26 FEBRUARY 2014www.metalbulletin.com
Integrated aluminium producer model will be challenged over the next few years: Alumina Ltd
Edited by : AL CIRCLE
1 min read
The integrated aluminium producer model will be challenged over the next couple of years, leading to a shake-up in corporate structures, an executive at Alumina Ltd said.
These changes could take a variety of forms, Andrew Wood told Metal Bulletin's 20th Bauxite and Alumina conference in Miami.
These include demergers of alumina from aluminium businesses, splitting up upstream and downstream businesses, as well as mergers and acquisitions, Wood added.
Wood, who manages corporate strategy and development for Alumina Limited, said Chinese government policy is meanwhile encouraging some consolidation in the country's aluminium and alumina industry.
Yet the ban on Indonesian ore exports will impact China's ability to source bauxite, Wood noted.
"How much bauxite is exported in future will probably bear relation to volumes produced at refining projects" in Indonesia, he told the conference.
But as refinery growth continues to rise in China, the country is facing deteriorating domestic ore quality, along with depleting supplies.
"We should expect a sharp rise from 2019 onwards in China's imported bauxite needs, particularly from Henan and Shanxi provinces," Wood said.
"Extra costs should push other provinces to join Shandong as the world's marginal cost producer," he added.
These include demergers of alumina from aluminium businesses, splitting up upstream and downstream businesses, as well as mergers and acquisitions, Wood added.
Wood, who manages corporate strategy and development for Alumina Limited, said Chinese government policy is meanwhile encouraging some consolidation in the country's aluminium and alumina industry.
Yet the ban on Indonesian ore exports will impact China's ability to source bauxite, Wood noted.
"How much bauxite is exported in future will probably bear relation to volumes produced at refining projects" in Indonesia, he told the conference.
But as refinery growth continues to rise in China, the country is facing deteriorating domestic ore quality, along with depleting supplies.
"We should expect a sharp rise from 2019 onwards in China's imported bauxite needs, particularly from Henan and Shanxi provinces," Wood said.
"Extra costs should push other provinces to join Shandong as the world's marginal cost producer," he added.
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