Middle East And Africa
Ma’aden aluminium surge puts growth back in focus as stock trades at $17
Ma’aden’s aluminium business delivered strong revenue growth in Q2 2026 as higher realised prices lifted the segment, although weaker phosphate and ammonia guidance creates a mixed operating backdrop. Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden) saw aluminium revenue rise 49 per cent year on year to USD 1.01 billion in Q2 2026, with realised aluminium prices increasing 51 per cent to USD 3,915 per tonne. Read more about Maaden aluminium revenue jump in Q2 2026 The stronger aluminium performance provides the clearest quantified growth signal in Ma’aden’s latest operating picture. However, revised production guidance for phosphate and ammonia adds a counterweight as investors assess the company’s broader portfolio. Higher aluminium prices drive revenue growth The aluminium division produced...
Bauxite transport and traceability: Why tracking the cargo back to the mine is difficult
Bauxite is the starting material for alumina refining and primary aluminium production, but its route from mine to refinery is rarely as simple as a labelled shipment moving from one country to another. Unlike fabricated metal products, bauxite is usually traded as a loose bulk mineral. It is loaded into stockpiles, trucks, rail wagons, barges and bulk carriers, often passing through multiple handling points before reaching an alumina refinery. This logistics model keeps transport costs low for a high-volume commodity, but it also makes mine-level origin difficult to establish. The key question for traders, refiners and downstream buyers is therefore not only about where a cargo was loaded but where the ore was actually mined and whether that origin can be traced and documented along the...
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15th International Bauxite, Alumina & Aluminium Conference & Exhibition - IBAAS–VFMSTA 2026
ALUMINIUM Arabia 2026
ICSOBA 2026 - 44th International Conference and Exhibition
15th International Bauxite, Alumina & Aluminium Conference & Exhibition - IBAAS–VFMSTA 2026
ALUMINIUM Arabia 2026
ICSOBA 2026 - 44th International Conference and Exhibition
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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.
LEARN MOREWho’s holding up Germany’s aluminium game? Meet EGA, Hydro and Constellium
Germany’s aluminium FRP consumption reaches 1.68 Mt as 2025 trade surplus tops $3.1 billion
AL Circle Analysis: Europe’s aluminium scrap curbs, India’s risk and US’s supply opportunity
German downstream aluminium exports fall 13% in H1 2026 but US enters top 5 with 228.1% import surge
News
Gulf production recovery falters, China steps up as OCBC raises aluminium forecast to $3,150
OCBC has raised its end-2026 aluminium price forecast to about USD 3,150 per tonne from USD 3,050, citing a slower-than-expected recovery in Gulf production, although strong Chinese output is expected to continue offsetting supply disruptions. Three-month aluminium on the London Metal Exchange (LME) fell 0.9 per cent month-on-month in September to USD 3,214 per tonne as of September 29, remaining 2 per cent above OCBC’s third-quarter forecast of USD 3,150. The cash-to-three-month spread was broadly unchanged at a USD 7.40-per-tonne contango, compared with USD 7.60 at the end of August. The spread suggests limited urgency for immediate metal supply despite a continued decline in global exchange inventories. Gulf aluminium recovery loses momentum OCBC said aluminium production across the...
EGA announces first Guinean bauxite shipment under renewed agreement on way to UAE
Emirates Global Aluminium, the largest industrial company in the United Arab Emirates outside oil and gas, today announced that the first shipment of Guinean bauxite under a renewed agreement with Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinée is on its way to the UAE. Some 66 thousand tonnes of bauxite were loaded onto a Panamax vessel at Kamsar in late August. The renewed agreement between EGA and Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinée is for up to 4.9 million tonnes per year of bauxite until 2044. Bauxite is the feedstock for alumina refineries. His Excellency Bouna Sylla, Minister of Mines and Geology of the Republic of Guinea, said: “The first bauxite shipment of Guinean bauxite to the UAE following the entry into force of the Global Settlement Agreement marks an important milestone in a new...
$150 billion, 12+ countries, one Gulf player: Inside the UAE's ports-to-bauxite web across Africa
Stretch a line from the Red Sea through the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean all the way to the Atlantic coast, and you'll pass through a decade-old network of ports, long-term concessions, roads, and logistics corridors built by a single Gulf state. The common thread running through the United Arab Emirates is bauxite mines, the raw ore behind aluminium production, sit alongside renewable energy plants, and data centres. On 20 September 2026, Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, put a number on that footprint sharing that the UAE investment in Africa is approaching USD 150 billion, with annual two-way trade now exceeding USD 107 billion. He framed the expansion as part of Abu Dhabi’s push to build direct ties with the continent, bypassing traditional Western...
US Commerce clarifies common alloy sheet orders for China, Bahrain
The US Department of Commerce has issued the final results of its changed circumstances reviews (CCRs) of the antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) orders covering common alloy aluminum sheet from China, Bahrain and 15 other countries, deciding to revoke the orders in part for certain aluminum can stock. The decision follows Commerce’s August 11, 2026 publication of its initiation and preliminary results, in which it found that changed circumstances warranted partial revocation of the orders for qualifying aluminum can stock. To know the global production, demand and consumption forecasts of aluminum extrusions, explore our report “ The World of Aluminium Extrusions to 2035 – Demand Forecast | Price Benchmarking | Plant Economics | Strategic Growth Sectors ” Scope revision...
Alba runs at 1.3 mtpa as Bahrain smelter navigates Middle East disruptions
Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) is currently producing aluminium at an annualised rate of around 1.3 million tonnes, with the smelter operating at roughly 80 per cent of its pre-Iran war capacity, according to CEO Ali Al Baqali. Alba had a pre-war capacity of around 1.6 million tonnes per year, but production was disrupted after the outbreak of the war and restrictions around the Strait of Hormuz affected exports. The smelter was also hit by an Iranian attack in late March. The Bahrain-based producer is now operating Lines 4, 5 and 6, together representing annualised aluminium production of approximately 1.3 million tonnes, Al Baqali told Reuters on the sidelines of the Fastmarkets Aluminium Conference in Budapest on September 16. Al Baqali described the damage from the Iranian strike as minor...
Saudi Arabia identifies 114m tonnes of rare-earth and uranium-bearing ore in Madinah
Saudi Arabia has identified approximately 114 million tonnes of ore containing high concentrations of rare earth elements and promising uranium concentrations in the Madinah Region, adding another significant resource to the Kingdom’s expanding minerals portfolio. Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Saudi Arabia’s minister of energy and minister of industry and mineral resources, announced the discovery during the 70th General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna. The resources were identified through exploration and geological studies at the Jabal Sayid project, with particularly high concentrations of heavy rare earth elements reported. Prince Abdulaziz said the findings place the project among the significant rare earth resource sites currently...
Interviews
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Khalid A. Latif
AL Circle x Khalid A. Latif: Inside Midal Cables’ blueprint for sustainable innovation, operational excellence and market leadership
Rodabell
AL Circle x Rodabell: Driving innovative and sustainable aluminium casting solutions with global reach and advanced engineering
Éloïse Harvey
Beyond China, India and the Middle East are ready to play pivotal roles in shaping the future of global primary aluminium production: Éloïse Harvey, CEO of EPIQ Machinery
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