Raw materials

Emirates Global Aluminium has signed a new three-year contract with Vinacomin, extending the supply of Vietnamese alumina to the UAE until 2023. Under the agreement, EGA will continue to buy up to 300,000 tpy of alumina from state-owned Vinacomin. The deal extends an agreement that both companies signed in late 2017 and which was due to expire at the end of this year. EGA’s Al Taweelah alumina refinery is expected to reach sustained production at nameplate capacity during the first half of this year, with production sufficient to meet some 40% of the company’s requirements.

Alcoa’s bauxite mines and alumina refineries in Western Australia have received certification from the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative  (ASI). ASI’s Performance Standard certification process requires a comprehensive, third-party audit, which was completed successfully at the Huntly and Willowdale bauxite mines and the Kwinana, Pinjarra, and Wagerup alumina refineries.

Indonesian state-owned construction firm PT PP (Persero) has signed a contract to build a smelter-grade alumina refinery with China Aluminium International Engineering (Chalieco). The 1m tpy project is owned by PT Borneo Alumina Indonesia, a joint venture owned by PT Inalum and PT Aneka Tambang Tbk (Antam) located in Bukit Batu Village, Sungai Kunyit, Mempawah Regency, Kalimantan Province West.

Alcoa Corporation has been accepted as a member of the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM). ICMM is an organization focused on enhancing the industry’s contribution to society with safe, fair and sustainable practices.

Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) has signed a 5-year agreement with Xinfa to supply bauxite from its Guinea Alumina Corp. (GAC) mine to the Chinese company. EGA will supply Xinfa with millions of tonnes of bauxite each year from 2020, with the first vessel scheduled to load in January. Xinfa is one of the largest aluminium producers in China. In July 2019 EGA signed a long-term agreement with Vedanta for bauxite supplies from GAC.

On 26 September the Brazilian federal court lifted the final embargo on Alunorte’s new bauxite residue disposal (DRS2). Parent company Hydro is now allowed to resume the activities of installation and commissioning at DRS2 and ending a 19-month embargo period which has restricted production at the plant.

The Federal Court of Pará has lifted the embargo on Alunorte’s new bauxite residue disposal (DRS2) under the civil lawsuit. Alunorte is still subject to an embargo on DRS2 imposed by the same court in a parallel criminal lawsuit, but Alunorte is expecting an extension of the civil decision to the criminal case shortly.

EGA’s subsidiary Guinea Alumina Corp. (GAC) has successfully closed the Republic of Guinea’s largest-ever project financing for a greenfield mining project.

Emirates Global Aluminium has completed the commissioning of the calcination section of its Al Taweelah alumina refinery, which is currently under construction. Commissioning is the process of testing equipment and systems in a new plant before start-up. The completion of commissioning of the calcination section makes it the first of the four major sections of alumina refinery to be ready for production. First alumina is expected to be produced during the first half of 2019.

Rio Tinto’s Amrun project in Queensland, Australia, has achieved a significant milestone, successfully making the first shipment of bauxite, six weeks ahead of schedule. The USD1.9 billion investment in Amrun will replace production from the depleting East Weipa mine and increase annual bauxite exports by around 10m tonnes. Amrun is expected to reach a full production rate of 22.8m tonnes a year during 2019.

Emirates Global Aluminium, the largest industrial company in the United Arab Emirates outside oil and gas, has announced the readiness of the waste management system for its Al Taweelah alumina refinery currently under construction. Production start of the refinery is scheduled for the first half of 2019.

Hydro’s alumina refinery Alunorte has received the suspension of the embargo on the new bauxite residue deposit area (DRS2) from the Brazilian federal environmental agency Ibama. However, the embargo from the federal court system remains in place.