Aluminum Ore Mining in China

China is relatively poor in bauxite ore reserves and resources, with China's total bauxite ore exploration accounting for less than 10% of the global total. With China's rapid economic development and domestic bauxite supply shortages, the Aluminum Ore Mining industry has been importing large amounts of bauxite since 2003.

With an increase of 27.7% in 2011, total imports amount to $1.8 billion, accounting for over one-third of domestic demand. Of the 39.3 million tons of imported bauxite in 2011, the vast majority were sourced from Indonesia and Australia.

There are currently about 58 bauxite mining enterprises operating in the industry, up from 24 in 2006, with total employment of over 14,600. In 2008, China put into place its Energy Conservation and Emissions Reduction strategy. This policy may force a number of smaller enterprises with high-energy consumption and high pollution to exit the market or merge with larger enterprises. In addition, the Chinese Government is planning to restructure its state-owned enterprises. Therefore, growth in the number of enterprises operating within the industry is expected to be much slower over the next five years, according to IBISWorld.

The Aluminum Ore Mining industry in China is expected to maintain solid revenue growth, averaging 19.6% per year, in the five years through 2016. As China's economy continues to mature and bauxite prices stabilize, revenue growth will slow down during the outlook period.