Asian Metal News
Chalco Shanxi has five alumina production lines with total alumina refining capacity of 2.4 mtpy. The company produced 2.1 mln t of alumina in 2018 and its 2019 annual output is expected to drop by 14.3% y-o-y to 1.8 mln t.
Chalco Shanxi has been operating below its designed capacity since the beginning of 2019 due to continued tightening of local bauxite supply. The company began technology upgrades on three of its alumina production lines in early July to enable them to meet the processing needs of imported bauxite. However, even after the upgrades, the company has been operating below full capacity as imported bauxite is high in moisture content, which adheres to the feed belt curbing operational efficiency.
Chalco Shanxi is set to produce 150 kt of alumina in October the same as September. Its output during the first three quarters of 2019 totaled 1.32 mln t.
At present, mainstream alumina prices are standing at RMB 2,590~2,640/t ex-works in Shanxi, the same as last week. Most downstream buyers are restocking according to their fixed demands, resulting in a lackluster market with few spot transactions over the last two weeks.
