China’s Yunnan Aluminium targets 65% growth in 2018, while alumina output to 1.3 mil mt

China, being one of the most aspiring aluminium producers, targets new highs every year; while this year is no exception either. As reported by Platts, China’s Yunnan Aluminium has declared on Monday that it is aiming at producing 1.4 million tonnes of aluminium in the year 2018, up by 65.1 per cent as compared to the realized output in the prior year. This high target is particularly in reverence to the ramp-up of the newly commissioned expansion project.

While the alumina and aluminium semi-producer secured a 3.4 per cent year-on-year hike in 2017, alumina output registered 847,800 tonnes in its annual report, filed to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on Monday.

It is believed that the company’s commencement of its trial production of 600,000 tonnes per year second phase alumina capacity expansion project at Wenshan in China’s south-western Yunnan province towards late 2017 has laid a solid ground to boost the company’s alumina nameplate production capacity to 1.4 million tonnes per year in 2018, up by 75 per cent.

The company’s production of pure aluminium climbed up 13.4 per cent year-on-year to 1.37 million tonnes, while aluminium alloy and aluminium semis rose 12.9 per cent and rounded off at 621,000 tonnes in 2017.

Yunnan Aluminium’s smelting capacity further increased when the company completed its acquisition last year. While the production was hovering at 380,000 tonnes per year last August, it jumped to 1.6 million tonnes post acquisition, as reported by Platts.

Encompassed by so many positive upshots, Yunnan Aluminium has also announced late Monday that it is expecting a sharp increase in demand for its aluminium products in 2018, as Beijing’s moves to shut heavily polluting outdated capacity will pare back excessive supply.