China’s metallurgical-grade alumina production continued to grow in November 2024, driven by expanded capacity. As of December 6, China’s metallurgical-grade alumina capacity stood at about 103.02 million tonnes, up by 0.31 per cent from 102.7 million tonnes in the previous month.
Image Source: Made-in-China
Operating rate and output volume
According to the Shanghai Metals Market survey, the actual operating capacity of alumina refineries increased by 3.24 per cent in November, compared to a 2.93 per cent growth in October, leading to a record-high capacity. The operating rate in the specified period stood at 86.63 per cent against 84.22 per cent in the previous month.
The increased capacity and operating rate drove China’s monthly alumina output in November. Month-on-month, the production volume grew by 0.71 per cent from 7.112 million tonnes to 7.163 million tonnes, while that on a year-on-year basis surged by 8.8 per cent.
From January to November 2024, the cumulative output volume was 75.871 million tonnes, up by 3.8 per cent Y-o-Y from 73.09 million tonnes, attributed to the resumption of closed capacities until October due to environmental protection and equipment maintenance.
Entering December, SMM expects China’s domestic alumina refineries to maintain high production levels, considering a very few capacities will go on maintenance. The operating capacity is expected to stand at 89.29 million tonnes per year, supported by the increased inflow of imported bauxite. As of November 29, the weekly port arrivals of bauxite at China’s domestic ports were 3.7287 million tonnes, significantly up by 502,700 tonnes from the previous week.
According to SMM, weekly port departures from Guinea (including Boffa Port) and Australia also increased week-on-week, standing at 3.5721 million tonnes, up by 958,300 tonnes W-o-W, and 1.0547 million tonnes, up by 54,600 tonnes.
Very recently, the shipment volume of bauxite from Guinea to China has increased compared to October and November, which is expected to help the refineries ramp up their alumina production. However, despite the growth, the shipment has yet to reach pre-raining season levels, which is why further attention is required to the pace of new and resumed alumina capacity releases.
