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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Australian Bauxite Limited has confirmed a sale of 30,000 tonnes of bauxite from its Bald Hill Bauxite Project, Campbell Town, Northern Tasmania. The company announced through its press release that it had been the successful tenderer for its next sale of seaborne cement-grade bauxite to be exported from Bell Bay Port of Launceston. Sales of cement-grade bauxite are scheduled to commence in March 2019. Australian Bauxite has started contract negotiations for the mining, processing and blending at the mine site. The company contracted with QUBE Logistics at Bell Bay for the stevedoring services and stockpiling arrangements, in conjunction with TasPorts. Monson Shipping have provided Shipping Agents services and Briar Maritime have provided independent ship surveys to date. The company’s...
Bauxite industry has witnessed a number of developments last week. Here is a round-up of the most important news stories on the bauxite sector from the week gone by: Construction of EGA’s bauxite mining project reaches 75 per cent The construction of Emirates Global Aluminium’s (EGA) bauxite mining project in the Republic of Guinea has reached almost 75 per cent. Developed by EGA’s subsidiary Guinea Alumina Corp (GAC), the total budget of the project is around US$1.4 billion. The first bauxite export from this project is expected during the second half of 2019. Rio Tinto’s first bauxite shipment arrives in Gladstone The first shipment of bauxite from Rio Tinto’s $2.6 billion Amrun bauxite project in Queensland has arrived at the Port of Gladstone. Rio Tinto Yarwun general manager Mark...
The first shipment of bauxite from Rio Tinto’s $2.6 billion Amrun bauxite project in Queensland has arrived at the Port of Gladstone. More than 80,000 tonnes of bauxite were loaded onto the vessel RTM Weipa for departure from the Western Cape York Peninsula on December 3, achieved six weeks ahead of schedule. Rio Tinto Yarwun general manager Mark Gilmore said: “This arrival of the first shipment from Amrun is an exciting milestone for us.” “It not only marks the start of additional supply to our two alumina refineries and smelter in Gladstone, but will support China’s significant import needs for decades to come.” “Amrun has provided a major boost to the Queensland economy, and will continue to do so, not only on Cape York Peninsula, but also in Gladstone.” Amrun mine will replace...
The construction of Emirates Global Aluminium’s (EGA) bauxite mining project in the Republic of Guinea has reached almost 75 per cent, reported the company itself. Developed by EGA’s subsidiary Guinea Alumina Corp (GAC), the total budget of the project is around US$1.4 billion, the largest greenfield investment in the West African country in the last four decades. The first bauxite export from this project is expected during the second half of 2019. Currently, almost 3,000 Guineans are working for constructing the project, and so far taken some 23 million man-hours of work, equivalent to one person working for some 18,000 years. Abdulla Kalban, EGA’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, said: “We are now entering the final phase of construction of our project in Guinea and the...
Guinean President Alpha Conde has officially inaugurated the Bel Air mine in Guinea, Alufer Mining Limited announced through a press release. The Minister of Mines, members of Parliament, Ambassadors from the UK and US and local dignitaries were present during the inauguration. The president formally opened the export facility by starting the causeway conveyor and commencing loading of the vessel at berth. Over one million tonnes of bauxite ore have now been shipped from the project. Alufer Mining of Guinea has delivered its first Capesize shipment of bauxite with a volume of 203,009 tonnes, to the Port of Qingdao, in China in November. Over 750,000 tonnes of bauxite were loaded and were on route to other customers already. The company then said in November that the operational ramp-up...
Wirtgen, a German company in the field of road and mine machinery says its surface miners are helping bauxite producers in Guinea to explore the country’s high quality bauxite reserves. 25 of its machines are now in operation in the West Africa country. Wirtgen supplies surface miners for the selective mining of raw materials, such as coal, limestone, bauxite, gypsum, salt and phosphate. Wirtgen commissioned its first surface in Guinea in a mine close to Kindia in 2001. Drill and blast was the main bauxite mining technique in use at that time. “Since then, however, the process has shifted to the more economical, safe and environmentally friendly surface mining, and today Wirtgen surface miners extract 100% of the ore,” Wirtgen said. The most commonly used surface miners for bauxite mining...
Hindalco Industries has moved the Bombay high court against a Maharashtra State Pollution Control Board (MSPCB) order directing it to shut down its bauxite mine at Dhangarwadi in Kolhapur district for alleged violation of Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act. On November 29, the court stayed the pollution control board’s order until 11 December. “We are inclined to grant ad interim relief to the petitioner as the petitioner’s unit at Dhangarwadi is directed to be closed with immediate effect,” said the division bench of the Bombay high court. This means the company is expected to get a temporary relief from the court. Hindalco was ordered immediate closure of the bauxite unit by the MSPCB on 27 November. The board also ordered disconnection of water and electricity supply to the...
AlCircle has launched a brief Region Focus Report – “ Guinea and Sierra Leone; Two Growing Investment Hubs in West Africa” into its 2018 Report portfolio. Africa has more than its fair share of small poor economies because of fragmentation that it inherited from European colonizers. It has become a continent most prone to ethnic-based conflicts which stand as a hurdle in the path to development along with numerous political, socio-economical and medical issues that ravage the countries in this continent. Yet, African countries have some of the richest mineral reserves which have not been explored due to the existing problems. Despite West Africa’s enormous investment potential, its integration into the global economy is low. One sign of this is that the region captures only 5% of Africa’s...
Freight rates to carry a 59,000 tonnes bauxite cargo from Kamsar, Guinea to San Ciprian, Spain on a Panamax-size vessel recorded a plunge to a 21-week low of US$ 10 per tonne amidst over-tonnage in the West African region, as reported on November 29. According to S&P Global Platts data, the freight rates dropped since hitting an all-time high of US$ 13 per tonne on October 16, by US$ 3 per tonne or 23 per cent. Market participants’ survey concludes that ships opening up in South Africa face difficulty in finding cargoes if they ballast to South America due to the current oversupply of tonnage on the Brazilian coast. Owing to this, owners looked further north to West Africa, resulting in too many ships with not sufficient cargo for owners to find cover. "On top of bunker sliding, Kamsar is...
Parliament, on Wednesday, 5 December 2018 approved the US$2 billion bauxite barter deal between the government of Ghana and China’s Sinohydro Corporation Limited, according to news reported by Ghana Web. Under the deal Sinohydro would fund the infrastructure projects in Ghana, including roads, bridges, interchanges, hospitals, housing, rural electrification in exchange for refined bauxite. This means Ghana would leverage its bauxite reserve at Atewa forest for the amount from China. Kwame Agbodza, the Ranking Member of the Roads and Transport Committee, said a 2-layer road in 2016 cost the Ghanaian taxpayer just GHS1 million but the same length of road has been pegged at GHS 5 million under the contract. But Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu lauded the deal saying the agreement seeks...
The Bombay High Court on Thursday, December 5, granted an interim stay on an order to close Hindalco Industries Limited’s bauxite mine near Kolhapur in Maharashtra. “…we are inclined to grant ad-interim relief to the petitioner (Hindalco) as the petitioner’s unit at Dhangarwadi is directed to be closed with immediate effect,” the Chief Justice bench of the high court said in its order. On November 27, Maharashtra Pollution Control Board had ordered the closure and stopped water and electricity supply to the company’s mine. In petition, Hindalco had told the High Court that it, however, did not receive the show cause notice that was issued by the regulator on November 16. The pollution control authority’s lawyer sought time to file its reply. The High Court will hear the case next on...
Australian Bauxite Limited (ABx) announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary ALCORE Limited completed the construction of stage 1 aluminium fluoride lab and acquired the necessary equipment to produce test samples. Per the firm, both the tasks reached ahead of schedule and under the budget. The construction of the laboratory had reportedly begun on July 1 at ALCORE’s pre-approved Pilot Plant site in Berkeley Vale, New South Wales. Initially, the stage 1 lab will produce aluminium fluoride (AlF3) test samples by refining raw bauxite for distribution to potential customers and gradually proceed to producing Corethane, a pure hydrocarbon powder from low-value coal. In addition, the lab will also test graphite refining for use in battery application. ABx’s CEO Ian Levy said the firm had funds...
According to news published by Reuters, Indonesian state miner PT Aneka Tambang Tbk (Antam) is aiming to export 2.8 million tonnes of bauxite in 2019, more than triple the estimated 850,000 tonnes in shipments for 2018, Chief Executive Arie Prabowo Ariotedjo told reporters. Ariotedjo said the compay will construct new smelters with Aluminium Corporation of China (Chalco), which will give the company additional export quota for unprocessed metals. The government grants mineral ore export permits to companies which are building smelters. In April, Antam obtained a new permit recommendation from Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry for bauxite and nickel exports. This would support their plans to boost production and sales of bauxite and nickel. “Antam's exports of nickel and bauxite ore...
Rio Tinto has loaded first shipment of bauxite from its US$1.9 billion Amrun project in Queensland, six weeks ahead of schedule. More than 80,000 tonnes of bauxite are expected to arrive at Rio Tinto’s Yarwun alumina refinery in Gladstone next week. Rio Tinto Aluminium chief executive Alf Barrios said “Bringing Amrun online further strengthens our position as a leading supplier in the seaborne market. We have the largest bauxite resources in the industry and are geographically well positioned to supply China’s significant future import needs, as well as supporting our refinery and smelting operations in Australia and New Zealand. “The Amrun mine will ensure generational jobs for Queenslanders and build significantly on our 55-year history on the Western Cape.” Amrun mine will replace...
According to a media update, the Geological Survey of India (GSI) will provide geological reports of 18 mineral blocks to the government in December and 13 more mine blocks by the end of 2019. This is confirmed by an official from GSI. The government has plans to auction more than 100 mineral blocks during the current fiscal year and GSI studies have been conducted based on this requirement. According to the official the list of 18 mine blocks includes one bauxite block in Kerala, seven copper blocks in Rajasthan and Haryana, three iron ore blocks in Madhya Pradesh and Odisha, two gold blocks in Karnataka, two manganese blocks in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, three limestone blocks in Chhattisgarh and Karnataka. Earlier 2018, GSI said that it was working on 34 projects in the country's...
According to a Platts report, freight rates to carry 59,000 million tonnes of bauxite cargo from Kamsar port in Guinea to San Ciprian in Spain on a Panamax-size vessel have dropped to a 21-week low of US$10 per tonne amid over-tonnage in the West African region. The freight rate hit an all-time high of US$13 per tonne on October 16. After that rates have dropped US$3 per tonne or 23%. "On top of bunker sliding, Kamsar is seeing low rates because of tonnage oversupply," a dry bulk ship operator said. According to market participants, ships from South Africa are finding it tough to find cargoes if they want to ship them to South America due to the current oversupply of tonnage on the Brazilian coast. So ship owners turned to the West African ports for loading the bauxite. This has led to...
Pangaea Logistics Solutions Ltd., a global provider of comprehensive maritime logistics solutions, announced that it has extended its freight partnership with Noranda Bauxite and Alumina. Pangaea expects to move over 40 million tonnes of bauxite from Jamaica to Gramercy through to the end of 2031. Pangaea Logistics Solutions transports over 3 million tonnes of bauxite from Jamaica to Gramercy each year utilizing three dedicated vessels. Ed Coll, Pangaea's Chief Executive Officer said: "We are pleased to extend our partnership with Noranda. Noranda and Pangaea know each other very well, having frequently found ways to enhance our relationship over many years, resulting in a true partnership. We look forward to serving Noranda's transportation, supply and logistics needs for many, many...
A privately-owned bauxite company Sarmin Bauxite Limited has reportedly announced the completion of an independent Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) on its own bauxite exploration license (Lelouma Licence) located in the Republic of Guinea, West Africa. The MRE is estimated and prepared by SRK Consulting (UK) Limited (SRK) in accordance with the terms and guidelines of the Australian Code for the Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves, the JORC Code, 2012 Edition (JORC). The MRE outlines a total JORC Compliant Bauxite Mineral Resources of approximately 1 billion tonnes at 44.9 per cent Al2O3 and 2.1% SiO2. Further classification breakdown is as follows: Indicated Mineral Resource of 983 million tonnes (44.9% Al2O3, 2.1% SiO2); and; Inferred Mineral Resource of...
