
On 2nd September 2021, as the prices for the raw material of the metal aluminium towered at two years high, an advisor to China Hongqiao Group stated that the Group’s alumina refinery in Indonesia to commence its 2nd phase up by the end of 2021.

In 2016, the first 1 million tonnes per year phase of the Well Harvest Winning alumina refinery on the island of Borneo initiated production. The aluminium giant then targeted to execute the 2nd phase by 2020 but fresh disclosures only said it was "progressing smoothly."
Ron Knapp, International Adviser of Hongqiao, said: "A second phase of the Indonesian project - another 1 million tonnes - should come online later this year.”
The former secretary-general of the International Aluminium Institute, Ron Knapp added: “Hongqiao currently has around 16 million tonnes of annual alumina capacity, mostly in China.”
On 1st September, COMEX alumina futures AALc1 hit $320 a tonne, the highest since July 2019 following a fire at the Jamalco alumina refinery in Jamaica last month. Chinese prices SMM-AVEG-ALM for the material topped 3,000 yuan ($465) a tonne on 2nd September, also a more than two-year high, amid limited supply.
The sudden rise in alumina costs has furled to a surge in prices of aluminium CMAL3 to decade highs this week.
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