LME Aluminium Inventories Fell by 1,800 mt on May 6

[SMM Aluminum Express News] Azerbaijan is exploring a separate new primary aluminum smelter with capacity of around 200,000 tonnes/year, Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov said at a September 22 meeting chaired by President Ilham Aliyev. The project has attracted interest from foreign investors and forms part of Azerbaijan’s longer-term ambition to develop into a regional processing hub, supported by competitive energy prices, transport links and access to raw materials from Central Asia and the South Caucasus. The proposed 200,000 t/y smelter is separate from Azeraluminium’s existing expansion in Ganja, where electrolysis capacity is planned to increase from around 50,000 t/y to 100,000 t/y by 2030. Azerbaijan will also assess whether the Zaylik alunite deposit can provide a domestic raw-material base for the aluminum value chain. The 2027-2030 mining and metallurgy programme requires an estimated AZN 5.3 billion (US$3.12 billion) of investment, around 80% of which is expected from non-budget sources.

[SMM Dépêche Aluminium Express] L’Azerbaïdjan prévoit de doubler la capacité de production d’aluminium primaire d’Azeraluminium à son usine d’électrolyse de Gandja, la faisant passer d’environ 50 000 tonnes/an à 100 000 tonnes/an d’ici 2030. Cette expansion figure dans le Programme d’État 2027-2030 pour le développement des industries minières et métallurgiques récemment approuvé, qui vise également une capacité de 50 000 tonnes/an d’aluminium laminé. Le président Ilham Aliyev a déclaré que l’expansion de la production d’aluminium devrait être achevée d’ici fin 2030