Asian Metal News
22 January: Henan Kaiman, designed with 2.2 mtpy alumina capacity stopped using imported bauxite early January 2020.
According to an inside source, Kaiman presently has five alumina production lines, four are reliant on domestic bauxite. The company started using imported bauxite (gibbsite) after completing the HT/LT conversion on a 400 ktpy alumina production line in November and consumed 50 kt of Indonesian bauxite for alumina refining in December 2019. Now the company has decided to stop using imported bauxite due to relative high costs and a weak market. The company is holding 100 kt imported bauxite in stock but has no plan to restart production in February after the holiday. The company is capable of consuming 1.2 mtpy of imported bauxite per annum.
The four alumina production lines reliant on domestic bauxite typically consume 300 kt of bauxite per month with current stocks sustainable for two-month’s operation. The company is capable of consuming 4.5 mtpy of bauxite per annum with its 2019 consumption of 4.3 mln t, up from 4 mln t in 2018.
At present, mainstream prices of Indonesian bauxite of Al2O3 47% min, SiO2 8% max grade stand at USD 47~48/t CIF China, in comparison to domestic bauxite prices at RMB350~380/t (A/S 5.0 grade) delivered without taxes in Henan.
