Asian Metal News
Guizhou Zunyi Aluminium, a subordinate of Chalco, produced 100 kt of bauxite from its captive mines in March, up from 75 kt in February.
Guizhou Zunyi Aluminium owns five bauxite mines with total resource reserves of 12 mln t. Three of the bauxite mines are active with total annual mining capacity of 1.2 mtpy. The remaining two mines are scheduled to come online in early 2021, increasing overall capacity to 1.5 mtpy. The company produced bauxite at A/S 6.0 grade and currently holds 600 kt stocks. It produced 900 kt bauxite in 2019 with its Q1 2020 output at 250 kt. Located 30 km from the bauxite mines, Zunyi Al’s alumina refinery is designed with 1.1 mtpy capacity, capable of consuming 3 mln t of bauxite per annum.
The company is looking at 250 kt of bauxite consumption for April 2020 – meaning it will need to source 150 kt bauxite from the market in addition to 100 kt supplied from its own mines.
At present, local bauxite prices (A/S 6.0 grade) sit at RMB290/t, down by RMB20/t from late March.
