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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Update-Few firms big enough to consider Tiwai
The future sale of Tiwai Point aluminium smelter near Bluff - one of seven separate assets being bundled into a new company by mining giant Rio Tinto - could become the focus of Chinese investment or stock-exchange listing. The Tiwai smelter is one of the country's largest single exporters by value...
Update-Rio Tinto targets longer alumina position with asset sales
If and when Rio Tinto manages to sell all of the 13 assets it put up for sale on October 17, it will have divested itself of around 2 million tpy of primary aluminium production capacity,and given itself a substantially longer position in alumina than in aluminium. “Being long in bauxite and...
'No decision' over Alcan smelting plant in Lynemouth
Owners of an aluminium smelting plant facing closure in Northumberland say no decision has been taken on its future. Rio Tinto, which owns the Alcan plant at Lynemouth, says it will try to sell the plant but might have to close if a buyer does not come forward. The company is putting a task force...
Rio Tinto trims aluminium business
Rio Tinto will sell 13 aluminium units worldwide, including refineries and smelters in Australia, as the world's second-biggest miner seeks to streamline its Alcan aluminium business. Rio Tinto said in a statement today the moves were part of a streamlining of its aluminium group following a...
Cost pressures 'returning' to aluminium sector, Rio Tinto warns
Rio Tinto's aluminium output rose 4% in the third quarter against a return of cost pressures in the industry. The miner's share of aluminium production reached 962,000 tonnes, up 4% quarter-on-quarter and 2% higher year-on-year, driven by a resumption of normal production at Laterriere after a...
Rio Tinto Q3 Global Production Facts
Rio Tinto (RIO: News ,RIO.L: News ) reported third quarter global iron ore production of 64 million tonnes, or 50 million tonnes attributable, up five percent on the third quarter of 2010. Bauxite production was up seven percent and Aluminium was two percent higher whilst alumina was five percent...
Rio Tinto Alcan: Rising Energy Prices Will Push Up Aluminum Costs
Rising electricity prices pose a challenge for the global aluminum industry as the cost of aluminum production continues to climb, Gordon Hamilton, a vice president of sales and marketing at aluminum maker Rio Tinto Alcan, said Tuesday. Aluminum production is a very energy intensive process, where...
Rio Tinto Alcan awards tapping contract to HMR
Rio Tinto Alcan has signed a contract with Norwegian company HMR Hydeq. HMR will deliver a complete tapping system for the expansion of production capacity at the Alcan Iceland smelter in Straumsvik, Iceland. The agreement includes five tapping vehicles with the crucible cleaner and other auxiliary...
Mineral production rises in Guinea
Bauxite or aluminium ore production in Guinea the world's top supplier rose 5.2% year-on-year during the first half of 2011 to 9.7Mt, according to a report released in the capital this week. Guinea's economy relies heavily on its mining sector, and its resource riches have drawn billions of dollars...
Rio Tinto hiring hundreds of workers in Canada because of modernization projects
A couple of years after it laid off 14,000 workers around the world, global mining giant Rio Tinto has launched a mini hiring spree in Canada, mainly due to its modernization projects. The Anglo-Australian company is actively searching to hire more than 210 workers for mining and manufacturing in...
Rio Tinto Eyeing Australia Aluminum Business Spin-off
Global miner Rio Tinto is considering spinning off part of its Australian aluminum assets as planned as carbon would raise costs, the Australian Financial Review said on Monday. Rio has been working with Macquarie Group and PricewaterhouseCoopers to consider its options for the business. Rio's...
Rio CFO: Eyes Non-Core Aluminum Asset Sales; Higher Ebitda Margin
Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) has identified assets within its aluminum business that could be sold off and is targeting a margin on earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of 40% within its aluminum business, the company's chief financial officer said Tuesday. At the company's...
Rio Tinto closer to Malaysia power price deal to push aluminium smelter project
AFTER protracted delays, mining giant Rio Tinto and its Malaysian partner are inching towards an agreement on the price they will pay for electricity to power their $US2 billion ($1.9bn) aluminium smelter in East Malaysia. According to sources, negotiations have been held up because the Malaysian...
Rio Tinto's Cape York development may be hindered
A crab the size of a ten cent piece might stop the development of mining giant Rio Tinto’s $900 million Cape York bauxite mine. Scientists employed by Rio to undertake an environmental analysis of the north Queensland site have found what is thought to be a new freshwater crab species. The findings...
Energy Still Key Driver For Aluminum Production - Industry
The position of future aluminum production will continue to be driven by the availability of cheap energy, senior industry executives said Thursday. Jean-Philippe Puig, president of primary metal for Europe Middle East and Africa at Rio Tinto Alcan, said the aluminum market continues to face a...
Support for Green Power Project At Alcan's Lynemouth Power Station
KEY decisions on the future of Northumberland's biggest private sector employer are awaiting new information on Government support for renewable energy generation after 2013. Rio Tinto Alcan which employs 630 people at its aluminium smelter and power station in Lynemouth said last night the future...
China To Be Net Aluminum Importer - Rio Tinto Alcan CEO
China will eventually become a net importer of aluminum but the timing of this shift is uncertain, the chief executive of Rio Tinto Alcan said Thursday. "It may take some time, but we believe China will eventually turn into a net importer of aluminum, as it has for bauxite and for alumina,"...
Rio Tinto Alcan CEO: Stable Aluminum Stocks Will Be Short-lived
The stabilization of aluminum inventories in exchange-approved warehouses may be short-lived as a result of a rising surplus during the second half, the chief executive of Rio Tinto Alcan said Thursday. According to Jacynthe Cote, total inventory has been declining in the number of weeks of...
