US imported 11.5x more primary aluminium from Canada than it exported in semi-fabricated form in H1 2026 - know why
At the US-Canada border, aluminium is constantly on the move, but the direction of trade is far from balanced. In the first six months of 2026, the US imported 907,581.44 tonnes of primary aluminium from Canada, while exporting only 78,886.12 tonnes of semi-fabricated aluminium products such as...
Australian bauxite forecast at $39/t vs Guinea at $34-46/t: How ore quality, freight and oversupply are shaping prices
What happens when the world’s biggest bauxite supplier produces too much of the one commodity it dominates? Guinea’s bauxite market is offering a striking answer. Record exports have strengthened its position in global trade, but the surge in supply has also pushed prices lower. Australia,...
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Rio Tinto sells down stake in Constellium NV
Rio Tinto Ltd , one of the world's top mining companies, has sold most of its stake in aluminum products maker Constellium NV for about $330 million, according to a regulatory filing on Monday. Rio which had a 28 percent stake, sold 19,316,355 shares of Constellium on Nov. 14 at a price of $17 per...
Rio celebrates 50 years of Weipa mine and 500 million tonnes of bauxite shipped
Rio Tinto Alcan invites Weipa residents to its final community forum for the year, and to join in celebrating 50 years of operating and 500 million tonnes of bauxite shipped. Rio Tinto Alcan Weipa general manager, Operations, Gareth Manderson said this is the third year these mine tours have been...
North American aluminium market encouraged by LME rules
Aluminium consumers and some North American aluminium producers applauded sweeping changes announced on November 7 by the London Metal Exchange. Atlanta-based Novelis is encouraged by the development, chief supply chain officer Nick Madden said in a e-mail to AMM. “At first review, the rule changes...
Rio Tinto yet to decide on Gove Alumina Refinery
The future of Rio Tinto Limited's (Melbourne, Australia) Gove alumina refinery is still far from certain, as all concerned parties continue negotiations to secure a supply of natural gas for the facility. The refinery and bauxite mine on the Gove Peninsula, 650 kilometres (400 miles) east of...
Rio Tinto and Chinalco to explore technology partnership
Rio Tinto and Chinalco will explore a partnership to bring forward the next era of mining technology aimed at delivering significant value and re-shaping industry best practice. Rio Tinto chief executive Sam Walsh and Chinalco president Sun Zhaoxue captured their intent in a Memorandum of...
Rio Tinto Alcan recommends competitive energy rates to facilitate growth
Rio Tinto Alcan recommends that energy prices be made more competitive to bolster the growth of the aluminium industry in Quebec. During the Public Consultation on Energy Issues in Quebec, Rio Tinto Alcan proposed that Quebec's new energy policy must affirm the province's resolution to offer...
Nhulunbuy locals are worried about the latest gas deal
The local MP for the mining town of Nhulunbuy says locals are still worried about the region's future, despite a meeting yesterday where more gas was promised for a mining company to continue operating. Labor MP Lynne Walker who represents Nhulunbuy said a town meeting on Monday with Federal...
Macfarlane to meet with locals over Gove refinery
Federal industry minister Ian Macfarlane and NT chief minister Adam Giles will meet with Arnhem Land locals and businesses today over the fate of the Gove alumina refinery. The loss-making Pacific Aluminium plant, owned by Rio Tinto, could have its operations suspended, among four other options its...
Gove's future rests with Rio Tinto: Giles
Chief Minister Adam Giles says the Northern Territory Government has done all it can to deliver gas supplies to Rio Tinto to ensure it keeps its Gove alumina refinery open. Mr Giles held private meetings with community and business leaders at Gove on Tuesday to discussing the future of the...
Giles goes to Rio to keep Gove alumina refinery open
Northern Territory Chief Minister Adam Giles met Rio Tinto this week to outline gas supply options to keep its Gove alumina refinery open, as he called on the global miner to "back the Northern Territory". Mr Giles said that at the meeting on Monday he offered gas to the company, including supply...
Rio and Chalco opted out of Aurukun bauxite deposit
Mining major Rio Tinto and Chinese owned Chalco have opted out of bidding for the $20 billion Aurukun bauxite deposit in Cape York, leaving Glencore and Australia Indigenous Resources in the race. The Queensland government released a shortlist of five bidders to pitch for the Aurukun deposit in...
Rio will expand in bauxite, cut costs in alumina, aluminium
Rio Tinto Alcan’s expansion plans are centred on its bauxite operations, while its focus in its alumina refining and aluminium smelting operations will remain on costs, Nigel Steward, senior vp of technology and supply chain said. ”In smelting and refining we are focused heavily on costs, and have...
Rio Tinto needs more time to consider NT Government's gas offer
Pacific Aluminium won't commit to the struggling Gove alumina refinery - claiming it now needs even more time to consider the NT Government's gas offer. The company's Canada-based chief executive Phillip Strachan flew into Darwin on Monday to hold crucial face-to-face talks with Chief Minister Adam...
Aluminium industry at odds over supply deals, warehouse reforms
The world's top aluminium producers and consumers are at loggerheads over the thorny issue of what price, or premium, should be paid to secure metal deliveries, and will conclude fewer fixed term supply deals this year, industry sources said. Producers Rusal , Alcoa and Rio Tinto are descending on...
Ex-Rio Tinto boss joins Vedanta
Miner Vedanta Resources on Monday said that it had chosen Tom Albanese, former chief executive of peer Rio Tinto, to be its chairman. "Vedanta announces that Tom Albanese is joining the group as the chairman of its subsidiary, Vedanta Resources Holdings Ltd," a statement said. Albanese stepped down...
Key ignored advice over smelter deal: Treasury
Prime Minister John Key was on the phone to Pacific Aluminium boss Sandeep Biswas offering him millions of taxpayer dollars to keep the Tiwai Point smelter open, just two days after his ministers largely discarded the idea, Treasury documents show. The documents released yesterday show Mr Key...
Major hydraulic hose project enhances performance for Rio Tinto Alcan
A crucial project launched to tackle premature component failure at a Brammer-supplied Icelandic facility is delivering huge cost savings for client Rio Tinto Alcan. The initiative to upgrade pivotal equipment has so far saved the customer in excess of £12,000. The project is the latest in a long...
Pressure on Rio Tinto as Gove gas offer cut again
Chief Minister Adam Giles has further reduced his offer of gas to power Rio Tinto's alumina refinery at Gove in the Northern Territory. Speaking at the South East Asia Australia Offshore Conference (SEAAOC) conference in Darwin, Mr Giles again justified reneging on the offer of 300 petajoules of...
