Researchers at Trinity College Dublin are testing a new type of concrete made using red mud, a residue from alumina refining. The project, supported by Enterprise Ireland and carried out with Gannon Eco and McGrath Quarries, has progressed from laboratory research to trials using industrial batching equipment. The university reported on 22 October that the geopolymer concrete formulations reduced the carbon footprint by 67.8–79.8 per cent against a CEM II-A/L cement reference. The comparison included raw material supply, transport and manufacturing. To know the futuristic market and value proposition of red mud, explore the report " A Comprehensive Analysis of Bauxite Residue (Red Mud): Sustainability, Resource Recovery and Strategic Recommendations " Laboratory tests also found that the...
Domestic spot alumina prices edged down slightly last week amid flat trading activity. Recent alumina price movements were mainly attributed to earlier concentrated restocking by downstream buyers, which has led to accumulating inventories at rail stations and smelters. Coupled with supply-side maintenance-driven output cuts that are still building, readily available spot volumes have tightened relatively. Only sporadic tender deals were heard recently, leaving prices in a temporary steady phase. On the bauxite front, domestic ore prices saw limited movement last week. Supply-side bottlenecks are unlikely to ease in the near term, with mines prioritising captive supply, leaving little excess spot material available. For imported ore, freight rates rebounded slightly and consecutively last...
Grow with
AL Circle
The Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has allotted two weeks for the stakeholders and community groups to take a decisive step in ensuring South32’s proposed expansion at its Worsley alumina unit. South32 has extensive plans, including the creation of a bauxite transport corridor at the Boddington bauxite mine along with developing an alternative mining area. The company also plans on increasing the residue storage capacity and the maintenance activities in the refinery near Collie. This expansion of the existing mining areas might result in the deforestation of 4,399 hectares of native flora and fauna-filled landscape. South32, in the past, has claimed that developing the mine could give birth to sustainable bauxite mining, which is beneficial to the future...
Altech Chemicals Limited, one of the world’s leading suppliers of 99 per cent (4N) high purity alumina (HPA), has reported the updates on its Malaysian high purity alumina (HPA) project, highlighting KfW IPEX-Bank continues to render full support to the project and German government export credit agency Euler Hermes extends US$170 million loan cover. Other highlights include EPC contractor SMS group renews support to the HPA project and Altech is still working with Perth-based markets group Bluemount Capital to secure the USD$144million green bond offer. Altech has also apprised that project level equity funding is being advanced by the US based DelMorgan and Managing Director Iggy Tan, accompanied by executive management, has completed a visit to Europe. During the visit, Iggy Tan met...
Anglo-Australian mining group Rio Tinto stands as a recipient of various offers that are being made to construct wind and solar farms producing 4 gigawatts of energy to run its alumina and aluminium activities in Australia's Queensland region, as was declared by the company's Australia division head on August 5. The Chief Executive officer of the Rio Tinto Australian division, Kellie Parker, claimed that the company has already received 'a lot more than 4 GW' worth of provisional offers for their single-use purpose, in the long run, diminishing harmful carbon emissions. In June, as estimated by the Rio Tinto authority, its Boyne aluminium smelter, Queensland alumina refinery and Yarwun alumina refinery required a total 1,140 megawatts (MW) of reliable power and was searching for the...
According to the Indian Aluminium Institute data, alumina production in South America shrank by 5.95 per cent or 57,000 tonnes month-on-month to 901,000 tonnes in June 2022. But in May, the monthly output edged 3.03 per cent higher M-o-M from 929,000 tonnes. On a year-on-year calculation, South America's alumina output in June 2022 registered a downfall of 11.58 per cent from 1.019 million tonnes. Thus, in the three-month time (April-June), total production of alumina in South America amounted to 2.788 million tonnes, down by 2 per cent quarter-on-quarter from 2.845 million tonnes. On a year-on-year basis, the output recorded a fall as well by 12.63 per cent from 3.191 million tonnes. In the first half of 2022, alumina production in South America totalled 5.633 million tonnes – 16.95 per...
Alumina production in Europe (incl. Russia) during the second quarter of 2022 amounted to 2.098 million tonnes (incl. metallurgical-grade), reflecting a downfall of 13.66 per cent quarter-on-quarter from 2.430 million tonnes. On a year-on-year basis, the quarterly output decreased by 18.65 per cent from 2.579 million tonnes, found the International Aluminium Institute. In June 2022, alumina output in Europe (incl. Russia) stood at 693,000 tonnes, down by 4.02 per cent or 29,000 tonnes from 722,000 tonnes month-on-month. But in May, production grew by 5.7 per cent or 39,000 tonnes from 683,000 tonnes in April. Over the year, Europe’s (incl. Russia) alumina production in June 2022 recorded a plunge of 165,000 tonnes or 18.27 per cent from 848,000 tonnes, according to IAI data. Total...
In the wake of the geopolitical crisis between Russia and Ukraine, China has exported more microchips to Russia and other electronic components and raw materials, some with military applications, entangling efforts by the US and Western allies to isolate Russia's economy and paralyse its military. According to Chinese customs data, chip exports to Russia more than doubled over the previous year's first five months of 2022, while other components such as printed circuits also saw double-digit percentage increases. There is a 400-fold increase in alumina exports (aluminium oxide), the vital raw material for aluminium production and one of the essential materials in weapons production and aerospace. It is possible, however, that inflation may be partly responsible for the jump in reported...
In June 2022, alumina production in Africa & Asia (ex-China) stood at 1.141 million tonnes, bringing the total amount in the second quarter to 3.530 million tonnes, found the International Aluminium Institute. The output in Q2 recorded a quarter-on-quarter increase of 6.58 per cent from 3.312 million tonnes and a year-on-year rise of 6.68 per cent from 3.309 million tonnes. On a month-on-month basis, Africa & Asia’s (ex-China) alumina production in June 2022 registered a rise of 1.87 per cent from 1.120 million tonnes and a surge of 7.34 per cent from 1.063 million tonnes over a year. In the first six months of 2022, alumina production in Africa & Asia (ex-China) totalled 6.842 million tonnes, up by 6.01 per cent from 6.454 million tonnes during the corresponding period of last year. The...
The world alumina production in the June quarter (Q2) of 2022 totalled 35.034 million tonnes, seeing an increase of 5.79 per cent from 33.118 million tonnes during 1Q2022, found the International Aluminium Institute. But on a year-on-year basis, the world alumina output in Q2 stood 1.17 per cent lower than 35.450 million tonnes. In June 2022, the alumina output across the world amounted to 11.6 million tonnes, down by 3.8 per cent from 12.058 million tonnes a month ago and 1.24 per cent lower than 11.746 million tonnes a year earlier. In the entire first half of the year, world alumina production came in at 68.152 million tonnes – 1.79 per cent less than 69.393 million tonnes during the corresponding period of the previous year. China, being the world’s largest producer of alumina,...
On Monday, July 25, South32 has reported strong operating results for FY2022 and the June quater, with Worsley Alumina operation, one of the world’s largest refineries, booking a record annual production. As per the report, Worsley has posted a 1 per cent growth in annual production to 3.99 million tonnes at the end of June, which exceeded the company’s guidance and nameplate capacity. South32’s total alumina production in FY2022 stood at 5.288 million tonnes, down by 1 per cent from 5.361 million tonnes in the previous year, but its output in the fourth quarter grew by 3 per cent Q-o-Q to 1.361 million tonnes. Annual aluminium production, on the other hand, grew by 1 per cent over the year to 992,000 tonnes during FY2022, while the output in the June quarter improved by 5 per cent from...
The Romanian aluminium giant Alro stated that the nation's sole alumina refinery, Alum, located in Tulcea, plans for a temporary production halt by putting the cause of 'prohibitive' energy prices. During its July 20 filing to the Bucharest Stock Exchange, the management proposed for approval by the general meeting of shareholders, which will take place on July 29, 2022, a temporary suspension of alumina production operations starting from August 1, 2022, for an estimated 17-month period. Gheorghe Dobra, the CEO of Vimetco and chairman of the board of directors at Alum, said, "The energy crisis has escalated the economic crisis generated by the pandemic from 2021 as a result of the accelerated increase of the electricity and natural gas prices with a negative impact on the production...
On Wednesday, July 20, Alcoa Corporation reported an 11 per cent quarter-on-quarter increase in revenue to $3.644 million in its second quarter financial and operational results ended June 30, 2022. In Q1 2022, Alcoa’s revenue was $3.293 million, while in Q1 2021 was $2.833 million. Thus, on a year-on-year calculation, Alcoa’s revenue in 2Q22 was 28.63 per cent higher. Net income grew sequentially by 17.06 per cent to $549 million, which on a year-on-year calculation stood higher by 77.67 per cent. But adjusted net income recorded a quarter-on-quart fall by 14.04 per cent from $577 million to $496 million but a rise over the year by 76.51 per cent from $281 million. Adjusted EBITDA excluding special items also registered a Q-o-Q fall of 14.83 per cent from $1,072 million to $913 million...
Alumina production in Europe (incl. Russia) stood at 722,000 tonnes during May 2022, which registered an increase of 39,000 tonnes or 5.71 per cent month-on-month, found the International Aluminium Institute. However, in April, alumina production in Europe plunged by 86,000 tonnes or 11.18 per cent M-o-M from 769,000 tonnes to 683,000 tonnes. On a year-on-year calculation, alumina production in Europe (incl. Russia) during May 2022 recorded a sharp decline of 19.06 per cent from 892,000 tonnes. From January-May 2022, alumina output in Europe (incl. Russia) totalled 3.835 million tonnes, down by 10.96 per cent from 4.307 million tonnes during the same period last year. Of the total production of alumina in Europe during May 2022, metallurgical-grade output was 551,000 tonnes, up by 6.37...
June 2022 witnessed the commissioning of 8.45 million tonnes of new alumina capacities in China, including Jingxi Tiangui’s Phase II project with 850,000 tonnes of capacity, Bosai Wanzhou with 4.8 million tonnes, Hebei Wenfeng with 2.4 million tonnes, and Aokaida Chemial with 400,000 tonnes. Another 4.45 million tonnes of alumina capacity is also expected to come into production, bringing a total amount of 12.9 million tonnes of new capacity this year. Given the commissioning of new alumina capacities, high-cost alumina refineries are likely to face huge pressure, especially those located far away from ports like the ones in Shanxi, Henan and Guizhou. On the other hand, refineries in inland areas like Shandong, Guangxi and Hebei will lack cost advantages over their competitors,...
An association and nine victims together representing around 11,000 indigenous families from the north-eastern Brazilian river port of Barcarena sued Hydro, its seven subsidiaries and shareholders out of which six are based in the Netherlands over alleged spillage from the Alunorte plant for at least 20 years. On the other side, the sole Romanian calcined alumina producer has decided to halt its operations from 1 st August 2022 due to soaring electricity and natural gas price. On 24 th June 2022, the Norwegian aluminium company Norsk Hydro was accused in a Dutch court, imputing the world’s biggest alumina refinery polluting a Brazilian river for years, engendering critical health issues for inhabitants. According to our report, one of the suitor’s lawyers said, “A lot of people have...
In the first quarter of 2022, the United States imported 445,000 tonnes of alumina, recording a quarter-on-quarter hike of 8.27 per cent or 34,000 tonne from 411,000 tonnes. On a year-on-year basis, the imports during the said quarter grew by 6.97 per cent from 416,000 tonnes, showed the US Census Bureau data. Brazil, the highest exporter of primary aluminium raw materials to the US, supplied 319,000 tonnes of alumina in Q1, compared to 341,000 tonnes in the previous quarter. That showed a Q-o-Q downfall of 6.45 per cent despite the rise in the United States total imports in the first quarter. On a year-on-year calculation, the US alumina imports from Brazil surged by 45 per cent from 220,000 tonnes. Spain emerged as the second leading exporter of alumina to the US in 1Q2022, supplying...
The electricity and natural gas price surge has led the sole Romanian alumina producer to temporarily suspend operations. According to a report on Thursday, June 30, Alum Tulcea, an alumina refinery controlled indirectly by Vimetco through the aluminium producer Alro Slatina will halt production from August 1, 2022. The refinery has claimed that import will be cheaper at the present scenario than producing the aluminium ore. The leader of trade union from Alum Tulcea has reported that out of over 700 employees, 259 will retain the job. As per the report, Alro and Alum will bring imported alumina through the port of Constanta. "Under the new conditions of activity at Alum, the organizational chart of the company was revised, taking into account the maintenance of a core of specialists from...
Vedanta Limited’s Lanjigarh unit, India’s premier producer of metallurgical grade alumina, has received a prestigious recognition from the Kalinga Environment Excellence Award 2021 for being consistent to its commitment and contribution towards environmental sustainability. The award acknowledges Vedanta Lanjigarh’s unique approach towards environmental sustainability like Zero Harm, and Zero Waste and Zero Discharge. These initiatives are multi-dimensional aiming at reducing carbon, managing energy, and conserving water and biodiversity. Some of the best-in-class technologies adopted by Vedanta for environmental sustainability include: Development of a bauxite residue filtration unit for effective waste management High concentrated slurry disposal and dry fog systems to improve air...
In Africa & Asia (ex-China), alumina production during May 2022 extended growth by 2.63 per cent month-on-month to stand at 1.210 million tonnes, according to the International Aluminium Institute. In April 2022, alumina output in the region was 1.179 million tonnes after seeing a rise of 8.36 per cent from 1.088 million tonnes in March. On a year-on-year basis, alumina production in Africa & Asia (ex-China) during May’22 recorded a hike of 6.70 per cent from 1.134 million tonnes. In the first five months of the year (January-May), alumina output in Africa & Asia (ex-China) totalled 5.701 million tonnes, reflecting a rise of 5.75 per cent from 5.391 million tonnes during the corresponding period of the last year. World alumina production during May 2022 came in at 11.728 million tonnes,...
