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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China imported 20.4 million tonnes of bauxite in the first three months of 2018, an increase of 47 per cent year-on year. In March 2018, the country’s import of bauxite increased 44 per cent year-on year to 7.2 million tonnes, based on the import-export data released by General Customs. Data Source: metal.com Guinea still remains the top supplier of bauxite to China. Guinea exported 3.6 million tonnes of bauxite last month, up 96 per cent year-on year .During January-March, the volume increased 118.85 per cent year-on-year to reach 10.5 million tonnes. Guinea has been focussing on its mineral export-based strategy for growth in a big way. The country’s bauxite exports to China surged by 132.35 per cent last year. The West African country is likely to increase its bauxite exports in a...
Guinea, Africa’s top bauxite producer with the production more than doubled last year to about 50 million tonnes, has approved plans of a Netherland-based company to develop a bauxite mine and alumina refinery worth US$1.4 billion in Guinea, said Guinea’s government on Friday, April 27, 2018. According to a government report, a cabinet meeting on Thursday, April 26, 2018, authorised the drafting of a mining contract that would allow Societe des Bauxites de Guinee (SBG), a subsidy of MetalCorp Group to begin production by the close of 2022. Once operational, the new mine is apprehended to take the Guinea’s position to a whole new level as the region’s leading bauxite producer, by producing an estimated 8 million tonnes of bauxite annually, out of which 3 million tonnes would be for the...
Metallica Minerals has entered into a secured loan agreement with South West Pacific Bauxite, 75% owner of Wagina bauxite project. The company will provide South West Pacific Bauxite with A$120,000 loan, in exchange for an option to carry out exclusive due diligence on the Wagina bauxite project in the Solomon Islands with a view to ultimately completing a transaction involving the project. Metallica Managing Director, Mr Simon Slesarewich said: “After an extensive and disciplined search in Australia and overseas, we are excited to have identified the Wagina bauxite project as an asset that is potentially the right fit for the Company. This Project has the ability to significantly extend our current Reserve life and lift the production profile beyond what Urquhart will deliver when it...
The UAE-based largest industrial company, Emirates Global Aluminium, owned equally by Mubadala Development Company of Abu Dhabi and Investment Corporation of Dubai, has signed a 15-year agreement with LD Ports & Logistics, a subsidiary global marine transport and services group of Louis Dreyfus Armateurs, for the transshipment of bauxite in the Republic of Guinea. Abdualla Kalban, EGA’s managing director and chief executive officer said at the signing ceremony, “EGA has set an ambitious growth agenda to expand upstream and internationally. Transshipment is an important link in the chain that will connect our alumina refinery and aluminium smelters in the UAE with bauxite mines in Guinea, and will also lower shipping costs from GAC to global bauxite markets.” As per the deal, EGA will load...
In the face of US sanctions against Russian aluminium company Rusal, bauxite sources in Jamaica are floating the idea that UC Rusal may have to be persuaded into giving up controlling interest in its local bauxite operations for avoiding the further consequences. Although the situation has now turned different earlier this week as the United States softened the sanctions on Rusal for next five months, yet the Jamaican Government expects Rusal, the owner of Windalco, to face problems in securing its raw materials for local output, as reported by Minister of Transport & Mining Robert Montague on Tuesday in an update to Parliament on the sanctions threat. Montague has sent a clear signal on Tuesday that the Government is ready to take over Windalco in the national interest, even while noting...
Members of the Queensland Bauxite management team responsible for the development of the South Johnstone Bauxite Project are currently visiting several Chinese alumina refineries and aluminium smelters. The visit is a part of it current marketing strategy and a part of the operational plan under the existing granted Mineral Development Licence on South Johnstone. The team is headed by QBL's Chief Geoscientist Dr Robert Coenraads PhD. They are in talk with the company executives who have expressed interest in collaborating with South Johnstone Bauxite Project. A Hong Kong based metals marketing platforms who have offered to assist in the commodity trading with QBL is also among their list of meetings. The Aluminium, alumina and bauxite, Resources and Energy Quarterly, December 2017...
Mercantile OFM’s A11c per share proportional takeover offer for Bauxite Resources has been extended until May 21, while the company is fighting back, boosting its venture Ceres bauxite deposit in the Darling Range, Western Australia by 48%, a company press release confirmed. The exploration project areas are contained within the Company’s joint venture agreement with HD Mining & Investments Pty Ltd. HDM is funding the exploration activities in Ceres. BRL retains 100% interest in other minerals for these exploration licences. The Company currently has exploration access agreements in place and they need to complete mining access agreements and a mining lease to start mining. The previous resource estimate announced in July 2012 stood at 14.8Mt at 31.7% available alumina. It is assumed that...
The United States unleashed sanctions against Russian aluminium giant Rusal on Friday April 6, 2018. Just in two weeks’ time, the sanctions have left around innumerable consequences, starting with Glencore and Rio Tinto’s decision to declare force majeure on Russian contracts followed by German-headquartered bauxite transshipment company Oldendorff Carriers to shut operations at Guyana. The company with 200 Guyanese employees has decided to shut the operations at Guyana as a consequence of US sanctions against Russian aluminium company Rusal, according to a report. According to, Tradewindsnews report, Oldendorff told the publication “it will fully comply with US sanctions and therefore will be winding up its business in Guyana in a timely manner.” Raphael Trotman, minister of natural...
Roy Harvey, CEO of Alcoa Corporation, a global leader in bauxite, alumina and aluminium production, announced on Wednesday April 18, 2018, the company will redirect 800,000 tonnes of bauxite to the market which was otherwise committed to Rusal. As a consequence of US sanctions, Harvey believes that there is likely to be a global deficit in both aluminium and alumina this year. On asking repeatedly about the ultimate impact of the US sanctions on Russia, he says the situation is complex and is difficult to predict. Due to delays in projects to expand smelters in China, the company estimates the global aluminium deficit to grow between 600,000 tonnes and 1 million tonnes, up from last quarter’s deficit estimates between 300,000 tonnes and 700,000 tonnes, while global aluminium demand is...
Global miner Rio Tinto today announced production results for the first quarter of 2018. The company’s bauxite production in Q1 2018 was 12 per cent higher than the corresponding quarter of 2017, due to continued operational improvements. Rio Tinto produced 12.7 million tonnes of bauxite in the first quarter of 2018. The third party shipments of 8.2 million tonnes were achieved, 19 per cent higher than the first quarter of 2017 due to firm demand and higher port availability. "Gove production was notably 31 per cent higher due to the debottlenecking of the materials handling system, whilst stronger production was also achieved at Weipa (eight per cent higher) and Sangaredi (five per cent higher). Production was lower than the fourth quarter of 2017 due to seasonal wet weather,” according...
As per the recent report by BMI research, bauxite production is likely to grow globally over the years owing to the estimated increasing production in India, upcoming projects lined up in Australia and Indonesia’s reappearance in the market following the end of the mineral ore export ban. The report estimates that Indonesia will become a major player in coming time for reclaiming its share of bauxite exports to China and further elaborates “"We forecast Indonesia's bauxite production growth to register an annual average of 24.4% during 2018-2027, compared to 77.1% over the previous ten-year period. We expect output to increase from 7.5 million tonnes in 2018 to 43.3 million tonnes by 2027." According to BMI, the relaxation of the ban on bauxite exports allowed many companies to have a...
Metro Mining has commenced mining operations at the Bauxite Hills Mine. Metro Mining Managing Director & CEO Simon Finnis said the Bauxite Hills Mine would feed the ever-growing seaborne bauxite market. Metro’s first shipment has been purchased by China’s Xinfa Group, one of the largest integrated aluminium companies in China. The first vessel of around 60,000 tonnes of bauxite to Shandong Province has been scheduled to arrive on 19 April. Image Source: Metro Mining Metro Mining Managing Director & CEO Simon Finnis said “The Bauxite Hills Mine will become the largest independent mine within the internationally acclaimed Weipa Bauxite Region.” “Commencement of mining operations is a credit to the entire Metro team. Site Management and the mining, marine and construction personnel have...
State-owned diversified miner PT Aneka Tambang (ANTAM) posted a 116 per cent increase in bauxite production in the January-March period 2018. The company produced 200,300 wet metric tons (wmt) of bauxite in the first quarter of 2018. ANTAM's sales volume volume reached 61,380 wmt in the first three months of 2018, an increase of 37 per cent from the same period in 2017. The company also received a new permit recommendation from Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry for bauxite and nickel exports. Antam received one-year recommendation to export 840,000 wet metric tons (wmt) of washed bauxite with an aluminium oxide content of 42% or more. This will support their plans to boost production and sales of bauxite in 2018. In March 2018, the company announced plans to significantly increase...
After several rounds of discussion and year-long struggle, Vedanta Aluminium Limited finally sealed a deal with the OMC to haul bauxite from Kodingamali mines to Lanjigarh refinery, as reported on April 12, 2018. According to the previous news, Vedanta had expected to pay high costs to transport bauxite from Kodingamali mines to Lanjigarh refinery due to the lack of direct rail route. The estimated cost was INR 1000 to INR 1200 per tonne. But now, as per the current report, the company is expecting to secure 0.8 million tonnes of bauxite from the OMC at INR 700 to INR 800 per tonne cheaper compared to the landed cost of bauxite at the Lanjigarh plant site. In the first ever auction of bauxite at the country, Vedanta, Hindalco and Anrak Aluminium could seize 0.19 million tonnes of bauxite...
The prolonged wait of an Angolan company Bauxite Angola for resuming its cooperation project, particularly for exploring bauxite deposits seems to finally come to an end in 2018. In 2007, Bauxite Angola had secured rights to the bauxite reserves in Guinea Bissau and in April 2012, the project was suspended by the African Union following a military coup in Bissau. Since then the company has been looking forward to the solvent of political turmoil and recommencing the mining project all over again. Angola’s second deputy speaker Higino Carneiro announced on Tuesday, April 10, 2018, that Bauxite Angola is going to resume its bauxite exploration projects in Guinea-Bissau soon, as reported by the Angolan Press. Speaking at the end of an audience with the Guinean head of state José Mário Vaz,...
Malaysia, one of the world’s top bauxite producers, has started exporting bauxite to China since November, though the volume has shrunk considerably in February 2018. As per export-import data shared by China’s General Administration of Customs, bauxite export by Malaysia to China in February totalled 29,486 tonnes, down 93.47 per cent year on year (YoY). Malaysia has prolonged the period of moratorium on bauxite mining in Pahang till June 30 2018 to give the government time to finalise a regulatory framework to prevent a repeat of the environmental damage. Malaysian companies remain positive about lifting of the ban in due time that would help revive mining segment. As per global export-import data, Malaysia is estimated to export 9 million tonnes of bauxite in the half of 2018, up from...
At the commencement of e-auctions, Odisha Mining Corporation offers 190,000 tonnes of bauxite secured from its Kodingamali mines in Southern Odisha. This maiden attempt of OMC to sell bauxite at e-auctions has evoked buying interests from many alumina refinery owners, both within and outside the state. "We have received the participation of BALCO (Bharat Aluminium Company), Hindalco for its units at Muri and Belgaum and Anrak Aluminium at the bauxite e-auctions. As per the policy finalized, 30 per cent of our saleable bauxite would be liquidated through auctions”, said R Vineel Krishna, managing director, Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC). This is not the first time Anrak Aluminium has decided to source bauxite from OMC. Earlier also, the refinery had turned to Odisha Government for a...
Vedanta, a global diversified metals and mining company, plans to sign a long-term contract with Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) to haul bauxite for its Lanjigarh (Kalahandi district) alumina refinery. However, the company is perplexed about the escalation of the transport cost of procuring raw material from OMC’s recently opened mine on the Kodingamali plateau. The estimated transport cost is INR 1000 to INR 1200 per tonne because of the absence of direct rail route between Lanjigarh alumina refinery and Kodingamali mines. This may lead to bauxite price rise by more than 100 per cent within the time it reaches Lanjigarh plant. “Logistics is an issue. In a competitive market, when companies like Nalco and Hindalco have refineries next to their captive mines, and have the advantage of...
