Upstream recap: Bauxite becoming second-largest capsize commodity to Vedanta’s 1 lakh crore dream project make headlines this week

This week has been highly eventful for the upstream aluminium industry, especially the bauxite sector, which has dominated the headlines. Key highlights include Metro Mining's record-breaking bauxite production, Ukraine's seizure of $50 million worth of raw materials from Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska, an increase in bauxite shipments on Capesize vessels surpassing coal, and the successful completion of Canyon’s RC and diamond drilling program at the Minim Martap Bauxite Project in Cameroon.

Alumina and primary aluminium sectors also did make to some of the top headlines this week, such as Vedanta’s 1 lakh crore dream project of an alumina refinery and aluminium smelter coming to fruition, a 2.6 per cent year-over-year increase in alumina production in 2024,, NALCO’s share price rising by 3.18 per cent despite a bearish aluminium market in India, and strong indications of the United States’ imposing 10 per cent tariff on Canadian aluminium imports.

Now, let us learn each of these key headlines from this week.                                 

Headlines from bauxite

Metro Mining Limited announced 2.056 wet million tonnes of bauxite shipments for Q4 2024 versus 2.13 wet million tinnes in Q3 2024. Total shipments in the full year were 5.7 wet million tonnes, whereas the production was 5.841 million tonnes.

To know more: https://www.alcircle.com/news/metro-mining-q4-2024-update-record-performance-from-bauxite-hills-mine-113147

Ukraine this week confiscated raw material worth 2.11 billion hryvnias (US$50.3 million) from Russian aluminium magnate Oleg Deripaska. On Wednesday, January 29, 2025, the Sluzhba Bezpeky Ukrayiny (SBU) or the Security Service of Ukraine said that the incident ensued after two years of blocking their shipment. The security service also disclosed that it seized close to 500,000 tonnes of bauxite and alumina that were stored at the Mykolaiv Alumina Plant.

To know more: http://alcircle.com/news/ukraine-seizes-50m-in-aluminium-raw-materials-from-sanctioned-russian-tycoon-113169

According to shipbroker Arrow, the surge in bauxite demand in China has resulted in capesize fleet carrying more bauxite than coal for the first time. At the beginning of the week, Arrow stated in a report that bauxite shipment from Guinea to China surged, making bauxite the second-largest capsize commodity after iron ore.

To know more: https://www.alcircle.com/news/capesize-fleet-transporting-more-bauxite-than-coal-amid-rising-demand-in-china-113134

Canyon Resources Limited completed Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling and Diamond drilling programme at its Minim Martap Bauxite Project in Cameroon. On completing this drilling programme, Canyon Resources has successfully accomplished its initial drilling targets and recovered outstanding drill core samples, which will be released by the first half of 2025.

For more information, click https://www.alcircle.com/news/canyon-resources-achieves-initial-drilling-targets-for-minim-martap-bauxite-project-113180

Headlines from alumina

The world alumina production saw a significant hike in 2024, withstanding the bauxite supply shortage compared to the growth in demand. According to IAI, the output totalled 147.047 million tonnes, of which metallurgical-grade alumina was 93.95 per cent amounting to 38.151 million tonnes, while chemical-grade was 6.05 per cent at 8.896 million tonnes.

For more details, click https://www.alcircle.com/news/2024-world-alumina-production-grows-2-6-supported-by-chinese-refineries-with-strong-profitability-to-afford-high-priced-bauxite-113164

Vedanta's ambitious project of 6 million tonnes per annum of alumina refinery and 30 lakh tonnes of aluminium smelter worth INR 1 lakh crore (US$11.55 billion) is coming up with the first phase commissioning in the next three years. The news came after Vedanta's chairman, Anil Agarwal, announced the project plan at the Make in Odisha Conclave 2025, adding that it would strategically come up in the Rayagada district of Odisha to take advantage of the nearby bauxite from Vedanta's Sijimali bauxite mine, which is currently under development for exploration.

For further details, visit https://www.alcircle.com/news/vedantas-1-lakh-crore-dream-project-of-alumina-refinery-and-aluminium-smelter-coming-up-in-phases-113159

Headlines from primary aluminium

Mahmoud Al-Daylami, secretary general of the Dubai-based Gulf Aluminium Council, indicated in his interview with Saudi Arabic daily Aleqtisadia that the GCC countries might halt new investments in 2025. While highlighting this possibility, he stated that aluminium production in the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries grew significantly in 2024, reaching nearly 6.45 million tonnes.

To unveil the full story, visit https://www.alcircle.com/news/bolt-from-the-blue-gulf-aluminium-producers-may-halt-new-investments-in-2025-113176

Aluminium industry analysts and participants fear the proposed tariffs by the US President Donald Trump may affect the availability of aluminium in local markets, rising end-user production costs and selling prices. An analyst from Sydney investment bank Barrenjoey, Daniel Morgan, said the tariff hike would least affect the primary aluminium producers but end-user manufacturers who would have to borne the inflated aluminium costs.

To know more: https://www.alcircle.com/news/consumer-product-prices-are-likely-to-take-us-aluminium-and-copper-tariff-hits-warn-analysts-113154

Cargo through the Port of Toledo saw a slight overall decline of about 3 per cent in tonnage for 2024.  However, the general cargo sector experienced a significant increase of over 30 per cent.

To know more: https://www.alcircle.com/news/port-of-toledo-celebrates-record-aluminium-tonnage-with-30-growth-in-general-cargo-113182

Anuj Bareja, Founder and Managing Director of Asier Metals Private Ltd, stated at the LME Mumbai Forum on January 27, 2025, that establishing London Metal Exchange (LME) warehouses in India could help mitigate the carbon footprint associated with transporting aluminium. With sustainability measures concerning aluminium and the future implementation of the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) levies, having these warehouses locally would eliminate the need to transport aluminium to LME-registered facilities in Southeast Asia for storage and delivery.

For more details: https://www.alcircle.com/news/heres-why-india-needs-an-lme-warehouse-to-support-the-al-business-113179

According to the International Trade Administration, Australia’s aluminium exports in the first eleven months of 2024 totalled 1.322 million tonnes, valued at US$3.283 billion.

To know more: https://www.alcircle.com/news/trade-analysis-australias-aluminium-export-value-booms-on-strong-metal-prices-113150