conviction has been recorded against QAL.
Rio Tinto has revealed that its Gove alumina refinery in the Northern Territory will be closed by July next year, throwing more than 1,000 people out of work. The mining giant today briefed its 1,400 refinery workers on the timeline for the shutdown. In a statement, federal Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane said it would be business as usual at the refinery until February. Rio Tinto will then start a planned and staged suspension of refinery operations until July. Mr Macfarlane and Territory Chief Minister Adam Giles have both called on the big miner to release its social and economic study about the expected local impact of the closure to the public. But Rio Tinto says its study is at a preliminary stage and a consultant is expanding the information to reflect community feedback. Mr...
The Federal Government is coming under increased pressure from the Northern Territory for offering a rescue package for Holden workers in southern states while doing little to help people hit by the looming closure of the Gove alumina refinery. Territory Labor MP Warren Snowdon says while he supports the Holden assistance package the people of Gove have been offered nothing. More than 1,000 workers in the town of Nhulunbuy, which has a population of about 4,000, will lose their jobs when Rio Tinto mothballs the refinery next year. The Federal Government has pledged to provide $60 million directly to South Australia and Victoria to help communities affected by the Holden closure in four years' time. No monetary assistance has yet been offered to Rio Tinto workers at Gove. Mr Snowdon says...
Utkal Alumina, a unit of the Aditya Birla Group has been promoting ’Maa Ganga Devi’, a self-help group (SHG). It helps village women in Kucheipadar and Dwimundi villages in Kashipur block , Rayagada district get training to start small businesses. They get a sum of Rs. 18,000 as initial working capital to open a grocery shop. Today, village women can earn Rs. 2,000 a month from grocery shops and live a life of dignity. Many other women from Kucheipadar and Dwimundi villages in Kashipur block have benefitted from the SHG promoted by Utkal Alumina. These women were mostly illiterate and had neither the skills nor the courage to start something on their own. But Utkal Alumina has brought a ray of light into their lives. Apart from imparting training, Utkal Alumina has conducted gradation of...
Almatis, a German company, has purchased a Burnside alumina refinery out of bankruptcy. Details of Almatis’ purchase of the refinery, which had been owned by Ormet Corp., were not disclosed. But in November, a U.S. bankruptcy court judge in Delaware approved Almatis’ $39 million bid to buy the plant. The plant manufactures the primary raw material used in aluminum production. “Almatis is committed to make additional investments in the refinery to ensure its success as a dedicated specialty producer,” said Taco Gerbranda, Almatis’ chief executive officer. “This is a major investment for the future of Almatis that will enable us to better manage and secure our long-term feedstock supply, and strengthen our ability to provide our customers with premium specialty alumina products.” The...
Analysts predict that China's alumina output may reach 44.5 million tonnes in 2013, 18 percent higher than the last year; the capacity may reach 60 million tonnes, increased by 10%. According to the current situation, with the increase of domestic output, the import of alumina will decline. In the first three quarters, the total import amount was 2,475,957 tonnes, declined by 28.4% compared with 3,440,526 tonnes of last year. By the end of this year, the total import amount will be 310,000 tonnes to 340,000 tonnes, declined aboutby 30%. In the first three quarters, the supply deficit was 2 million tonnes; by the end of this year, it will reach 3 million tonnes.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says he expects Labor to be blamed by the government for an anticipated 2013/14 budget deficit of $50 billion. When the midyear financial review is released on Tuesday, it is being tipped that an extra $20 billion will have been added to Treasury's independent pre-election deficit prediction of $30.1 billion. While in Western Australia to visit the Alcoa alumina refinery in Kwinana, Mr Shorten told reporters he expected the government would try to shift blame for the climbing deficit on the previous administration. 'Here is my prediction - the Abbott government will spend all of tomorrow blaming Labor for everything,' Mr Shorten said. 'But they are the government now. They have got to stop blaming everyone else. The buck stops with them. 'They have got to...
The alumina market which has been in structural overcapacity since 2007 will stay this way for the foreseeable future, Trafigura’s head of non-ferrous and bulk commodities Simon Collins said in the trading company’s first publically available report. A general lack of volatility restricted trading opportunities during the year, he said adding that the overcapacity will continue to keep the market challenging for some time. “Oversupply drove down domestic prices in China and alumina imports fell by more than a third. The alumina desk faced tough conditions in 2013 , trading over two million tonnes during the year,” Collins said. China, accounts for 50% of global alumina production, but with the expansion in smelting capacity in the country China remains a net importer of alumina. The...
Alumina exports were up 26.3% year-on-year in November as a result of increased trade with Europe. Exports totalled 603,792 tonnes, compared with 478,056 tonnes in November 2012. Revenues for the month stood at $151.78 million, from $118.97 million a year ago. Norway acquired 163,938 tonnes, reporting an increase from 108,990 tonnes in November 2012. Iceland ordered 136,485 tonnes, from 4,186 tonnes last year. Canada reduced its volumes to 135,144 tonnes, compared with 206,978 tonnes a year earlier. In the January-November period of 2013, alumina exports totalled 6.45 million tonnes, down 3.4% on the year.
Senior union officials are in Nhulunbuy in the Northern Territory to press Rio Tinto to clarify details about shutting down the Gove alumina refinery. Rio Tinto announced last month that it would be mothballing the refinery next year. Australian Manufacturing Workers Union national secretary Paul Bastian will be in Gove today to meet union members and company officials. Union organiser Bryan Wilkins says the residents of Nhulunbuy have a right to know what's planned. "We will be trying to get some timelines out of Rio management," he said. "We have had a lot of verbal discussions but nothing set in concrete at this stage. "This is adding to the uncertainty for not only people who work at the refinery but the rest of the residents at Nhulunbuy." Mr Bastian compared the problems facing the...
Vietnam’s alumina exports to China were expected to rise further in 2014 as new capacity comes on stream, Shanghai Metals Market has learned. July marked the first time that China ever imported alumina from Vietnam when inbound shipments of the raw material hit 14,944 tonnes. China imported another 54,882 tonnes from the country during the following three months, data from Chinese customs office showed. China was expected to source more alumina from Vietnam in 2014 due to new capacity entering operation and lower prices, SMM’ aluminum analyst Jimmy Liu said. Tan Rai alumina refinery in Vietnam’s Lam Dong province, with a capacity of 650,000 tonnes per year, was commissioned in 2013. Another alumina plant Nhan Co. – a JV between the country’s largest mining firm Vietnam National Coal &...
China’s alumina imports hit a yearly high in November on lower overseas prices and stocking demand from northwest China, Shanghai Metals Market has learned. Inbound shipments of the raw material climbed by 1.25% from a year ago to 550,000 tonnes last month, data from Chinese customs office showed. This marked a third straight month of growth. Imports during the first eleven months, however, fell by 24.65% year-on-year to 3.49 million tonnes. New aluminum capacity came on stream in northwest China, boosting demand for the raw material. Meanwhile, imported alumina proved more appealing for domestic aluminum smelters after its prices fell. Prices of imported alumina at Lianyungang port slipped by 100 yuan per tonne or 3.73% from a year ago to 2,579 yuan ($422.04) per tonne in November....
Europe's highest court on Tuesday told a lower court to re-examine a long-running dispute between France, Italy and Ireland and EU competition regulators over whether millions of euros in state aid granted to the alumina sector was legal. The European Commission, the EU executive in charge of ensuring a level playing field in the 28-country European Union, in its 2005 finding said tax exemptions given by the three authorities to the industry distorted the market. Mineral oil used for producing alumina, used in aluminum manufacture, would normally be subject to excise duty, but has been exempt from the charge in Ireland since 1983, in Italy since 1993 and in France since 1997. The case later went to the General Court, Europe's second-highest, which overturned the Commission's decision...
French scientists have managed to produce hydrogen by accelerating natural processes taking place in rocks deep below the Earth’s surface, possibly opening new avenues for hydrogen production. The team from the University Claude Bernard in Lyon, France, used aluminium oxide to speed up the process by which hydrogen is naturally produced when water interacts with olivine, a common type of rock, under high temperatures and pressures found deep underground. Published recently in the journal American Mineralogist, the discovery could pave the way for considerably cheaper hydrogen production. Used in rockets and in battery-like fuel cells, hydrogen is being widely researched as a non-polluting fuel. Fuel cells, which meld hydrogen with oxygen in the air to yield electricity, emit only water,...
