Rio Tinto’s planned USD 1.9 billion investment in the Kangwinan bauxite project is expected to support more than 1,300 construction jobs in Queensland, while helping secure the long-term future of its Weipa mining operations as existing sources of production approach the end of their lives. Located on Western Cape York Peninsula, Kangwinan will add 20 million tonnes of annual bauxite production capacity, with first output targeted for 2029 and full production expected by 2032. The project will raise Weipa Operations’ annual capacity to around 44 million tonnes from current production of approximately 38 million tonnes. Construction is scheduled to ramp up in 2027. Beyond the immediate employment boost, the investment is expected to help sustain Rio Tinto’s residentially based workforce of...
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...
Grow with
AL Circle
China’s bauxite imports found decreased in July by China Customs from a month ago as rainy season lowered the supply from Guinea. {newsStudioGallery} Data showed China imported a total volume of 7,280,000 tonnes of bauxite in July, compared to 7,440,160 tonnes in June. This means the volume dropped 2.2 per cent month-on-month but grew 18.2 per cent year-on-year as the bauxite import volume in China had stood at 5,955,040 tonnes during the same period last year. In the first seven months of this year, China imported 49,580,000 tonnes of bauxite in total, up 29.8 per cent from 34,805,160 tonnes in the corresponding period last year. Guinea remained the top exporter of bauxite to China in July 2018. Out of 7,280,000 tonnes, it shipped 2,960,000 tonnes to China, accounting for 40.6 per cent...
Mining operators have urged the state government to allow bauxite mining activities after the moratorium end on December 31, 2018. LLT Group (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, director Datuk Seri Abdul Rahim Abdul, said a set of standard operating procedure (SOP) for bauxite mining activities have been handed to the federal government, New Straits Times reported. LLT Group, which is among the 20 mining companies, is registered under the Pahang Mineral Operators Association. “The state government and mining association had compiled a set of SOP and we are waiting for the feedback from the government. The main concern is to mitigate environmental issues arising from bauxite mining and the new SOP will ensure that all the mineral are gathered at one main stockpile centre near the port. “There will be no...
Canyon Resources Limited has reportedly upgraded the JORC 2004 resource for its Minim Martap Bauxite Project in the Adamawa region of Cameroon, alongside Canyon’s existing Birsok Bauxite Project, to a JORC 2012 compliant resource. The resource has 550 million tonnes of an average grade of 45.5 per cent aluminium oxide and 2.06 per cent of silicon dioxide. Canyon managing director Phillip Gallagher said “We are very pleased to announce such a substantial JORC 2012 compliant resource just four weeks after securing the Minim Martap Bauxite Project. The resource, more than half a billion tonnes of high-grade, low contaminant bauxite, is significant compared to other bauxite deposits globally.” He further added, “We have a pathway to increase the size of the deposit by drilling untested...
Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo has announced the signing of $2 billion Master Project Support Agreement (MPSM) between the Government of Ghana and Sinohydro Corporation Limited. The agreement was signed during a state visit to China by President Nana Akufo-Addo. Under the deal Sinohydro will fund the infrastructure projects in Ghana, including roads, bridges, interchanges, hospitals, housing, rural electrification in exchange for refined bauxite. In a Facebook post, President Akufo-Addo said "On Saturday, 1st September 2018, at the invitation of the President of the People's Republic of China, His Excellency Mr Xi Jinping, I paid a State Visit to China.” “Amongst others, I held separate bilateral talks with President Xi Jinping, and Chinese Premier, Li Keqiang, with the talks centred...
Metro Mining Ltd has signed a new binding contract with China’s state-owned State Power Investment Corporation Aluminium and Electric Power Investment Co. Ltd (SPIC) for the delivery of 300,000 WMT (+/- 10%) of bauxite in calendar year 2018.The company said that the demand for Bauxite Hills ore exceeds Metro’s available bauxite. Metro’s Managing Director Simon Finnis said; “We are delighted to have finalised a new off-take agreement with SPIC, who have the capacity to be another long term off-take partner and to have successfully sold all of Metro’s planned 2018 production.” This year shipments will be made to five different Chinese customers confirming strong demand for Metro bauxite in China.” “We are experiencing particular interest from refineries located in the inland provinces where...
Members of the Ghana Mine Workers Union (GMWU) have supported the Akufo-Addo Administration’s decision to sign a $2 billion bauxite barter deal with Sinohydro Group Limited. The government is facing criticism from analysts and oppositions on the decision to agree on a loan for infrastructure spending in exchange of bauxite. But the Ghana Mineworkers Union during its National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting said considering the glaring infrastructure deficit experienced across the country, the fund can solve some of the basic economic crisis. General Secretary of the Mineworkers Union of Trades Union Congress of Ghana, Prince William Ankrah, in a statement at the meeting stressed that “Given the glaring infrastructure deficit witnessed everywhere in the country, it is the view of the...
The Ghana government is likely to face political risks from its $2 billion bauxite deal with China’s Sinohydro, Global financial analyst Fitch predicts. MyJoyOnline reported that the report comes at a time when Parliament approved $500 million for phase one of the bauxite deal. Under the deal Sinohydro will fund the infrastructure projects in Ghana, including roads, bridges, interchanges, hospitals, housing, rural electrification in exchange for refined bauxite. Fitch said in its report that “The value of refined bauxite is likely to fluctuate, which - assuming the agreement is based on a monetary value for the refined bauxite - will see the amount of bauxite handed over to repay the debt potentially rise considerably. This could see the industry handing over much of its produce to China...
Indian aluminium major NALCO said on August 29 that its net profit for 2017-18 doubled to INR 1,342 crore from INR 669 crore recorded one year ago credited it to its new business plan which has put the company on a new growth path. "The company achieved highest net profit in last 10 years of Rs 1,342 crore in 2017-18 against Rs 669 crore earned in previous year," CMD of NALCO, Tapan Kumar Chand said on the sidelines of the 37th Annual General Meeting of the Navaratna company in Bhubaneshwar. NALCO also achieved the highest-ever turnover of INR 9,376 crore since inception in last fiscal, registering a growth of 26 per cent YoY. The company registered export earnings of INR 4,076 crore, up 12 per cent YoY. The company has also declared a record dividend payout of INR 1,102 crore or 114 per...
Ukraine’s aluminium ore and concentrated bauxite import volume have reportedly increased by 6.3 per cent in H1 2018 to stand at 2.772 million tonnes, compared to 2.597 million tonnes in the corresponding period of 2017. But the cost remained down by 1.3 per cent to US$ 109.994 million, from US$ 111.423 million in 2017, according to customs statistics released by the State Fiscal Service. {newsStudioGallery} The statistics also show that Guinea accounts for the major share of import cost and that is almost 58 per cent, followed by Guyana that accounts for around 36 per cent and then Brazil 5.48 per cent. In the same period of time, the country reportedly re-exported 45 tonnes of bauxite to Poland and earned US$ 5000, whereas, in the contemporary period of 2017, the country had earned...
Ghana’s opposition party seeks the opinion of International Monetary Fund (IMF) regarding the US$2 billion deal agreed between the government and China’s Sinohydro Corp Ltd which assures infrastructure development in Ghana in exchange for bauxite. Under the deal China’s Sinohydro Corp Ltd will provide $2 billion for government road projects in exchange for refined bauxite exports. President Nana Akufo-Addo is expected to visit China next week to finalize the deal. The government prefers to call it a barter deal instead of a loan. However, the opposition in parliament considers the deal to be a loan with implications for an already over-burdened taxpayer. Opposition leader said they were requesting IMF’s intervention because government once said loan repayment costs were a hurdle in...
Dr. Camynta Baezie, a former Chief Executive Officer of the State Enterprises Commission suggests the Ghana government should review the US$2 billion worth of bauxite agreement that it recently inked with China. Late July, Ghana’s Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta had announced a US$2 billion deal with Chinese engineering firm, Sinohydro Group Limited, in the parliament. The deal says the Chinese company 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. However, Dr. Camynta Baezie thinks that this deal is poorly negotiated and is not in the interest of Ghana. He shared this observation...
According to a report from Proactiveinvestors Australia, Canyon Resources Ltd has raised $5 million from institutional and sophisticated investors. They raised the fund through a heavily oversubscribed share placement comprising of more than 32.2 million shares at a price of 15.5 cents each. The placement price represents an 8.3% discount to the 30-day Volume Weighted Average Price (VWAP) and a 16.9% discount to the 15-day VWAP. The money will be used to develop Canyon’s Minim Martap Bauxite Project in Cameroon. Canyon managing director Phillip Gallagher welcomed the new investors in the company. Commenting on the fund raising, Canyon managing director Phillip Gallagher said, “The investors have the capacity to support the company as we advance the Minim Martap Bauxite Project in...
According to the report published in Kontan.co.id, the ministry's mineral business supervision director Bambang Susigit confirms that the government has temporarily revoked four concentrate export permits as the four mining companies have failed to fulfil commitments to develop smelters as part of the permit’s requirements. Those companies include three nickel miners and one bauxite miner PT Lobindo Nusa Persada, based in Bintan, Riau Islands. However, the government will reinstate the exports permits if the companies show their commitments to fulfil the requirement, says Bambang further. “It depends on the company. If they submit their reports, we will clarify and review them immediately. If the reports are valid, we will reissue the permits. Otherwise, we will issue their final warning...
According to the latest report on August 18, around 1400 workers have voted almost unanimously in favour of an indefinite strike that started last week for 20 months of negotiation. Workers from the Huntley and Willowdale bauxite mines, Bunbury Port, and the Kwinana, Pinjarra and Wagerup refineries went on this strike after they failed to come to an agreement with employers over an Enterprise Bargaining Agreement. AWU West Australian Branch president Andy Hacking said the situation was escalating after all bar four of the striking employees voted at a meeting in Pinjarra on August 17 for the strike. Some feel they had come too far to back down now. “All but four out of 1400 voted for indefinite industrial action and the feeling among most of the guys is we’ve come too far to go back,” he...
According to a Reuters report, Indonesian government has temporarily revoked nickel ore and bauxite export permits of four mining companies. The government cited zero progress in smelter development by those miners as the ground for revoking the licence. This was shown by energy ministry data on Thursday. According to the data, the governmnnet revoked export permits for a combined 4,222,119 tonnes of nickel ore from PT Surya Saga Utama, PT Modern Cahaya Makmur and PT Integra Mining Nusantara. The government has also temporarily revoked permit for PT Lobindo Nusa Persada which was permitted to export 1.5 million tonnes of bauxite annually. Indonesia approved mineral ore export permits to companies on condition that they would be building smelters in the country to generate value from the...
CM Group projected Chinese demand for bauxite to increase by 65-70 million tonnes a year over the next five to seven years. It will be driven primarily by upcoming new alumina refining capacity, about 60 per cent of whose demand will be met by imported bauxite. Metro Mining has recently entered sales contracts with their Chinese clients for a total of 780,000 tonnes of bauxite which will be delivered in 2018 and 2019.This is opening doors for other emerging miners in Australia such as Metallica Minerals. Metallica is developing the Urquhart bauxite deposit, discovered in late 2014 on the Cape York Peninsula in far north Queensland in a joint venture with a Chinese company. It is noteworthy that Metallica is on the verge of being a commercial producer after little more than three years of...
The Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI)has sought rationalisation of tax on mining, and exemption from export duties on iron ore and bauxite. In a press statement before its 52nd Annual General Meeting, the industry body said taxes and royalty for mining in India are the highest in the world. “Effective Tax Rates (ETRs) work out to be as high as 64 per cent for the existing mines and 60 per cent for the auctioned mines. Apart from the ETRs, there are hosts of other taxes, levies and cess due to which total financial burden goes beyond 100 per cent of the cost of mineral production,” the statement said. “There is, therefore, a need to rationalise the taxation structure for the mining sector for sustainable development and deriving long term benefits in terms of sustained raw...
Fitch Solutions Macro Research just published an update to a previous study looking at the global bauxite market. In the most recent version of the document, the firm states that bauxite production growth will remain high over the coming years, as new projects come online in Australia, Indonesia expands exports, India’s production ramps up, and existing projects in Guinea drive growth. According to Fitch, Australia, the world’s top producer of the orange metal, will maintain steady output growth driven by steady activity at the about 40 projects it hosts. In particular, the market researcher states that the growth would be boosted by Rio Tinto’s expansion of the Weipa mine in Queensland, which together with the Gove mine drove 2017’s y-o-y 6-per-cent increase in bauxite production for the...
