South32’s alumina and aluminium production in FY2019-20 to be tad higher than current fiscal

Australia-based metals and mining company South32 has reportedly maintained its production guidance of alumina and aluminium in the fiscal years 2018-19 (July-June) and 2019-20. The company projects volumes in the coming fiscal tipped to be marginally higher.

For 2019-20, South32 flagged total alumina production of 5.335 million tonnes, 15,000 tonnes more than 5.32 million tonnes forecast for the current fiscal year.

South32’s share of alumina production from the Worsley Alumina mining, refining, and port operations in Western Australia is expected to be steady at around 3.965 million tonnes per year during the two fiscal years. Out of an annual 4.6 million tonnes of Worsley’s alumina production, South32 accounts for 86 per cent control.

Contribution from the Alunorte alumina refinery to South32, on the other hand, is estimated to reach 1.355 million tonnes in the on-going fiscal and 1.37 million tonnes in 2019-20. On March 1, 2018, Hydro-operated Alunorte refinery was forced to cut its production by half due to environmental non-compliance. South32 owns 36 per cent of Alunorte’s alumina production.

Rio Tinto, a major alumina producer outside China, said its production guidance for 2019 was at 8.1 million tonnes to 8.4 million tonnes, 1.5 per cent up from 8 million tonnes output in 2018.

Meanwhile, South32 targeted producing 993,000 tonnes of aluminium in 2019-20, a tad higher than 989,000 tonnes anticipated in the current fiscal ending on June 30, 2019. Output of the company’s wholly owned Hillside aluminium smelter in South Africa would be relatively steady at 72,000 tonnes in each of the two fiscal years.

Mozambique's Mozal aluminium smelter would likely contribute 269,000 tonnes in 2018-19 and 273,000 tonnes in 2019-20. South32 holds Mozal aluminium smelter’s 47.1 per cent share of aluminium production.