Alumina is essential for the production of primary aluminium. It is obtained from bauxite ore through the Bayer process and serves as the primary feedstock in the Hall-Héroult process, which extracts the non-ferrous metal, aluminium from its powder form. Alumina production is energy-intensive but necessary due to its importance in primary aluminium production.
Last year, the worldwide alumina output slightly increased from the previous year, reaching 139.2 million tonnes. Almost all of the alumina production, about 93.7%, came from metallurgical-grade sources, with only a small amount being chemical-grade. China was a major contributor to this increase in production, producing an estimated 78.8 million tonnes of alumina, making up around 57% of the global output.
Some of the major alumina-producing countries and companies are listed below:
China – In November 2022, China's alumina production capacity was approximately 76.6 million tonnes. However, the capacity utilization of alumina refineries decreased to around 79% from 81% in October 2022 due to the high levels of infections in China, pollution-related stoppages, and lower operating rates. China produced an estimated 6.7 million tonnes of alumina in November 2022, with metallurgical grade accounting for 95% of the total production.
Australia – Australia remains a significant global producer of alumina, ranking second in the world and leading in exports. In the time spanning from 2022 to 2023, the country is expected to produce approximately 20.4 million tonnes, an increase from 20.1 million tonnes in the previous year. Predictions from government sources indicate that Australia's alumina production will reach 20.9 million tonnes in 2023-24. However, during the quarter ending in September 2022, there was a 7.8% decline in alumina supply compared to the same period in 2021. This was primarily due to planned maintenance at several refineries and equipment stability issues.
Sourced from AL Circle's Outlook 2023
Russia - In the first half of 2022, UC RUSAL's alumina production decreased by 2.1% compared to the same period in 2021, with 3.3 million tonnes produced instead of 4.1 million tonnes. This decline was caused by the shutdown of the Nikolaev Alumina Refinery in Ukraine and the impact of Australian government sanctions that restricted Australian bauxite processing and the export of 20% of alumina from the Queensland Alumina Limited refinery in Queensland.
India – During the first half of the fiscal year 2022-23, Vedanta recorded production of 939,000 tonnes at its Lanjigarh refinery in India. This is a decrease from the 993,000 tonnes produced during the same period in the previous fiscal year, which was mainly due to scheduled maintenance at the refinery. On the other hand, Hindalco reportedly produced 1.8 million tonnes of alumina, which is an increase of about 17% from the same period in the previous fiscal year. Finally, Nalco produced approximately 2.1 million tonnes during the fiscal year 2021-22, a marginal increase from the 2.0 million tonnes produced during 2020-21.
Arabian countries - Emirates Global Aluminium's Al Taweelah alumina refinery produced approximately 1.15 million tonnes of alumina, beyond its nameplate capacity, in H1 of 2021 and 2022. The production in H1 of 2022 saw a 6% increase compared to the production in H1 of 2021. According to estimates, the refinery operated by Ma'aden in Saudi Arabia produced approximately 875,000 tonnes during the first half of 2022. The refinery is projected to produce around 1.75 million tonnes by the end of the year.
Hydro – In Q3 of CY2022, Hydro produced 4.6 million tonnes of alumina, a slight decrease of 2.1% compared to the 4.7 million tonnes produced during the same period in the previous year. The company has a long-term offtake agreement to receive 900,000 tonnes of alumina annually from Rio Tinto's Yarwun refinery.
Alcoa – In 2022, Alcoa had a total alumina refining capacity of 13.8 million tonnes. However, around 1.0 million tonnes of capacity was curtailed from Alcoa's Pocos De Caladas facility in Brazil and San Ciprian in Spain. As of Q3 2022, Alcoa had shipped approximately 9.9 million tonnes of alumina. The total alumina shipments from Alcoa in 2022 are estimated to be between 13.1 - 13.3 million tonnes, slightly less than the amount shipped in 2021 (13.9 million tonnes). Third-party shipments accounted for 70% of the total in 2022. Alcoa has a new power purchase agreement in place to restart the San Ciprian smelter in 2024.
Rio Tinto - From January to September 2022, Rio Tinto produced approximately 5.6 million tonnes. For the entirety of 2022, the company is projected to produce around 7.6 to 7.8 million tonnes of alumina. This yearly estimate is slightly lower than the 7.9 million tonnes produced in 2021. The decline in alumina production can be attributed to scheduled shutdowns at the Yarwun refinery and equipment stability issues at Queensland Alumina Refinery.
Alumina supply significantly increased in 2022, with China, Australia, and the Middle East leading the sector. This growth was propelled by the unveiling of fresh facilities in China and the compensation of alumina deficits caused by operational problems in Australian refineries with supply from Brazil. Moving forward, the demand and prices of alumina will be directly proportional to the demand for primary aluminium amidst the decelerating global economic growth anticipated in 2023.
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