International Responsible Business Conduct (IRBC) has completed a project examining aluminium and bauxite supply chains to improve transparency and traceability in materials supporting the renewable energy transition. The project brought together wind energy company Siemens Gamesa, Dutch cable manufacturer TKF, Digital Product Passport (DPP) technology provider Minespider, and project partner Responsible Trade. The initiative mapped selected upstream aluminium and bauxite supply chains and tested secure DPPs to organise and present traceability and sustainability information across multiple supplier tiers. Explore the production, demand and consumption forecasts of bauxite and alumina in our report: " Global Bauxite & Alumina Market Forecast to 2036: Supply–Demand, Trade Flows & Price...
Mount Ridley Mines has reported 94.9 per cent gallium recovery from a third-party bauxite sample using its patent-pending Selectro process, alongside recoveries of 92 per cent aluminium and 97 per cent iron in a single low-temperature leach. The test also produced a silica-rich residue instead of conventional red mud, highlighting the technology’s potential to recover multiple metals from bauxite through one processing route. The sample was provided by Australian Silica Quartz Group from its Darling Range bauxite project in Western Australia. It comprised material collected from 16 vacuum drill samples across four holes at the Athena and Ceres prospects. Containing 80 parts per million of gallium, the sample yielded an extraction rate of 94.9 per cent into solution. Mount Ridley said this...
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The Jamaican Supreme Court has prohibited Noranda Jamaica Bauxite Partners and New Day Aluminum (Jamaica) Limited from mining bauxite in St Ann's Cockpit Country, which some residents claim threatens their ability to survive. On January 20, 2023, the Supreme Court issued an injunction to prevent the bauxite/alumina partners from the beginning or continuing mining on the lands under Special Mining Lease (SML) 173. It will remain in effect until the residents' claim is heard and determined. However, sources in the Ministry of Transport and Mining have expressed concern about the impact of the production halt on the Government's 25-year mining agreement with Noranda Alumina and Noranda Bauxite, with the latter company focused on mining and shipping bauxite from Jamaica. Noranda Bauxite...
Alcoa has informed its US investors that delaying approvals to elongate its bauxite mining in Western Australia (WA) will cost approximately $240 million in 2023. Nonetheless, stricter environmental standards would help maintain community support, allowing it to continue mining South West forests for another few decades. Until it is granted permission to mine portions of the jarrah forest with better-grade ore, its refineries south of Perth will produce less alumina at a higher price. Roy Harvey, the CEO of Alcoa, said, “The hold-up was due to something other than introducing new regulatory requirements. However, as environmental protection demands grew, so did the information submitted to regulators, which required planning.” “Taking a step back and giving ourselves a little extra time...
On January 10, 2023, Sierra Mineral Holdings 1 Limited, a subsidiary of Vimetco N.V., issued a memo stating that it would temporarily suspend all operations in Sierra Leone. The memo states that the suspension is due to the lack of bauxite sales on the global market, which has had a detrimental effect on the company's cash flow and capacity to continue with business as usual. However, the company has requested that all junior employees stay home during this time and be paid in full for January 2023. Sierra Mineral Holdings 1 Limited (SHML) is a subsidiary of Vimetco Holdings, a global aluminium conglomerate. SHML has been supplying bauxite to the global market. The company owns a mining lease covering 321.7 square kilometres in the same belt as the well-known Guinea bauxite deposit. They...
In the last days of 2022, the President of Indonesia finally announced that from July 2023, the largest country in Southeast Asia would prohibit exporting bauxite as it intensifies its protectionist policy to foster sophisticated domestic manufacturing. On January 18, 2023, Bahlil Lahadalia, the Investment Minister of Indonesia, confirmed the bauxite ban decision in remarks at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The decision would be an advantage for Australian bauxite producers because China, the major consumer of Indonesian bauxite, will have to find new markets for its product. Indonesia has been the third-largest exporter of bauxite to China in recent years, after Guinea and Australia. Mr Lahadalia said, "The Indonesian government took this action to encourage the domestic aluminium...
According to the data from the National Institute of Statistics (INS), based in Conakry, it has revealed that Guinea's export at the end of October 2022 recorded a rise of 29.5 per cent compared to September 2022. The INS highlighted in its note on the evolution of foreign trade that the country's exports amounted to 3,378.8 billion Guinean francs ($404.45 million) against 2,608.7 billion Guinean francs ($313.04 million) in September 2022. The bauxite and gold mining sectors have hugely contributed to the West African nation's export growth. One of the leading logistics companies reported record monthly shipments of Guinea bauxite supporting capesize trade. Volumes of bauxite exported from Guinea averaged 7.7 million tonnes in the first quarter of 2022 and 9.9 million tonnes in the year's...
According to China customs data, the country imported 11.79 million tonnes of bauxite in November 2022, which recorded a month-on-month hike of 31.29 per cent from 8.98 million tonnes and a year-on-year surge of 53 per cent. From January to November 2022, China’s total bauxite imports amounted to 115.4 million tonnes, an increase of 16.9 per cent year-on-year. Being the primary supplier, Guinea exported 7.28 million tonnes – 65 per cent more than the previous month and 125 per cent higher than a year earlier. The main reasons for the surge in exports were the hearsay that Indonesia would ban bauxite exports, which made Chinese alumina refineries favour Guinean ore as an alternative, increased enthusiasm among Chinese refineries to stock up bauxite at the end of 2022, ramp up of production...
On January 9, 2023, the developer of the world-class Minim Martap bauxite project in Cameroon, Canyon Resources, announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (‘MoU’) that outlines a declaration of intent with the Port Authority of Douala (‘PAD’) regarding the development of infrastructure at the Port of Douala-Bonabéri. The Port Authority of Douala is responsible for developing and controlling port security and operations. It is acknowledged that the expansion of the Port of Douala, one of Cameroon's primary port operations, is a catalyst for raising the competitiveness of the country's economy. The PAD's main objective is to provide an effective operation that serves the area by serving as a Gulf of Guinea logistical centre. The Memorandum of Understanding establishes a...
The all-India apex body to promote the interests of all mining, mineral processing, and metal-making industries, the Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI), has requested the removal of bauxite export duties, citing optimal utilisation of low-grade mineral resources as the move will speed up the reopening of closed bauxite mines, create jobs, and earn foreign exchange. In its pre-Budget proposals to the finance ministry, FIMI said, "The export duty of 15 per cent on bauxite is detrimental to Indian non-metallurgical bauxite producers and exporters. Therefore, this Federation requests the complete withdrawal of export duty on bauxite exports." According to the report, India is self-sufficient in meeting its requirements and has enormous potential to become a major player in the...
The government of Maharashtra in India has resumed bauxite mining in the Kolhapur district once again. The state government is endeavouring to exclude 18 villages from starting an industrial estate in the Bhudargad taluka of the community. A request has been made to the government of India to look into 18 villages in Bhudargarh to establish an industrial estate in Devkewadi. According to a notification from the central government, 184 villages in the Kolhapur district are classified as sensitive zones. According to the state government, thirty-one settlements will be excluded from these vulnerable zones. Out of these 17 villages, the state government has requested the central government set up an industrial estate in one village to start bauxite mining and exclude all 13 villages as they...
The Southeast Asian nation, Malaysia, formerly ranked among the top ten global suppliers of bauxite to China, is poised to gain from Indonesia's most recent export embargo. Data from Indonesia's customs show that in 2021, China bought 17.8 million tonnes of bauxite from Indonesia, making up nearly 15% of all imports. According to Statista data, China, the world's largest consumer, imported 107.42 million tonnes of bauxite in 2021. Nik Nazmi, the Malaysian Minister of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change, said, "In this situation, if a country (Indonesia) has imposed a ban on the export of bauxite, then the global demand will shift to any other country that can supply those resources." "In this case, demand for bauxite from Malaysia will be high, especially from China."...
The largest country in Southeast Asia, Indonesia, has recently announced a bauxite export ban, which will be implemented from June 2023. This is a government policy to increase domestic production of metal ores and industry since bauxite is a crucial component in manufacturing aluminium. The nation had already prohibited nickel exports starting around January 2020. Indonesia produced approximately 25.8 million tonnes of bauxite in 2021, making it the world's sixth-largest producer. Approximately 90 per cent of this amount is currently exported, which is expected to significantly impact the global aluminium market. The Indonesian bauxite ban primarily aims to upgrade the country's domestic metal processing industry growth. This could push up aluminium prices in the short term, mainly since...
The Bauxite Hills mine in Queensland ended its operating season for the year ahead of schedule due to a weather event that could have been dangerous for mining operations and shipment on December 29, 2022, according to an announcement by the Australian mining and exploration company Metro Mining. At this time of year, the company's operating season usually comes to an end. On the other hand, loading a Capesize vessel at the mining facility in the Gulf of Carpentaria in preparation for the following mining season will no longer take place as planned. Five working days were lost as a result of the weather event, and 3.41 million wet tonnes were sent in total by the end of the season, which is less than anticipated. In spite of this, Metro Mining forecasts achieving its annual sales target...
On December 27, 2022, Arsjad Rasjid, the General Chairperson of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), expressed support for the bauxite export ban, claiming that it will increase the value of the country's natural resources. Rasjid said, "The export ban on bauxite will take effect in June 2023. The policy is in accordance with the mandate of Mineral and Coal Law No. 3 of 2020." "If we only export raw materials, we are at a disadvantage. It is our right as a nation to have added value. So this measure was pursued as a result of an evaluation by the government of the previous scheme and also to encourage domestic industrialization." He added, “However, the export prohibition policy would be even better if it were supported by a detailed downstreaming road map instead of...
The bauxite segment of the global aluminium industry has witnessed some of the most crucial happenings during the last days of the year. Previously, during an economic forum, Indonesian President Joko Widodo said Indonesia would announce a ban on commodity exports without disclosing which or a timeframe for implementation. On December 20, 2022, the President announced that the country would impose a ban on bauxite exports from June 2023 onwards. On the side, the Australian Securities Exchange listed Canyon Resources receives new investors and shareholders to advance the development of the Minim Martap bauxite project. The future development prospects of the Minim-Martap project view Cameroon as the new source of high-grade bauxite supply that will feed the world’s growing demand. The...
The Malaysian construction engineering company, Citaglobal Bhd, formerly known as WZ Satu Bhd, is exiting its bauxite mining venture under SE Satu Sdn Bhd to focus on a portfolio of businesses that includes civil engineering and construction, oil and gas, power generation, property development, manufacturing, and renewable energy. During its bourse filing, the company said it would divest its 49% stake in SE Satu to Spring Energy Sdn Bhd for RM4.8 million. Citaglobal, on the other hand, plans to keep the 31.31ha of freehold agricultural land under SE Satu in Sungai Karang, Pahang, in order to develop a renewable energy generation project along the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL). As a result, Citaglobal's indirect wholly-owned Sinergi Dayang Sdn Bhd will pay SE Satu RM10.08 million for the...
The primary driver of bauxite demand is aluminium production, which is anticipated to rise in response to increasing demand from the building, transportation, and packaging sectors. In 2021, the global bauxite market was valued at $15.59 billion, and from 2022 to 2030, it is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 1.7 per cent. The demand for aluminium is expected to increase due to favourable government regulations for electric vehicles (EV) and increased investment in manufacturing lightweight automobiles. As a result of this development, the bauxite business is likely to expand during the projection period. The United States holds a significant portion of the North American bauxite market. It is envisaged that increased production of cement and aluminium will help the market expand. The Aluminum...
The world-class bauxite project developer Canyon Resources has received a nearly A$12.1 million strategic placement from Eagle Eye Asset Holdings to advance the development of its Minim Martap bauxite project in Cameroon. Pramod Prusty, the President and CEO of Asset Holding, said on the Strategic Placement, “We are pleased to make this strategic investment into Canyon. We are confident about the future development prospects of the Minim-Martap Project and view Cameroon as the new source of high-grade bauxite supply that will feed the world’s growing demand. Our vision with this investment is to participate in the bauxite and aluminium value chain from Africa, and importantly, we have a successful track record of investing and developing projects in Africa and are looking to repeat this...
The President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, announced on December 20, 2022, that the nation would ban bauxite exports, the primary ore source of aluminium, starting from June 2023 to boost the domestic processing of the material. Indonesia ranks among the world's largest bauxite suppliers, with China as a significant consumer. The bauxite export ban's timing complies with Indonesia's present mining regulations. During an economic forum, the Indonesian President said Indonesia would announce a ban on commodity exports without disclosing which or a timeframe for implementation. Exports of other unprocessed minerals, such as copper, are prohibited under Indonesia's current mining law. However, the President did not specify when the bans on shipments of the other materials would be implemented....
