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...
Grow with
AL Circle
Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) has reportedly entered the final stages of commissioning for its Al Taweelah refinery. The first alumina production at the plant is expected to be in the first half of this year. Abdulla Kalban, managing director and chief executive of EGA said in a statement on Monday: “We are making good progress with the complex process of commissioning the refinery.” He also said, “We are looking forward to beginning production and ramping up this project, which, along with our Guinea mine, will transform EGA into an integrated global aluminium producer.” Commissioning is a detailed process of testing equipment and systems in a new plant before start-up. In December, EGA had announced the completion of commissioning process of the calcination section of its alumina...
The US Treasury Department announced on Sunday, January 27, that it removed sanctions on Rusal, the Russian energy giant that owns Aughinish Alumina in Limerick, in a move welcomed by the Irish Government. In December, the US Treasury had announced its intention to remove the sanctions against Rusal, the Russian parent company of Aughinish Alumina, but on a condition that Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska had to relinquish control of the company. So, as part of the deal, the three Deripaska companies - Rusal, En+ and power firm EuroSibEnergo agreed to restructure to reduce Deripaska’s stakes. Following the board restructuring agreement, Rusal’s board chairman Mattias Warnig also resigned from his post, as per the report from Reuters. The Irish Government had also lobbied US officials to...
According to a recent report, Altech Chemicals has secured the development order for construction of its high purity alumina plant in Johor, Malaysia. Site establishment works such as hoarding of the entire site, establishment of the site office, and construction of access ways are now thus underway. Following this, stage 1 construction works will start. The stage 1 construction works include bulk earthworks, construction of retaining walls, and a maintenance workshop. Management said most of the works have been outsourced to German engineering, procurement and construction contractor, the SMS group. The site layout and building design was finalised in early November last year, based on the recently completed site geotechnical survey, as reported. The final site layout comprises three...
According to a report, FLSmidth has signed a contract with Hindalco (UAI) to supply machinery and equipment for the extension of Utkal Alumina International’s (UAI) refinery in Odisha, India. UAI is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hindalco Industries and flagship metal company of the Aditya Birla Group, the world’s largest aluminium rolling company and one of the biggest producers of primary aluminium. Recently, when Hindalco and FLSmidth finalised the contract in a meeting, Rakesh Mohan, Vertical Head Projects, MCoE, Hindalco, Mumbai, said that he was very pleased and proud to have decided to choose FLSmidth for all the critical parts of the project. Ander Bech, Regional President for FLSmidth, said: “Hindalco is a global major in the field of aluminium with world-class operating...
Vietnam, the emerging alumina producing hub on the shores of the South China Sea, has recorded an increase in its offshore alumina sales over the last three years. In fact, as suggested by the available international trade data, the alumina export by Vietnam has become more than double since 2015. The increase has been made possible due to enhanced overseas sales activities of Vinacomin, Vietnam’s largest mining company. As per data, Vietnam in 2017 had exported 903,654 tonnes of alumina. In contrast to this, the export volume in 2018 was at 1.2 million tonnes, marking a year-on-year rise by 32 per cent. The year 2019 is expected to see further growth in Vietnam's alumina export volume to 1.49 million tonnes, up 65 per cent from 2017 and 24 per cent from 2018. Of this total export,...
China exported 177,430 tonnes of alumina in December, down 37.9 per cent month-on-month. The country’s export of alumina was at 285,696 tonnes in November. The volume was up more than 3,700 per cent from December 2017. China’s total exports of alumina in 2018 stood at 1.46 million tonnes, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs on Wednesday. Alumina producers cashed in on a favourable price arbitrage to international markets last year, as an outage at Hydro’s Alunorte alumina refinery, a strike at Alcoa’s alumina operations and sanctions on Rusal led to a global supply squeeze, Reuters reported. International alumina prices decreased by around 30 percent over the fourth quarter, reducing the incentive for Chinese producers to export. On the import side, China...
Average spot alumina price in China further dropped to RMB 2836 per tonne on January 22, down RMB18 per tonne from RMB 2854 per tonne as on January 21.The spot price is expected to range within RMB 2836 per tonne today. Alumina-central and alumina –east declined by RMB 20 per tonne and RMB 30 per tonne to stand at RMB 2860 per tonne and RMB 2880 per tonne. Alumina-north stood at RMB 2800 per tonne. The Australian alumina FOB price and alumina (Chalco) remained unchanged at US$ 387 per tonne and RMB 3250 per tonne. In another update from SMM, the A00 aluminium ingot price declined RMB 70 per tonne to RMB 13340 per tonne. The average price today is expected to range between RMB 13320 per tonne and RMB 13360 per tonne, with spot discounts to settle at RMB 70-30 per tonne. Aluminium ingot...
Rio Tinto’s alumina production for the fourth quarter of 2018 was three per cent lower than the fourth quarter of 2017. Compared to Q3 2018, alumina production registered a hike by 2 per cent. The company produced 2 million tonnes of alumina in Q4 2018. For the full year , alumina production stood at 7.9 million tonnes. Alumina production in 2018 was two per cent lower than 2017, primarily due to the timing of maintenance shutdowns. Rio Tinto’s expected share of alumina production in 2019 is between 8.1 to 8.4 million tonnes. Rio Tinto chief executive J-S Jacques said: “We delivered a solid operational performance in the final quarter of 2018, in particular across our copper assets. During the year, we further strengthened our asset portfolio, continuing to invest in high quality growth....
Average spot alumina price in China dropped from RMB 2862 per tonne to RMB 2854 per tonne on January 18. The spot price is expected to range within RMB 2854 per tonne today. Alumina-central is down by RMB 20 per tonne to stand at RMB 2880 per tonne. The price is expected to range between RMB 2860 per tonne and RMB 2900 per tonne today. The price in the east and north is hovering at RMB 2910 per tonne and RMB 2820 per tonne, while that in the south is at RMB 2860 per tonne respectively. The Australian alumina FOB price and alumina (Chalco) remained unchanged at US$ 387 per tonne and RMB 3250 per tonne. In another update from SMM, the A00 aluminium ingot price increased further to RMB 13360 per tonne, up by RMB 60 per tonne from RMB 13300 per tonne. The average price today is expected to...
Diversified miner South32 has reportedly achieved a solid production performance in the December quarter, with production guidance for the full year to June 2019 remaining unchanged for all operations except Illawara Metallurgical Coal. South32 CEO Graham Kerr said today, on January 17, “We achieved a strong quarter of production, maintaining full-year guidance for all operations with the exception of Illawara metallurgical coal, where improved longwall performance has underpinned a 7% increase to our prior estimate.” Per the company’s report, alumina production in the second quarter of FY2018-2019 increased 19 per cent to 1.3 million tonnes, compared to 1.1 million tonnes in the first quarter. In Q2 of FY2017-2018, the company’s alumina production was at 1.2 million tonnes. Now,...
The US Senate reportedly failed in its attempt on Wednesday evening, January 16, to block the agreement to lift sanctions against Rusal, the parent company of Aughinish Alumina. With this arrived an immense relief among nearly 400 Aughinish workers in Limerick. The news came when a junior minister reported this and said: “Workers at Aughinish Alumina in Limerick can breathe a huge sigh of relief." In late December, the Trump administration had announced its intention to remove sanctions against Rusal, following which the company agreed to significantly reduce Deripaska’s stakes and sever his control. The decision was welcomed by Irish officials as well who lobbied intensively for the sanctions to be lifted. However, fresh concerns arose when the US Democrats expressed their opposition to...
A press release from Hydro confirms that the environmental agency in the state of Pará, SEMAS has lifted the ban on Alunorte Alumina refinery’s 50% operational capacity. SEMAS, has issued a technical note to Hydro which says that Hydro Alunorte can safely resume normal operations and the production embargo has hence, been lifted. "SEMAS decision is an important recognition that Alunorte’s operations are safe. We will continue the dialogue with the authorities pursuing full resumption of production," says John Thuestad, EVP of the Bauxite and Alumina business area. Recently professors from the Federal University of Campina Grande, recognized as a specialist in the field of chemical engineering in Brazil completed a study on the bauxite residue management process of Alunorte and concluded...
A vote will be reportedly held today, on January 16, on a move to block the lifting of sanctions affecting Aughinish Alumina in Limerick. Per the report, 11 Republican senators went against their own party and joined hands with Democrats to allow the vote to proceed. In December, the US Treasury had announced its intention to remove the sanctions against Rusal, the Russian parent company of Aughinish Alumina, but on a condition that Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska had to relinquish control of the company. So, as part of the deal, the three Deripaska companies - Rusal, En+ and power firm EuroSibEnergo agreed to restructure to reduce Deripaska’s stakes. Following the board restructuring agreement, Rusal’s board chairman Mattias Warnig also resigned from his post, as per the report from...
Average spot alumina price in China decreased by RMB 17 per tonne to RMB 2862 per tonne on January 16. The spot price is expected to range within RMB 2862 per tonne today. Alumina-north is down by RMB 40 per tonne to stand at RMB 2820 per tonne. The price is expected to range between RMB 2800 per tonne and RMB 2840 per tonne today. The price in the east and central is hovering at RMB 2910 per tonne and RMB 2900 per tonne, while that in the south is at RMB 2860 per tonne respectively. The Australian alumina FOB price remained unchanged at US$ 387 per tonne. In another update from SMM, after a drop in last two consecutive days, the A00 aluminium ingot price increased by RMB 40 per tonne to RMB 13240 per tonne today. Yesterday, on January 15, ingot price was at RMB 13200 per tonne. The...
Tellus Holdings Ltd announced that it has received approval from the Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy (DEE) for its Sandy Ridge Facility in Western Australia. The company said the Sandy Ridge Facility or the “Action” is a proposed open-cut kaolin clay mine and arid near-surface geological waste repository within the mine voids, and associated infrastructure for the storage, treatment, recovery and permanent isolation (disposal) of hazardous and intractable wastes (including low level radioactive wastes). Source:www.tellusholdings.com Australian Government approval signifies confidence that Tellus can manage matters listed under the EPBC Act. The company has undertaken extensive studies over many years with local indigenous families, local scientists, national...
According to a recent report, the construction of JAMALCO’s US$189 million gas-fired cogeneration power plant by New Fortress Energy is expected to complete by February 2020. The news came after the bauxite/alumina company’s managing director Austin Mooney reported while speaking during a tour of JAMALCO’s mines and refinery operations in Halse Hall, Clarendon on January 10. Mr. Mooney disclosed that construction of the offshore gas pipeline is complete, while work on the inland segment is underway. He particularly said, “They [NFE] have started to ship the gas pipe from the United States and we expect that to be here very soon. NFE has already received some of the large stacks, which are here [at the NFE site].The steam generators and the combustion turbines are expected in Kingston in...
According to a report by Shanghai Metals Market, Chinese authorities had raised concerns about the possibility of excessive production capacity across the alumina industry in China at the end of last year. They had even cited the projects which were in the pipeline. The news came based on the Notice of Promoting Orderly Development of Alumina Industry issued jointly by The National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on December 28, in a bid to control blind expansion and lower the risks of overcapacity. The notice published that many domestic firms commenced new alumina projects or planned to start new projects just for the growing price of alumina last year. Factors like Rusal sanctions, the partial closure of Norsk Hydro’s Alunorte...
Norsk Hydro aims to bring Alunorte alumina refinery back to full capacity within weeks or months, although the process still remains uncertain, Chief Executive Svein Richard Brandtzaeg told Reuters. The alumina refinery has been operating at half capacity since March after state environmental authorities and the court ordered the alumina refinery to reduce production by 50%. Speaking on the sidelines of an industry conference, Brandtzaeg said: “We are talking about weeks or months before we go back to full operations.” Brandtzaeg told Reuters that the recent election campaign in Brazil had delayed the process. Now that a new president is in place, as well as a governor for the state of Para where the plant is located, “things are falling into place ... and the decision process will be...
