Week in Review: Indian bauxite makes headlines on expansion and higher revenues

Bauxite industry was in an upswing last week. China, still the largest consumer of the ore, was reported to have imported higher volumes of bauxite in February. The demand for the mineral ore in the country is on a steady rise and this is expected to keep driving its imports in the foreseeable future.  

Below are some of the top bauxite news from last week that certainly call for a re-look:

Government of Odisha, the mineral-rich state on India's east coast, was able to collect INR 6,693.62 crore royalty as on March 27, 2017- the highest since enactment of the amended Mines and Minerals-Development & Regulation (MMDR) Act on January 12, 2015. The revenue, as per state mining ministry data, has accrued from 96 mines engaged in bauxite mining and extraction of other mineral ores.

Vedanta-controlled Bharat Aluminium Company’s (Balco) proposal for the expansion of bauxite mine received mixed reaction from the residents of Surguja district in Chhattisgarh. The proceedings were attended by more than 2,000 residents of which 800 locals expressed their views. The company plans to raise its bauxite production from 750,000 tonnes per year to 2.25 million tonne per year.

An industry source reported that Mali's Falea project in West Africa is now estimated at 1.63 billion tonnes of bauxite reserves. The bauxite reserve is equal to 572 tonnes of refined aluminium with numerous new discoveries.

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The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Indonesia issued a series of export recommendations on Monday, April 3, for the state-owned mining and company Aneka Tambang (ANTAM). The recommendations allow the vertically-integrated, diversified metals and minerals producer to export 850,000 tonnes of bauxite overseas.

Ireland, home to Rusal’s Aughinish Alumina, imported 4.6 MT bauxite in 2016. It procured the major chunk of its bauxite from Guinea.