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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The repeated instances of civil unrest in Guinea, particularly in the mineral-rich region of Boké in the west of the country have been incessantly growing over time. Guineans claim that the mining companies in Guinea failed to contribute to their wellbeing, despite being a country with the highest bauxite reserves in the world amounting to 7.4 billion tonnes. In the initial five months of 2017, bauxite export from the country to China reached 9.4 million tonnes, up 164.5 per cent from the corresponding period last year. In May alone, Guinea bauxite export to China reached 2.2 million tonnes, up 131 per cent from last year. 2018 has also been a kickass for the country as one of its bauxite mining companies La Guineenne des Mines (GDM) announced the shipment of their first bauxite...
First Bauxite Corporation announced that its subsidiary, Guyana Industrial Minerals Inc. (GINMIN), has received additional orders from customers in China and Europe for bauxite ore. The Company expects the first bulk shipment to Europe of 5-10,000 metric tonnes to occur in June/July 2018 and the second bulk shipment to China of 10,000 metric tonnes to occur in September 2018. The orders are a result of the Company’s product and market development initiatives to sell its high-quality bauxite ore in an improving market to produce sintered refractory grade bauxite. The Company's recently completed trial production tests indicate the final sintered product will have an Al2O3 content > 92.0%, a Fe2O3 content < 0.5% and a BSG > 3.25/g/cm³. As disclosed previously, the Company was granted...
After almost two months, Tasmanian miner, Australia Bauxite Ltd. has made a significant progress with its bauxite refining project ALCORE. In our previous news, we had reported that engineering and cost study for the first stage was finished, including the construction of an engineering validation plant in New South Wales. Now, the update is company board of directors has approved the incorporation of ALCORE limited as a wholly-owned subsidiary to fund and manage the project, leading to the construction of ALCORE production plant to produce annually 50,000 tonnes of aluminium fluoride and core products. The recent developments also include ALCORE to start ALCORE technology for converting raw bauxite worth approximately US$50 per tonne into bauxite products worth more than US$1,000 per...
China’s Aluminium Corp of China (Chalco) said in an exchange filing that its Hong Kong unit will invest up to $163.8 million in the Boffa bauxite project in Guinea, which has a total cost of $706 million. The board has approved the investment and the final decision awaits shareholders’ review and approval, it said. Guinea has been racing past many countries to become the key bauxite exporter worldwide. Guinea, China’s largest supplier of bauxite, exported 27.6 million tonnes to the country in 2017, about 40 per cent of total imports. According to Bloomberg Intelligence, China’s metal companies are stepping up overseas acquisitions “to stabilize the supply of raw materials.” Last year, Chalco had announced its plans to spend $500 million for production of bauxite in Guinea. "The reserves...
Environmental protection organisations have urged Ghana government to halt the planned mining of bauxite in the Atiwa Forest Reserve and to completely exclude it from the bauxite mining agreement because of water provision services and ecological reasons, Ghana News Agency reported. The organisations are led by Friends of the Earth-Ghana (FoE), in collaboration with ARocha Ghana and Tropenbos Ghana, forest research organisations under the auspices of the Green Livelihood Alliance. Dr Theo Anderson, the Director of FoE, “We want to remind the China Development Bank that funding the destruction of the Atiwa Forest violates the Bank’s own environmental principles and has a consequence for the Bank’s reputation and public image and we call on the Chinese Banking Regulatory Authority to apply...
As another milestone in the development of bauxite/alumina industry in the West African nation, Guinean lawmakers approved a $2.9 billion deal with China’s TBEA Co Ltd for the development of a bauxite-alumina project there. The project will include development of a bauxite mine and the construction of a port, railroad and power plant to facilitate the supply chain. The project is estimated to generate $406 million in annual revenue for Guinea. On Tuesday, a spokesman for parliament’s mines and industry commission, Dian Bailo Diallo, explained the significance of the project to the lawmakers in the Guinean capital, Conakry. Guinea is the next big contender to Australia as the biggest exporter of bauxite to China after Indonesia and Malaysia have slipped from the list. The country also...
Societe Miniere de Boke (SMB) has resumed operations at its bauxite mine after a nearly two-week strike in Guinea, the company’s Managing Director said on Wednesday. “The overwhelming majority of workers went back to work this morning even if there are a few scattered blockages without any impact on shipments,” Frederic Bouzigues told Reuters in a text message. SMB - owned by Guinea, China’s Winning Shipping Ltd, Shandong Weiqiao and UMS International Ltd - said that the company had already lost around 1 million to 1.2 million tonnes of scheduled bauxite production, with losses running to US$1 million a day. Guinea’s volatile western town Boke is known for suffering from frequent strikes and protests from a local population who feel excluded from the town’s vast mineral wealth. The poor...
Former Head of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) IN Guyana, Winston Brassington has defended the decision to bring back Russian bauxite company Rusal to Guyana. According to him it was in favour of the local industry and Rusal was the only company to show interest in investing in the country. Rusal-owns Bauxite Company of Guyana Incorporated (BCGI/ RUSAL) in the country which mines bauxite and exports internationally. “If you were in my shoes, a thousand jobs are on the line, a company is making a US$150M investment, who would you choose?” Brassington was quoted as saying last week. It is to be noted that Oldendorff Carriers, the German-headquartered bauxite transshipment company that was working with Rusal to move bauxite from its Upper Berbice river...
Guinea’s Societe Miniere de Boke (SMB) has completely shut down its bauxite production over the past ten days owing to a staff walkout and already lost around 1 million to 1.2 million tonnes of scheduled bauxite production, with losses running to US$1 million a day, told Frederic Bouzigues, general director of SMB, to Reuters over telephone on Monday, May 14, 2018. Guinea’s volatile western town Boke is known for suffering from frequent strikes and protests from a local population who feel excluded from the town’s vast mineral wealth. Bouzigues said, “All our activities are blocked because of a decision to stop work that some of our employees have taken to stop work, after the arrest of a union leader by the authorities.” Union Leader Aboubacar Sidiki Mara was arrested by police in the...
With the expansion of bauxite mining sector and reopening of Alpart refinery, players in the local mining, haulage and construction sectors in Jamaica are anticipating a boost in their production capacity with the availability of brand new heavy-duty trucks for purchase in Jamaica. The trucks are on high demand for bauxite logistics. New local miner, Conveyance Partners JA Limited, is one of the companies that have made its strategy to expand their capacity using the new line of heavy-duty trucks. The nearly one-year-old company Conveyance Partners JA mines bauxite ore for Jamalco in Clarendon. The company handles bauxite for dome feeding at Jiuquan Iron and Steel Company (JISCO) Alpart in St Elizabeth. Conveyance Partners is a sister concern of Conveyance and Konstruk'Shon Limited, an...
Metro Mining’s Bauxite Hills Mine which has shipped 62,000 tonnes of bauxite on May 7 to Xinfa Group in China, one of the country’s largest integrated aluminium companies is on track to load 10,000 tonnes of bauxite per day. The project is forecast to generate EBITDA of $2.5 billion. The Bauxite Hills mine in Queensland could continue with its mining target despite the disruptions from extreme weather at the start of the year. The shipment to Xinfa at the designated time has forged its position in the niche bauxite industry in Queensland. The company has been able to meet every milestone along the way from exploration to construction, production and shipment. Pricing under the agreement with Xinfa is linked to a well-established alumina price index. Since the first shipment, the company...
Solomon Islands’ export of bauxite represents 93 per cent of the total exports of the country. The country exports bauxite mainly to China and India. China is the largest bauxite market for the country. Solomon Islands exported 174,189 tonnes of bauxite to China in March 2018, up 75 per cent from the previous year. The country exported 441,002 tonnes of bauxite in the first three months of the year. Solomon Islands has a great potential of bauxite. Data shows the total bauxite export by Solomon Islands stood at about 232978 tonne in 2016. The country witnessed a jump in exports of bauxite last year. The amount increased about 139 per cent year-on-year to about 556434 tonnes in 2017. For the full year of 2018, the total bauxite export by the country is estimated to stand at about 135153...
Bauxite Resources Limited has received advice from legal counsellor that the rejection of the proportional takeover bid made by Mercantile OFM Pty Ltd (Mercantile) at the Company’s general meeting held on 23 March 2018 will not be applicable to the Mercantile bid. The board has accepted this advice and, as such, has resolved that Mercantile’s bid remains valid notwithstanding the outcome of the resolutions considered at the General Meeting. Company Shareholders who accept Mercantile’s offer under the bid will have their remaining 50% shareholding continue to trade on the ASX under the new ASX share code BAUE. BRL’s directors however recommended that the shareholders should reject the offer. They argued that the offer is for only 50% of the shareholding and less than BDO’s preferred value....
The Queensland Resources Council has welcomed a new four-year export deal secured for Queensland bauxite with one of China’s largest integrated aluminium companies. QRC Chief Executive Ian Macfarlane said the Queensland resources sector contributed $55 billion – or 78% – of Queensland’s $70 billion exports over the last 12 months, and deals like the one Metro Mining have secured with Xinfa further strengthens that contribution. “We are seeing strong double-digit growth in resource exports from Queensland. We have the coal, minerals and LNG that the world needs,” he said. “Stable policy and continued access to resource will continue to underpin the sector’s contribution not only to Queensland exports, but the wider economy and employment.” “Importantly the Bauxite Hills Mine, north of...
According to Shanghai Metals Market, bauxite supplies are tightening in Shanxi province, the main bauxite producing area in north China. Supply of bauxite with an alumina/silicon ratio above 4.5 was short in the market, as the Shanxi government started checks on illegal mining across the province. The drive that started on March 1 to protect ore resources, has suspended much operations across most bauxite mines. Some of the closed mines are Jiaokou’s Xishan mine, Taohua mine, Xiaoyi’s Yangquanqu mine and Xiaokuang . Xiangwang mine is producing bauxite grades that have lower alumina content than required. SMM expects bauxite prices in Shanxi to rise RMB 40-60 per tonne in the short term and RMB 20 per tonne in May. SMM also learned that an alumina plant raised its bauxite purchasing prices...
Metro Mining Ltd has shipped its first batch of 62,000 tonnes of bauxite to China from its flagship Bauxite Hills Mine in northern Queensland, Australia. This was purchased by the Xinfa Group, one of China’s largest integrated aluminium companies with refining and smelting facilities in Shandong, Shanxi, Guangxi and Xinjiang provinces. Metro Mining has signed a four-year binding off take agreement with Xinfa with a commitment to deliver one million tonnes in the first year followed by two million tonnes each for next three years. A second bulk carrier has arrived for the purpose. Metro Mining Ltd started mining at its Bauxite Hills project in Far North Queensland after January 2018 with an annual mining target of two million tonnes of bauxite every year. The company expects to ramp it up...
Pacific Bauxite Limited has announced that it will raise up to $3.5 million to fund exploration at its Nendo Bauxite Project (Nendo) and South-West New Georgia Bauxite Project (SWNG) in the Solomon Islands. The company has received commitments to raise $2.5 million through a two tranche placement of fully paid ordinary shares and options to sophisticated investors (Placement). Funds will be used to accelerate exploration at its Solomon Islands bauxite projects, as well as for resource estimation work and general working capital. Pacific Bauxite Non-Executive Chairman Mr. John Ciganek commented, “The support we have received for the placement is very encouraging. We have strong belief in the potential of our projects to host significant bauxite orebodies, and look forward to unlocking...
Local stakeholders of bauxite operations owned by Russian company UC Rusal is beaming with utmost joy since the United States has amended sanctions which it had imposed on key figures in Russia. The month of May thus began with the best positive move ever by putting an end to the blacklisting of the international aluminium giant. Not only is this decision expected to bring in a gust of positive sentiment in the metal market by eradicating aluminium supply scare but should also provide a lifeline for the employees and communities that benefit from the operations of UC Rusal-owned West Indies Alumina Company (Windalco) in St Catherine and Kirkvine works in Manchester. Hugh Graham, the replacement of Robert Pickersgill for the future general elections in North West St. Catherine constituency...
