Porto do Itaqui receives the first batch of aluminium ingots after a gap of 10 years

Cargo operations via the Maranhão public port are back in business! After a ten-year gap, the Porto do Itaqui in São Luís received the first batch of aluminium ingots from Australian mining firm South32 at the end of November. South32, one of the Alumar consortium's multinational mining businesses, will export the metal via it in December, resuming 100 per cent Maranhão production.

South32 will ship its first aluminium via the Port of Itaqui to Rotterdam, Netherlands, in December 2023, with an expected volume of 10,000 to 15,000 tonnes. The operation will make use of favoured berths for general freight. The revival of aluminium ingot exports via the port is the consequence of investments made in the state by the Consórcio de Alumnio do Maranho SA (Alumar). The collaboration created around 5,500 employment opportunities with a R$3 billion investment over three years.

"This is a significant moment for South32 as it marks our first export from Alumar since we restarted smelting last year. We are contributing to the economy of Maranhão and enabling low-carbon aluminum, produced locally and with 100% renewable energy, to reach the international market", said Christian Costa, president of South32 in Brazil.

South32, in collaboration with Porto do Itaqui, is one of the global mining corporations comprising the Alumar consortium and Alcoa and Rio Tinto. Currently, the Australian business owns 40% of the entire aluminium capacity produced in Maranho.

The current Alumar cargo is already being stored. The last time aluminium ingots were exported via the Port of Itaqui was in 2013. However, the public port's partnership with Alumar extends back many years. From 2001 to 2013, the port handled 2.1 million tonnes of this cargo.