Bauxite Demand And Consumption
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...
China Sept bauxite imports climb 18.7% M-o-M; elevated freight costs hit non-mainstream imports
According to data released by the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China (GACC), China's total bauxite imports reached 18.33 million tonnes in September 2026, up 18.7 per cent month-on-month and 15.4 per cent year-on-year. Over January-September, cumulative bauxite imports totalled 173.9 million tonnes, up 10.3 per cent year-on-year, with overall imported ore supply remaining at elevated levels. According to Mysteel's data, Chinese alumina producers consumed approximately 128.79 million tonnes of imported ore on a cumulative basis from January to September 2026. Actual imported ore consumption significantly lagged total imports over the same period, indicating that the imported bauxite market remains surplus for now. Among China's bauxite imports in September,...
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15th International Bauxite, Alumina & Aluminium Conference & Exhibition - IBAAS–VFMSTA 2026
ICSOBA 2026 - 44th International Conference and Exhibition
SMM AICE 2026 Southeast Asia Aluminum Conference
15th International Bauxite, Alumina & Aluminium Conference & Exhibition - IBAAS–VFMSTA 2026
ICSOBA 2026 - 44th International Conference and Exhibition
SMM AICE 2026 Southeast Asia Aluminum Conference
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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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News
MRD’s 94.9% gallium recovery puts bauxite back in the critical minerals spotlight
Mount Ridley Mines has reported 94.9 per cent gallium recovery from a third-party bauxite sample using its patent-pending Selectro process, alongside recoveries of 92 per cent aluminium and 97 per cent iron in a single low-temperature leach. The test also produced a silica-rich residue instead of conventional red mud, highlighting the technology’s potential to recover multiple metals from bauxite through one processing route. The sample was provided by Australian Silica Quartz Group from its Darling Range bauxite project in Western Australia. It comprised material collected from 16 vacuum drill samples across four holes at the Athena and Ceres prospects. Containing 80 parts per million of gallium, the sample yielded an extraction rate of 94.9 per cent into solution. Mount Ridley said this...
Bauxite flows face a Q4 slowdown as Guinea’s 150Mt export cap tightens supply
Global bauxite flows are expected to weaken in the fourth quarter of 2026 as China’s front-loading eases and Guinea’s export restrictions begin to constrain shipments . Despite a 2.8 per cent year-on-year rise in global flows in September, softer import requirements in India and the Arabian Gulf could limit demand, leaving China as the principal destination for seaborne bauxite but with little room for further growth. September flows hint at diverging regional trends Global bauxite flows reached 20.4 million tonnes in September 2026, up 2.8 per cent year-on-year, backed by higher shipments from Guinea. Month-on-month flows declined, in line with seasonal wet-weather conditions that typically restrict port movements. Guinea’s shipments to the market were more than 20 per cent higher than...
Australia's bauxite export value drops 29% in H1 2026 with modest volume decline
Australia's bauxite export value declined to USD 832.4 million in the first half of 2026, while shipments fell by 3.2 per cent year on year, with China maintaining its dominance as the leading destination. Australia's bauxite export value fell by 29.2 per cent Y-o-Y in the first half of 2026, even as export quantities recorded a more modest decline, according to data from ITC Trade Map. The country exported 19.22 million tonnes of bauxite and aluminium ores and concentrates worth USD 832.38 million in Q1-Q2 2026, compared with 19.85 million tonnes valued at USD 1.18 billion in the corresponding period of 2025. The figures point to a sharper fall in the reported value of exports than in shipment volumes. Australia's average export value per tonne, calculated by dividing reported export...
Rio Tinto’s graphene battery technology push adds a new dimension to its materials strategy
Rio Tinto Group’s efforts to expand its presence in battery materials are drawing attention following progress on graphene-based battery technology developed with Graphene Manufacturing Group (GMG), alongside the miner’s third-quarter 2026 production update. Under a joint development agreement between the companies, GMG has reported progress on its graphene G®CELLS technology, which the supplied report describes as maintaining performance over rapid charging cycles. The development adds a technology-focused dimension to Rio Tinto’s wider battery materials strategy, although it is not yet identified as a current earnings driver. Rio Tinto’s latest operating figures provide the broader production context. The company reported 15.7 million tonnes of bauxite, 0.8 Mt of aluminium and 2.1 Mt of...
Ghana urged to unlock bauxite export opportunities through China and AfCFTA
Ghana should develop a clear strategy to expand bauxite exports, strengthen value addition and take advantage of emerging international markets, rather than focusing solely on membership of global economic blocs such as BRICS, Africa Prosperity Network founder and Executive Chairman Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko has said. Otchere-Darko argued that Ghana must prioritise the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and intra-African trade while preparing to benefit from China's reported zero-tariff initiative for 53 African countries. His remarks highlighted the need for the country to translate access to international markets into tangible economic gains, including opportunities for commodity sectors such as bauxite. “Because if you're not careful, your relevance will be reduced to...
WEEKLY: Bauxite prices capped by high refinery stocks
During China's National Day holiday (October 2-8, 2026), domestic bauxite supply showed no major swings, with persistent bottlenecks continuing to cap output. Routine environmental inspections across several inland regions kept weighing on domestic ore production. Offsetting this tightness, however, alumina refineries are holding inventories at elevated levels, while relatively ample imported ore volumes are capping domestic bauxite prices. Mysteel anticipates that domestic ore prices will struggle to register any meaningful upside in the near term. In the imported ore segment, a large Guinean miner quoted relatively high ahead of the holiday, which met with limited acceptance from alumina refineries. Only a small number of refineries confirmed term deals and took deliveries, resulting in...
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