Alumina Production
Hydro’s Alunorte gas disruption could cost $210m across Q3 and Q4
Alunorte, Hydro’s alumina refinery in Brazil, has cut alumina production to 50 per cent after disruptions to its natural gas supply from CELBA. The disruption could cost Hydro’s Bauxite & Alumina business up to USD 100 million in Q3 2026. Alunorte could also face another USD 110 million impact in Q4 due to higher gas costs. CELBA informed Alunorte in August 2026 that it was facing disruptions to natural gas supplies. The refinery has not received the gas covered by its contract and is now buying gas at spot market prices. Alunorte has cut production to 50 per cent to match the gas currently available. The refinery has asked for direct access to the Barcarena LNG receiving and regasification terminal. Join the fourth edition of webinar " Hedging for recyclers - Become an expert in 6 hours...
Hindalco ends $125 million AluChem deal after prolonged closing delays
Hindalco Industries has terminated its proposed USD 125 million acquisition of US-based speciality alumina producer AluChem Companies after extended delays in closing the transaction. The decision ends a deal announced in June 2025, although Hindalco says its speciality alumina expansion strategy remains firmly in place. Hindalco Industries has called off its proposed acquisition of AluChem Companies Inc., bringing an end to its planned USD 125 million entry into the US-based speciality alumina producer. The Aditya Birla Group's metals flagship and AluChem have jointly decided to terminate the Equity Purchase Agreement (EPA) following prolonged delays in completing the transaction. According to Hindalco's regulatory filing, the delays were beyond the control of either party. "The proposed...
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A report that reveals where the aluminium casting industry is heading and how businesses can act.
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A report that reveals where the aluminium casting industry is heading and how businesses can act.
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AL Circle Analysis: Europe’s aluminium scrap curbs, India’s risk and US’s supply opportunity
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Hindalco moves alumina tenders to Metalshub in push for greater price transparency
Hindalco Industries is moving to structured digital tenders for spot sales of metallurgical-grade alumina in a bid to improve transparency, broaden market participation and strengthen price discovery in the global alumina market. The company is partnering with Metalshub for the initiative through its subsidiary Utkal Alumina International. The move comes as the alumina market continues to lack the transparent, transaction-based pricing mechanism available for aluminium. Hindalco said only around 10 per cent of the 55–60 million tonnes of alumina traded globally each year in the third-party market is sold through spot transactions, even though those sales can influence benchmark prices for a much larger volume of long-term contracts. Hindalco moves alumina spot sales to digital bidding...
DCM Shriram commissions 100 TPD aluminium chloride facility in Gujarat
DCM Shriram has commissioned a new 100 tonnes-per-day (TPD) aluminium chloride plant at its Bharuch facility in Gujarat, along with a 133 TPD calcium chloride plant. The new facilities mark the company’s move into downstream chemicals and aim to increase the use of captive chlorine from its chlor-alkali operations. The projects have moved from pre-commissioning trials to commercial operations as of September 30, 2026. The company said the facilities will convert chlorine generated from its existing operations into downstream chemical products. The 100 TPD aluminium chloride plant strengthens DCM Shriram’s presence in the domestic aluminium chloride market, while the calcium chloride facility represents the company’s entry into the calcium chloride business. To know the futuristic market...
Impact Minerals funds the next phase of high-purity alumina development with $1.56m capital raise
Impact Minerals Limited has raised approximately AUD 2.2 million (USD 1.56 million) before costs through a renounceable rights issue, providing additional funding to advance its two high-purity alumina projects in Australia. The company issued nearly 69 million new shares and approximately 46 million options under the capital raising, which was launched in August. Impact Minerals said the offer received strong participation from existing shareholders, including full take-up by its major German family office investor. Any remaining shortfall shares may be placed within three months, subject to the allocation policy outlined in the offer. Funding targets pilot and customer qualification work The fresh capital will support development of Impact Minerals’ Lake Hope and Alluminous high-purity...
China's alumina sector sinks deeper into losses as costs stay sticky and output rebounds
According to Mysteel's data, China's weighted average full cost of alumina production stood at RMB 2,864.65 per tonne as of the end of August 2026, up about RMB 38.44 per tonne from the previous month. Currently, roughly half of the industry's capacity is running at a loss on a full-cost basis, and some producers have even begun posting cash-flow losses. With no signs of easing on the cost side and alumina prices continuing to slide, the sector's pressure shows no sign of relief. Looking back on August, the bauxite prices held steady. Bottlenecks in incremental domestic mine supply persisted, and the supply-demand picture remained largely unchanged. Beyond routine long-term contracts, alumina refineries struggled to secure spot volumes and could only supplement with imported ore. On the...
Hindalco partners with Metalshub to launch digital alumina spot tenders
Hindalco Industries has partnered with Germany-based digital marketplace Metalshub to introduce a structured online bidding process for spot sales of metallurgical-grade alumina, with the first tender expected between October and December 2026. The initiative aims to bring greater competition and transaction-based price discovery to a segment of the alumina market where most volumes are traditionally traded through long-term contracts. Under the new process, qualified buyers will be able to participate in confidential digital request-for-bid events, allowing multiple bidders to compete for available spot alumina volumes. Metalshub said the approach will generate transaction data from competitive bidding, potentially providing a more transparent reference for spot-market pricing. Digital...
Guinea looks beyond bauxite as Glencore partnership expands into alumina and energy
Guinea is looking to expand its partnership with Glencore beyond bauxite exports, with the two sides discussing potential investments in alumina refining, energy and other strategic projects as Conakry seeks to build more processing capacity at home. The discussions follow a more than USD 300 million bauxite pre-financing and offtake agreement signed last week between state-owned Nimba Mining and Glencore. Under the deal, the Swiss commodities group will market 10–12 million tonnes of bauxite annually for five years, giving it a significant position in one of the world's largest bauxite-producing countries. Guinea's Mines Minister Bouna Sylla said the agreement could provide a foundation for a broader partnership across the country's aluminium value chain. "Glencore has indicated strong...
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Dr. Deependra Singh
India is likely to witness a 4–6x increase in critical mineral consumption by 2040
Dr. Ashok Nandi
AL Circle x Dr Ashok Nandi: With the deteriorating domestic and imported bauxite quality, alumina refineries are slowly adopting the lower-grade ores for survival
Patrice L’HUILLIER
AL Circle x Patrice L’HUILLIER from Nimba Mining: "We are targeting China and India, which are the major bauxite consumers for alumina production”
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