Winter stockpiling keeps bauxite prices high in China; Maintenance at Chinalco to affect alumina output

According to Shanghai Metals Market, prices of bauxite remained high as of Tuesday, December 25, buoyed by winter stockpiling across alumina producers amidst growing bauxite supplies after the output resumption at some miners in Shanxi and Henan.

As of December 25, bauxite with alumina/silica ratio of 7 was offered up to RMB 700 per tonne, ex-works, in Shanxi, while materials with alumina/silica ratio of 5 were offered up to RMB 560 per tonne, ex-works, SMM learned.

Owing to looser environmental restrictions compared to the previous year, miners in Shanxi and Henan with production licences recovered output from late November, which in turn, eased shortages of bauxite.

According to another update from SMM, China’s largest state aluminium producer Chinalco has put one of its roasting furnaces at Guangxi branch into maintenance on Tuesday, December 25.

Maintenance work will last 14 days and expectedly affect alumina production by 20,000 tonnes, out of the total capacity of 2.5 million tonnes per year at the branch.

Separately, another alumina producer Tiandong Jinxin Chemical in Guangxi is conducting one-week maintenance work at its roasting furnaces since December 23. This is expected to affect alumina production by 16,000 tonnes.