Bauxite Project
Queensland bauxite expansion: Rio Tinto project targets 1,300 construction jobs with $1.9bn investment in the Kangwinan bauxite project
Rio Tinto’s planned USD 1.9 billion investment in the Kangwinan bauxite project is expected to support more than 1,300 construction jobs in Queensland, while helping secure the long-term future of its Weipa mining operations as existing sources of production approach the end of their lives. Located on Western Cape York Peninsula, Kangwinan will add 20 million tonnes of annual bauxite production capacity, with first output targeted for 2029 and full production expected by 2032. The project will raise Weipa Operations’ annual capacity to around 44 million tonnes from current production of approximately 38 million tonnes. Construction is scheduled to ramp up in 2027. Beyond the immediate employment boost, the investment is expected to help sustain Rio Tinto’s residentially based workforce of...
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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A report that reveals where the aluminium casting industry is heading and how businesses can act.
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Mount Ridley Mines files second Selectro patent to target industrial metals recovery
Australia’s Mount Ridley Mines is expanding its Selectro processing technology beyond critical minerals, with a second provisional patent application targeting industrial feedstocks such as bauxite and potentially opening new licensing and partnership opportunities. Mount Ridley Mines Ltd (ASX: MRD) has lodged a second provisional patent application for its proprietary Selectro hydrometallurgical technology, seeking to protect an adapted version of the process designed to recover metals from industrial feedstocks. Filed on October 15 2026, with IP Australia through its wholly owned subsidiary, Mount Ridley Tech, the application follows the company's initial Selectro patent filing in August 2026. The new application covers an adaptation of the technology in which the reagent molecule has...
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...
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...
Guinean bauxite prices face headwinds as C3 freight retreats; supply restart threshold within reach
Since the start of China's National Day holiday, freight rates on the Baltic C3 route have retreated sharply, falling to the US USD 32-33 per tonne range as of October 12, 2026. The sustained decline in freight costs has markedly shifted market sentiment. Earlier, ahead of the holiday, following the release of a long-term contract quote by a major Guinean miner, traders quickly lifted their offers in tandem. According to Mysteel's survey, Guinean bauxite with a standard 45 per 3 specification saw offers climb to as high as US USD 77 per dry metric tonne before the break, but these have since eased back in line with falling freight rates, with the latest quotes at around US USD 72.5-73 per dry metric tonne, no deals have been concluded at these levels so far. Based on Mysteel's...
ABx Group’s 37Mt Sunrise bauxite project opens for public comment in Queensland
ABx Group’s proposed Sunrise bauxite project in Queensland, Australia, has reached a milestone in the federal environmental approval process. Its referral under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act is open for public comment until October 26. The greenfield mine is proposed for Binjour, about 115 km southwest of the Port of Bundaberg and 25 km west of Gayndah. Project documents indicate annual production of 600,000 to 800,000 tonnes of run-of-mine (ROM) and product bauxite, with an upper limit of approximately 1.2 million tonnes per annum. The mine is expected to operate for 20–25 years. Explore the production, demand and consumption forecasts of bauxite and alumina in our report: " Global Bauxite & Alumina Market Forecast to 2036: Supply–Demand, Trade Flows...
Bauxite prices at $58.53–75/t: Can VBX’s 131.9Mt resource reshape Australia’s supply outlook?
VBX Limited (ASX: VBX) has reaffirmed the mineral resource and ore reserve estimates bolstering its Wuudagu Bauxite Project in its October 2026 corporate presentation. The company confirmed that the material assumptions and technical parameters supporting the estimates, production targets and related forecast financial information remain unchanged. Wuudagu’s Measured and Indicated (M&I) Mineral Resource stands at 131.9 million tonnes, with a staggering 108 per cent surge from the 2025 drilling programme, while an expanded Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) is targeted for completion in the first quarter of 2027. Explore the production, demand and consumption forecasts of bauxite and alumina in our report: "Global Bauxite & Alumina Market Forecast to 2036: Supply–Demand, Trade Flows &...
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