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...
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Ken Ofori-Atta, Ghana’s s Finance Minister has announced a $2 billion deal with Chinese engineering firm, Sinohydro Group Limited, in the parliament to fund infrastructure projects by the government. He said that the deal which will help the government leveraging the country's bauxite deposits will facilitate for Ghana's infrastructure deficit. "Sinohydro Group Limited of China [will] provide $2 billion dollars of infrastructure of government's choice in exchange for Ghana's refined bauxite. Ghana will establish a refinery within the next three years and select its own partner to undertake the refining of the bauxite," the Finance Minister said. This agreement, according to him is line with the government’s a strategy of bridging the country's infrastructure deficit through a new...
The latest Australian-led research disclosed on Monday, July 16, that bauxite mining could threaten a new species of venomous snake, named Vermicella Parscauda, recently found in Weipa with extinction. Weipa is a reputed mining town on the Gulf of Carpentaria coast of the Cape York Peninsula, where multinational giant Rio Tinto has bauxite mining operations. As per the estimation done in April 2018, about 53 per cent of Australia’s vast bauxite resources come from this mining belt. Moreover, this region’s bauxite is known for high-quality ore; determined not just by the aluminium content but by other minerals such as iron oxides and titanium oxides. It is also known for containing low amount of reactive silica that lowers the processing costs. By 2019, Weipa is expected to become more...
Australian Bauxite Limited (ABX) announced today, July 18, that it has successfully negotiated a Letter of Intent (LOI) over two important business opportunities with Aziz Group of Bangladesh. As agreed through the Letter of Intent, ABX will develop and supply chemical grade bauxite for the manufacture of PAC (Polyaluminium Chloride), which will be used in the treatment of industrial waste water in Bangladesh. Industrial waste water is a significant issue for Bangladesh industry and communities with large volumes of waste water needing to be treated and returned to the environment. Australian Bauxite CEO, Mr. Ian Levy said, "We are delighted to be involved in this significant opportunity that will have a positive impact on the communities of Bangladesh, utilizing our bauxite which is...
The prolonged period of moratorium on bauxite mining in Pahang, Malaysia, to finalise a regulatory framework to prevent a repetitive environmental damage, came to an end on June 30, 2018. The moratorium was put in place on January 2016 and was extended until June 30 to clear the then existing stockpiles. Natural Resources and Environment Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar had said that there were 5.4 million tonnes of bauxite stockpiles when the moratorium was first imposed. Based on surveys, there had been a further increase in the stockpiles because of which moratorium was extended several times. As of June 8, 2017, 5.8 million tonnes of bauxite was exported from Malaysia, said Wan Junaidi. As the world’s largest bauxite exporter, Malaysia exported 48,52,636 tonnes of bauxite to China...
Rio Tinto releases production results for the second quarter of 2018. Bauxite production reported an increase and alumina and aluminium production reported a drop both in second quarter as well as in H1 2018. Rio Tinto chief executive J-S Jacques said “Operational performance was solid across most commodities, rounding out a strong first half performance for the Group…Our bauxite and copper businesses also delivered strong operating results, demonstrating the success of our ongoing mine-to-market productivity programme, which is increasingly important in an environment of rising cost inflation." Bauxite production of 13.3 million tonnes was three per cent higher than Q2 2017, attributed to the continued implementation of operational improvements. Gove bauxite mine production increased 18%...
A member of the Concerned Citizens of Atewa, Oteng Adjei, at a press conference on Thursday has charged the President, Nana Akufo-Addo to break his silence on government’s decision to mine bauxite in the Atewa forest. According to the group, the President has refused to respond to an earlier petition sent to him and are therefore calling on him to let the public know his stand on the matter. Mr. Oteng Adjei addressing the press said: “We are waiting for the President to respond to our request. The president must wake up from his sleep and talk about this issue; we expect him to say the forest will be used for a National park instead of bauxite mining”. He indicated mining in the forest will adversely affect livelihood of residents as well farmers and urged the President to rescind...
Normality has been restored at New Day Aluminium (Jamaica) Limited since when it received order from the Industrial Disputes Tribunal (IDT), on Friday, July 6, 2018, for hourly paid workers to end a week-long-go slow. The workers had been on go-slow since June 28, supporting the University and Allied Workers Union’s claim towards the company (UAWU) for adjusting their top rate of US$13 per hour, based on changes in the exchange rate. According to UAWU President Senator Lambert Brown, the union had been appealing to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security to intimate the issue to the Industrial Disputes Tribunal without success. Yesterday, on July 8, Senator Brown told the Jamaica Observer that with the ministry’s decision to refer the matter to the IDT, the request was met and workers...
Ghana Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia has requested the United States through the Secretary for Commerce Wilbur Ross, to consider partnering with Ghana for developing a strong bauxite industry in the country. While delivering a speech at the US-Ghana business session, Mahamudu explicitly said that Ghana owns rich bauxite deposits that can be exploited for well over fifty years. Partnership with the US, one of the most powerful countries in the world with the success story in the aluminium and bauxite sectors, would yield mutual benefits for both the countries, Ghana Vice president observed. Bawumia added as the government has begun the process of choosing partners for establishing a joint-ventured Integrated Aluminium Industry (IAI) by the name Ghana Integrated Bauxite and Aluminum...
Africa is contributing about 32% of the global bauxite resources. It’s an irony that some of the poorest countries in the world possess the richest bauxite reserves. Africa, though poorly explored as of date, does possess some of the richest reserves of Gibbsitic bauxite. The known reserves are mostly concentrated in Guinea, Ghana and Sierra Leone but there are vast areas lying between tropic of Cancer and tropic of Capricorn that are yet to be explored and exploited. Despite so, around 19% of the total bauxite production of the world has been coming from the African mining industry. Despite the political unrest and overall under development in the region, African countries are providing feedstock to some the world’s most significant aluminium producers and a large number of them are...
Bauxite mining operators and settlers in Bukit Goh, Malaysia, which once used to be a lucrative spot for bauxite mining activities, are still resting in the uncertainty over bauxite mining, even after the mining moratorium ended on June 30. The previous government had extended the moratorium seven times since the date of its enforcement on January 15, 2016, for keeping the pollution, lack of regulations, illegal mining, as well as excessive extraction at check. This resulted Felda settlers whose lands were on lease for mining activities facing sleepless nights. Bukit Goh bauxite action coordinating committee chairman Datuk Dr. Abdul Wahid Manap said the new government should answer on the fate of the mining industry. Many bauxite mining operators and settlers hoped the government would...
UAE-based Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), jointly owned by Mubadala Development Company of Abu Dhabi and Investment Corporation of Dubai, has signed a deal with Vedanta to supply bauxite from its mine in Guinea. Under the long-term agreement, EGA will start providing the ore to Vedanta from the second half of 2019, soon after its wholly-owned subsidiary Guinea Alumina Corporation (GAC) will finish building a bauxite mine and associated export facilities in Guinea. By investing around US$1.4 billion in the bauxite mining project, GAC is expecting to produce some 12 million tonnes of bauxite every year. In the year 2017, EGA had supplied three sample shipments of bauxite, which were of around 15000 tonnes in total, to Vedanta for testing purpose. According to the current agreement signed,...
According to the data published by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica-STATIN in its Producer Price Index Report, bauxite production in May declined in Jamaica as a result of the Jamaican dollar losing value to the US currency. The Producer Price Index measures the average change in selling prices received by domestic producers of goods and services. According to STATIN report, the Mining and Quarrying declined 1.8 per cent mainly due to the currency slide. The devaluation of currency also resulted in a negative movement of 1.9 per cent in the Bauxite Mining and Alumina Processing group. STATIN, on the other hand, reported Other Mining and Quarrying activities recorded a positive movement of 0.9 per cent for the same period, while manufacturing rose 1.7 per cent in May. The trade deficit...
Metro Mining has announced detailed production and shipping results for the June Quarter. The company’s Bauxite Hills Mine in Queensland has experienced a steady ramp-up and is approaching the budgeted operating rates and achieving consistent results on a daily basis. Image Source:Metro Mining Metro Mining said June mining rates averaged 8,167 wet metric tonnes (WMT) per day and the trend in ship loading rates continue to rise with the last ship loading in 7.1 days. Metro also announced its bauxite project is on track to meet production and shipping guidance of 1.965 – 2.075 WMT for the calendar year 2018. Image Source: Metro Mining Metro Mining’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Simon Finnis, said: “While it was a challenging start to the quarter, I am extremely proud of...
According to the international export-import statistics, bauxite export from Montenegro was estimated at 1.26 million tonnes in 2017. The country exports bauxite mainly to China, Czech Republic, Bosnia Herzegovina, Hong Kong, Poland, Slovakia and Serbia. China is the largest bauxite market for Montenegro. The top aluminium producing country from Asia imported 795,560 tonnes of bauxite from Montenegro in 2017, an increase of 105 per cent from the previous year. According to recent estimates, in the first quarter of 2018, Montenegro bauxite export reached an estimated total of 305325 tonnes. The revenue from the export stood at USD 0.82 million. The total bauxite export is expected to reach 336295 tonnes and 365633 tonnes in the second quarter and third quarter of 2018. The revenue from...
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved $24 million for Guinea to support the economy of the bauxite-producing West African nation, the Finance Ministry said on Wednesday. Guinea, whose economy has been hit by low global commodities prices, reached a deal with the IMF in December giving it access to $650 million in non-concessional borrowing under a three-year Extended Credit Facility, running from 2017 to 2020. The IMF programme aims to help Guinea, Africa’s top producer of the aluminium ore bauxite, boost spending on infrastructure projects. Finance Minister Mamadi Camara said in a statement the $24 million would enable Guinea to secure other budgetary support from partners including $50 million from the World Bank and 20 million euros ($23.16 million) from the European Union.
Aggreko Australia Pacific has completed the project of upgradation of 20MW power station at Rio Tinto’s Amrun bauxite project in Far North Queensland. Aggreko had received $100 million contract to build and operate a power station at the company’s project in June las year. The new power station has 22 diesel generators and four transformers. Amrun Project General Manager Marcia Hanrahan said: “We are delighted with the expertise and efficiency Aggreko has brought to the delivery of our $100 million Amrun power station. Switching on power at the facility is another important step forward for the Amrun project.” Aggreko has been operating in Australia since 1980. The company has grown in experience and expertise in power generation to become the world leader and go-to provider for critical...
Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), which is building $1.4 billion bauxite mine in Guinea, announced that it has completed 50 per cent work on the project. EGA is currently developing a bauxite mine and associated export facilities in the Republic of Guinea, West Africa. First bauxite exports from company’s Guinea Alumina Corporation (GAC) project is expected during the second half of 2019. The mine will produce some 12 million tonnes of bauxite per year once full ramp-up is achieved. The GAC is one of the largest greenfield investments in Guinea in the past 40 years and will be a new global source of bauxite supply. Guinea has about seven billion tonnes of bauxite resources, over a quarter of the world's total. EGA said extracted bauxite will be transported by rail to Kamsar port using...
Guyana, one of the world’s leading bauxite producers, has delivered about 1.45 million tonnes of bauxite to the global market in 2017. The country’s bauxite shipments increased 36 per cent year-on-year last year. Guyana’s main exports are: sugar, gold, bauxite, aluminium, rice, shrimp and timber among others. Ukraine and the USA were the top importers of bauxite from Guyana in 2017. Guyana exported about 947830 tonnes and 200467 tonnes of bauxite to Ukraine and the USA respectively. Other importers in 2017 were Canada, Irelands, Netherlands and Italy. As per global export-import data, Guyana is estimated to export 672208 tonnes of bauxite in the half of 2018, up from 662461 tonnes of bauxite in the same period previous year. The volume is projected to decline to 727117 tonnes in the...
