Asian Metal News
SPIC Shanxi refinery, with designed alumina capacity of 3 mtpy across six production lines, suspended operation of one 500 ktpy production line (HT) in September due to continued pressure from low prices. The production line was restarted in early October after maintenance. The company produced 200 kt of alumina in September, and its October output is expected to ramp up to 230 kt.
SPIC Shanxi refinery typically supplies alumina to SPIC’s primary aluminium smelter in Ningxia and holds no inventory. The company produced 2.7 mln t of alumina in 2018 and its annual output for 2019 is expected to be 2.8 mln t. Four of SPIC’s alumina production lines use domestic bauxite, while the remaining two use Guinean bauxite.
Current mainstream alumina prices stand at RMB 2,590-2,640/t ex-works in Shanxi, up RMB 10/t from last week.
