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 says Cyclone Oswald hit alumina output
Rio Tinto said on Wednesday that it was producing alumina in Australia's Queensland state at lower rates following heavy rains and flooding caused by ex-tropical cyclone Oswald. Rio said production was temporarily suspended at its Yarwun alumina refinery due to record rainfall around the Gladstone...
Alumina spot market frozen until Q2 on strong quarterly contract sales
Alumina traders are struggling to find any available cargoes in the first quarter of 2013, as many producers sold forward much of their first-quarter material and will not be responding to enquiries until late March, when they will have material available for the second quarter. Metal Bulletin’s...
Nhulunbuy residents plan rally to save Gove alumina refinery
People in the remote Northern Territory town of Nhulunbuy are planning a rally on Wednesday to show resources giant Rio Tinto Ltd, that "they matter". With Rio's self-imposed deadline of January 31 for a report on the viability of their Gove alumina operations, people in the satellite town of...
Nhulunbuy town braces for Gove refinery news
The Northern Territory outback town of Nhulunbuy is facing a devastating blow, as a government bid to save an alumina refinery may be too little too late. Nhulunbuy, a satellite town of the Gove alumina refinery and bauxite mine, has been waiting anxiously for news of whether mining giant Rio Tinto...
Bluff smelter sale still likely - analyst
An analyst says resources giant Rio Tinto is unlikely to change plans to sell the aluminium smelter near Bluff but it could be more attractive to potential buyers after a massive asset writedown by its parent company. Rio Tinto announced last week it was writing down the value of its coal business...
New chief executive of Rio Tinto takes charge
Sam Walsh is the new chief executive of mining giant Rio Tinto after the shock exit of Tom Albanese last night. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that under pressure from Rio's board, Albanese stood down from the role on the back of US$14billion worth of new impairments that will be lodged against...
Rio Tinto charge underlines weak outlook for aluminum
Rio Tinto's latest write-down of its aluminium assets supports our view that weak pricing and net market surpluses are likely to continue for at least the next two years, pressuring producer profitability, Fitch Ratings says. The charge of between $10bn and $11bn is not a surprise given the state...
Rio Tinto CEO steps down after taking a $14bn charge
Global miner Rio Tinto has announced the surprise resignation of its chief executive Tom Albanese after taking a $14bn (£8.75bn) charge in connection with the company's Mozambique coal and aluminium acquisitions. A mining veteran, who joined Rio two decades ago, Albanese will be replaced by iron...
Gas plan for Gove Refinery to cost taxpayers $900m
Rio Tinto says it is too expensive to keep using heavy fuel oil as a power source and has threatened to shut its alumina refinery on the Gove peninsula, 600km east of Darwin. Rio's subsidiary Pacific Aluminium wants taxpayers to provide a $900 million gas pipeline over 600km from Katherine to Gove....
Rio Tinto says aluminium production down by 9%
Rio Tinto Alcan's aluminium production was nine per cent lower in 2012 compared with the previous year, and fourth quarter production was two per cent down, largely due to the impact of industrial action at one of its Canadian smelters, the company said. Rio Tinto Alcan, the majority owner of the...
Future of Gove smelter uncertain still
Canberra has countered calls for a drastic intervention in the domestic gas market to guarantee energy supplies to a Rio Tinto aluminium refinery amid estimates it could cost $2 billion to rescue the Northern Territory facility. Resources Minister Martin Ferguson moved against the proposals by...
Rio considers closing Gove alumina refinery
The fight to save nearly 1600 Rio Tinto aluminium jobs in the Northern Territory is dangerously close to being lost after the government admitted negotiations had stalled. Mining giant Rio Tinto's subsidiary Pacific Aluminium said on Monday that it was considering shutting its loss-making Gove...
WA’s mining industry calls for a review of mining development at Kimberley
WA’s mining industry has called for a full review of resource development in the Kimberley after Colin Barnett appeared to rule out development of a massive bauxite resource in the region owned by Rio Tinto and Alcoa. Association of Mining and Exploration Companies chief executive Simon Bennison...
Rio, Alcoa win two-year extension on their bauxite alumina project
Resource giants Rio Tinto and Alcoa have won a two-year extension on their plans to develop a massive bauxite deposit and alumina smelter in the Kimberley, despite Premier Colin Barnett casting doubts on the venture. Earlier this month Mr Barnett suggested the remote, costly, project was unlikely...
The European Commission renders legally binding commitments from Rio Tinto Alcan
The European Commission has adopted a decision that renders legally binding the commitments offered by Rio Tinto Alcan to address concerns raised by the Commission about competition on markets for aluminium smelting equipment. The Commission was concerned that the company may have infringed EU...
Rio Tinto agrees sale of shareholding in Palabora
Rio Tinto has reached a binding agreement to sell its 57.7 per cent effective interest in Palabora Mining Company Limited (Palabora) for US$373 million. The purchaser is a consortium comprising South African and Chinese entities led by the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa Limited...
France considers nationalising a Rio Tinto owned aluminium plant
France is considering nationalising an aluminium plant owned by Anglo-Australian mining group Rio Tinto, Le Monde newspaper reported Wednesday. The potential move is being studied by officials working for Arnaud Montebourg, the Industrial Recovery minister, just 10 days after the government...
AMEC Australia calls for Kimberley mine review
WA's mining industry has called for full review of resource development in the Kimberley, after Premier Colin Barnett appeared to rule out the development of a massive bauxite resource in the region owned by Rio Tinto and Alcoa. Association of Mining and Exploration Companies chief executive Simon...
