Alumina Refinery
Power crisis bites Guinea’s aluminium ambitions; 75kt supply to wait until after 2030
Guinea’s ambition to move beyond bauxite exports into alumina refining and aluminium smelting is running into a major electricity constraint. Producing about 1,000 MW of power at present, it needs another estimated 5,000–10,000 MW for industrialisation. While new alumina refineries could expand intermediate supply, the shortage of reliable electricity is likely to delay additional aluminium production capacity beyond 2030. The challenge emerges as aluminium traded at USD 3,008.5 per tonne, down 8.77 per cent over the month but up 8.43 per cent year on year. Guinea mined an estimated 150 million tonnes of bauxite in 2025, accounting for 34 per cent of global output of 440 million tonnes. Yet it produced only 360,000 tonnes of alumina, or 0.24 per cent of worldwide production of 150 million...
Ghana’s bauxite bottleneck: President Mahama courts investors for missing alumina refinery
Ghana is seeking investors to establish an alumina refinery, aiming to close a gap in its bauxite-to-aluminium production chain as the country prepares to phase out raw mineral ore exports by 2030. President John Dramani Mahama has identified the absence of domestic alumina refining as a key obstacle to retaining more value from the country’s mineral resources. Speaking during a panel discussion at the 2026 Financial Times Africa Summit on October 21, Mahama said Ghana could no longer rely on exporting raw materials while importing finished products. The government wants more processing to take place locally, creating jobs and expanding industrial activity. “We cannot continue forever to be the exporter of raw materials to the rest of the world and consumers of finished products,” Mahama...
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A report that reveals where the aluminium casting industry is heading and how businesses can act.
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Guinea targets 8Mt of alumina capacity by 2030: Can its power grid deliver 5k–10k MW?
After introducing its annual bauxite export cap at 150 million tonnes in June 2026 , Guinea is now accelerating its alumina refining ambitions, with three refineries under construction and a target of five operating by 2030. However, the country’s electricity generation of around 1,000 MW falls well short of the estimated 5,000–10,000 MW needed to support industrialisation, putting energy infrastructure at the centre of its bauxite-to-alumina strategy. Daouda Diakite, Senior Adviser to Guinea’s Minister of Mines and Geology, Bouna Sylla, outlined the plans at African Mining Week in Cape Town. The government aims to establish annual alumina production capacity of approximately 7 million to 8 million tonnes, with aluminium smelters envisioned as a subsequent step. To know the future market...
Rio Tinto plans 360 MWh heat battery, Australia’s largest for Yarwun alumina refinery
Rio Tinto is assessing the use of thermal energy storage at its Yarwun alumina refinery in Queensland, Australia, through a partnership with Rondo Energy. The proposed system would store 360 MWh of energy and deliver heat at a rate of 30 MW, potentially reducing the refinery’s reliance on fossil fuels to produce steam. The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has committed AUD 3.6 million (USD 2.5 million) for front-end engineering and design studies. A further AUD 38 million (USD 27 million) could be made available to support installation if the study is completed successfully and the project proceeds. Join the fourth edition of webinar " Hedging for recyclers - Become an expert in 6 hours " by Jorge Dyszel. The proposed installation would be among the first large-scale industrial...
EGA restarts 50% of Al Taweelah aluminium smelter, targets full production by Q1 2027
Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) has restarted 631 of the 1,262 reduction cells at its Al Taweelah aluminium smelter in the UAE, marking a major milestone in recovery efforts following an emergency shutdown on March 28 amid regional security developments that affected operations at Khalifa Economic Zone Abu Dhabi. The shutdown required a full evacuation of the Al Taweelah site, leaving molten aluminium frozen inside every reduction cell. EGA began restarting the first restored cell on May 26 and is now progressing across all three potlines simultaneously, with teams working to restore the remaining cells. Despite the scale of the disruption, EGA continues to expect the Al Taweelah aluminium smelter to return to full production during the first quarter of 2027. Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, Chief...
WEEKLY: Guinea bauxite prices under pressure as freight slide revives supply
China's domestic bauxite prices held steady last week. Supply tightness at China's inland mines persisted, prompting some traders to blend and sell ores sourced from Turkey and Pakistan. Meanwhile, the sharp decline in ocean freight rates restored arbitrage margins for bauxite from non-mainstream origins; imports from origins compatible with domestic bauxite blending are likely to rise. In terms of imported bauxite, freight rates showed no sign of bottoming out. Rates on the Baltic Exchange C3 route fell to around US USD 30 per tonne, with November-loading vessel offers quoted near US USD 29 per tonne. The sustained freight drop revived shipment plans for small and mid-sized Guinean miners, pointing to potential supply ramp-up for Guinean bauxite. Guinean ore offers increased markedly...
Head of State Property Fund acknowledges: Mykolaiv Alumina Plant privatisation auction in Q1 2027
Ukraine’s Mykolaiv Alumina Plant could go up for a privatisation auction in the first quarter of 2027, according to Dmytro Natalukha, head of Ukraine's State Property Fund. The government must approve the final auction date, which Natalukha expects to be announced by the end of October 2026. In a recent interview with NikVesti, Natalukha said, “This is one of the few enterprises on our books that attracts regular and persistent interest. However, a change of ownership would not necessarily mean an immediate restart of production. An investor could acquire the facility and keep it idle until operating conditions improve. To know the futuristic market and value proposition of red mud, explore the report " A Comprehensive Analysis of Bauxite Residue (Red Mud): Sustainability, Resource...
Australia’s alumina exports fall 9.46% despite China’s 19-fold import surge, with shipments to Indonesia & Oman also rising
Australia, one of the world’s major alumina production and export hubs, witnessed a significant shift in its trade flows in the first half (H1) of 2026. Although the country’s total alumina exports declined, shipments to China surged nearly 19-fold, making it Australia’s one of the largest export destinations. Meanwhile, exports to the UAE and South Africa fell, while Indonesia and Oman recorded increases. Australia exported 6.7 million tonnes of alumina worldwide in H1 2026, down 9.46 per cent from 7.4 million tonnes in H1 2025. Compared with 7.5 million tonnes in H1 2024, exports declined by 800,000 tonnes, or 10.67 per cent, over two years. The contrasting performance across major destinations highlights how Middle East shipping disruptions, changes in aluminium production requirements...
Interviews
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Rod MacGregor
Technically, solar heat could replace 100% of the fuel used in alumina refinery
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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