Chevron Australia has entered a new natural gas supply agreement with South32’s Worsley Alumina business, reinforcing the importance of reliable energy supplies to Australia’s alumina refining industry. The deal will support operations at the Western Australian facility, where energy availability remains central to mineral processing and industrial activity. Under the contract, Chevron will supply natural gas to South32 Worsley Alumina Pty Ltd from 1 January 2028. The arrangement continues a longstanding commercial relationship between the companies, with the fuel allocated to the alumina producer’s processing requirements. Explore the production, demand and consumption forecasts of bauxite and alumina in our report: " Global Bauxite & Alumina Market Forecast to 2036: Supply–Demand, Trade...
Rio Tinto and Rondo Energy have commenced front-end engineering and design for a 30 MW/360 MWh thermal energy storage project at the Yarwun alumina refinery near Gladstone, Queensland, marking a potential milestone in the use of heat batteries to reduce emissions from alumina refining. The Rondo Heat Battery will store energy as high-temperature heat in refractory bricks and supply continuous process heat to support Rio Tinto’s alumina refining operations. If progressed, the project would be one of the first large-scale demonstrations of thermal energy storage for industrial process heat globally and a world-first for the alumina industry. Heat batteries target round-the-clock industrial demand Australia regularly experiences four to six hours of surplus solar-generated renewable...
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The average spot alumina price in China has dropped by RMB 21 per tonne or 0.93 per cent on Friday, 03 April 2020, after a decline of RMB 66 per tonne on Thursday. The price now stands at RMB 2246 per tonne today. The drop in alumina prices has continued in all other major markets in China, except South. The average prices of Alumina-East and Alumina-Central have reduced by RMB 7 per tonne and RMB 15 per tonne to stand at RMB 2260 per tonne each. Their average prices are expected to range at RMB 2240-2280 per tonne and RMB 2240-2280 per tonne. The price in North stands at RMB 2230 per tonne, down RMB 20 per tonne. South China markets remain unchanged at RMB 2520 per tonne. Aluminium Fluoride price in China stands at RMB 9300 per tonne, down RMB 200 per tonne after remaining flat at RMB...
After continuous declines in the second half of the last month, the average alumina spot price in China started the fourth month of 2020 with a downfall of RMB 10 per tonne, and today on the second day the fall extended by RMB 66 per tonne to stand as low as RMB 2,267 per tonne, found Shanghai Metals Market. The weaker demand for domestic alumina in the Chinese market has been pushing the price down. Also, the decline in alumina export from China has resulted in higher stocks while the demand is low. So, the combination of higher inventories and lower demand has further triggered the downward trend of the alumina price in China. Today, on April 2, the north China has seen the highest downfall in alumina spot price by about RMB 70 per tonne to RMB 2,250 per tonne, followed by the central...
The average spot alumina price in China has extended drop by RMB 10 per tonne from Tuesday to stand at RMB 2333 per tonne on Wednesday, 01 April 2020. Alumina prices have decreased across in East and Central markets in China. The prices of alumina in East and Central markets have dropped by RMB 20 per tonne and RMB 10 per tonne to stand at RMB 2330 per tonne and RMB 2340 per tonne. Alumina-North and Alumina-South remain unchanged at RMB 2320 per tonne and RMB 2520 per tonne. Australian alumina FOB price stands USD 6 per tonne lower at USD 252 per tonne on Wednesday, 01 April 2020. A00 aluminium ingot price stands RMB 40 per tonne higher at RMB 11520 per tonne on April 1, from its previous price of RMB 11480 per tonne. This marks the second consecutive hike in aluminium price. The price is...
It has been a major development as the first biggest layoff warning call involving a production plant due to the COVID-19 epidemic. The management of the plant declared almost all of its 302 employees would be laid off. A letter to the employees dated 30 th March’20 has been delivered which stated clearly the layoffs might be temporary. The company also stated: "We are notifying you that in the period between May 24th and June 7th, you will be laid off. Given the unknown duration of this layoff, we are providing you with this notice pursuant to the Worker Adjustment Retraining Notification Act, should it apply. Bumping rights, if any, will be handled in accordance with the Collective Bargaining Agreement." The managers of the plant said, “the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic...
Since the middle of March, the average alumina spot price has been incessantly trending down, and today is of no exception. According to Shanghai Metals Market, the alumina spot price in China has shrunk by RMB 33 per tonne to stand at RMB 2,370 per tonne, as of Monday, March 30. The decline rate is 1.37 per cent compared to 0.74 per cent on the previous day, March 27. Month-on-month, the average alumina spot price is down by 195 per tonne, as of today. In the north, the price has decreased the highest today by RMB 35 per tonne to RMB 2,365 per tonne, followed by the decline of RMB 30 per tonne to RMB 2,380 per tonne in the central. In the east, the average alumina spot price has plunged by RMB 20 per tonne to stand at RMB 2,380 per tonne, as of March 30. Backed on the decline in alumina...
Vedanta’s Alumina Refinery at Lanjigarh has remained operational while adapting all precautionary measures against COVID-19 as advised by the Government and the health authorities. Considering the danger of the situation in the wake the spread of Corona, the alumina refinery is active with reduced workforce and resources ensuring the COVID-19 guidelines issued by the Central and State Authorities. The higher management of the alumina plant has secured all due permissions from the concerned authorities to continue its operations, with all the precautionary and preventive measures in place. The plant is running in complete harmony with the steps taken by the State Government and the local bodies and has ensured social distancing, sanitization, hygiene, restricted movement etc., within the...
The average alumina spot price in China on the last day of the week, dated March 27, has recorded a downfall of RMB 18 per tonne to stand at RMB 2,403 per tonne. In the east and north, the price has dwindled by RMB 20 per tonne to RMB 2,400 per tonne, while that in the central has plunged by RMB 15 per tonne to RMB 2,410 per tonne. In the south, however, the price has registered no change from RMB 2,520 per tonne. The imported alumina price has decreased by RMB 10 per to come in at RMB 2,420 per tonne. The Australian alumina FOB price has neither been an exception and recorded a dip of US$ 2 per tonne to stand at US$ 267 per tonne. The A00 aluminium ingot price, on the other hand, has remained restrained at RMB 11,520 per tonne, after two consecutive rises of RMB 300 per tonne in total....
GEA has secured a follow-up contract from Utkal Alumina, a 100% subsidiary of Aditya Birla Group Company Hindalco to build a third line of multi-stage falling film evaporators. GEA, the world-renowned state-of-art evaporation technology provider has already supplied the first two evaporator lines with a capacity of 310 tonnes per hour each to this refinery. These evaporator lines had been commissioned in 2013. The evaporation unit removes water added to the process from residue washing, product washing, and other various sources. The so-called alumina spent liquor is concentrated and then used again for the digestion of the bauxite rock. The evaporation plant is designed to operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year in continuous operation with sufficient cleaning frequency. The execution of...
In the annual general meeting of DUBAL Holding LLC, on Wednesday, March 25, H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance, praised the company’s good operational performance during 2019. He also mentioned Dubal’s 50 per cent subsidiary firm EGA and its great performance despite huge challenging market conditions and drop in aluminium price on the global stock exchange. Sheikh Hamdan briefed on the production performance of EGA Al Taweelah Alumina Refinery, which commenced production in April 2019 and recorded an output of 1.1 million tonnes during the year. While briefing on EGA’s bauxite mining project at the Republic of Guinea, he mentioned that it started in August 2019 and mined a total of 1.7 million tonnes in the year. He also spoke about...
The average spot alumina price stands at RMB 2421 per tonne on Thursday, 26 March 2020, a drop of RMB 28 per tonne or 1.14 per cent from RMB 2449 per tonne. The alumina prices in China have decreased in all major markets except South. The average prices of Alumina-East and Alumina-Central have dropped by RMB 20 per tonne and RMB 30 per tonne to stand at RMB 2420 per tonne and RMB 2425 per tonne. Their average prices are expected to range at RMB 2400-2440 per tonne and RMB 2400-2450 per tonne. North Central price stands at RMB 2420 per tonne. The price in South China markets remains unchanged at RMB 2520 per tonne. Alumina (Imported) price has declined to RMB 2430 per tonne, representing a decrease of RMB 20 per tonne or 0.82 per cent from RMB 2450 per tonne. The average price is expected...
The impact of the Coronavirus outbreak is seen in China’s alumina exports as well. During January-February this year, China could export as minimum as 30,000 tonnes of alumina in total, down 82.7 per cent from the same period last year, according to China Customs data. Along with the export amount, China’s alumina export value decreased as well by about 83.1 per cent year-on-year to stand at RMB 97.39 million during January-February 2020, showed the data. Separately, China’s exports of unwrought aluminium and aluminium semi-finished products hovered at 669,208 tonnes in the first two months of the year, down 25.3 per cent from a year earlier. The export value was lower by 21.5 per cent standing at RMB 12,898.21 million. China’s imports of unwrought aluminium and aluminium semis, however,...
The average alumina spot price has extended decline by RMB 33 per tonne to stand as low as RMB 2,498 per tonne, as of Tuesday, March 24, found Shanghai Metals Market. In the east and central, the price has inched down by RMB 40 per tonne to hover at RMB 2,500 per tonne and RMB 2,510 per tonne, respectively. In the north, the price has decreased by RMB 30 per tonne to RMB 2,500 per tonne, but that in the south has remained restrained at RMB 2,520 per tonne. The imported alumina price has fallen today by RMB 70 per tonne to RMB 2,510 per tonne after remaining restrained throughout the month until March 23 at RMB 2,580 per tonne. The average imported alumina prices today are expected to range between RMB 2,480 per tonne and RMB 2,540 per tonne. <iframe width="500" height="300"...
UC Rusal, the Global Aluminium Producer, has been operating Windalco Alumina in St Catherine has declared safety measures in relation to the spread of COVID-19. The company came out with clear communication that in order to ensure the health and safety of all employees effective 17 th March’20, employees from head office and staff who are not involved in the production process will be working from home. The rest of the operations will remain to be continued without any interruption. The company outlined that exceptions will only be made in the instance when the tasks cannot be performed without coming to the office. As per a company spokesperson: “Only those employees whose presence is indispensable to ensure the production is uninterrupted will be present at the production sites.” The...
While the entire nation is preparing for battling the lethal COVID-19, the news comes that even Vedanta’s Lanjigarh alumina refinery is conducting awareness and sensitization programmes in the community on account of the virus outbreak. The team has already reached out to more than 14 villages for raising awareness on the disease. Mr. Rakesh Mohan, Chief Operating Officer of Vedanta’s Lanjigarh unit, has reportedly urged the team to offer dedicated service on raising awareness. He said, “In these dire circumstances, Vedanta is taking a proactive step to raise awareness on preventive measures against Corona Virus. Our aim is to ensure that the communities are aware of the outbreak and take optimal measures to prevent contracting it. I urge the community to stand strong at these times and...
According to Shanghai Metals Market, the average spot alumina price has further recorded a decline of RMB 2 per tonne to stand at RMB 2,564 per tonne, as of Friday, March 20. In the north, the price has dwindled by RMB 5 per tonne to RMB 2,570 per tonne. In the east, central, and south, however, the price has remained restrained, respectively, at RMB 2,565 per tonne, RMB 2,575 per tonne, and RMB 2,520 per tonne. The Australian alumina FOB price has declined by US$ 10 per tonne to US$ 293 per tonne, after remaining restrained at US$ 303 per tonne for the past two days. The A00 aluminium ingot price, on the other hand, has recorded a hike today after three consecutive declines ranging from RMB 12,740 per tonne to RMB 11,730 per tonne. The A00 aluminium ingot price today, on March 20, has...
After remaining restrained for a day, the average alumina spot price in China is back with a drop of RMB 2 per tonne to RMB 2,566 per tonne, found Shanghai Metals Market. In the east, the price has declined by RMB 10 per tonne to RMB 2,565 per tonne; while in the other parts of China, the price chose to remain unchanged, respectively, at RMB 2,575 per tonne and RMB 2,520 per tonne. The Australian alumina FOB price also continues to remain restrained at US$ 303 per tonne, as of Thursday, March 19. The A00 aluminium ingot price, on the other hand, has seen a plunge like never before. According to SMM data, the price has crashed down by RMB 790 per tonne to come to the lowest at RMB 11,730 per tonne, attributing to the muted demand and transaction amongst downstream consumers amid COVID-19....
According to Shanghai Metals Market, the average alumina spot price in China has extended drop today, March 17, for the second day in a row by RMB 5 per tonne to RMB 2,568 per tonne. In the north, the price has declined by RMB 10 per tonne to RMB 2,575 per tonne, while that in the east, central, and south has continued to remain restraint at RMB 2,575 per tonne and RMB 2,520 per tonne, respectively. The drop in average alumina spot price could be attributed to the recovery of availability in the domestic market with the ease of logistics disruption. Moreover, securing alumina from overseas instead of using the domestic raw material is perhaps pushing the price down. An increase in the demand for imported alumina, on the other hand, has lifted the price of Australian alumina FOB by US$ 1...
After remaining restrained at RMB 2,575 per tonne last week, the average alumina spot price has recorded a dip today, on March 16, by RMB 2 per tonne to RMB 2,573 per tonne, found Shanghai Metals Market. In the north, the price has decreased by RMB 5 per tonne to RMB 2,585 per tonne, while in the east, central, and south remained unchanged at RMB 2,575 per tonne and RMB 2,520 per tonne, respectively. The Australian alumina FOB price has also recorded a plunge of US$ 2 per tonne to US$ 302 per tonne after a week-long restraint. But despite the drop in alumina price in the Chinese spot market, the price of A00 aluminium ingot has increased by RMB 90 per tonne to stand at RMB 12,740 per tonne, after five consecutive days of decline ranging between RMB 12,830 per tonne and RMB 12,650 per...
