Chinalco raises alumina floor price for 5th time since Apr

SHANGHAI, May 20 (SMM) – Aluminum Corp of China (Chinalco) raised the floor price of non-metallurgical alumina for the fifth time since April in its latest statement on Friday May 17, as further shutdowns in Shanxi province grew market concerns about lower supplies.

The adjustment brought the floor price of alumina to 3,250 yuan/mt, effective on May 17, following the 3,050 yuan/mt set for May 14, 2,950 yuan/mt for May 10, 2,850 yuan/mt for April 26, and 2,750 yuan/mt for April 16. 

SMM learned that the government of Shanxi shut the second production line of alumina at Shanxi Xinfa refinery on Thursday May 16, after the state-run media uncovered that the plant had been dumping red mud, a toxic byproduct of the process that refines alumina from bauxite, in Xiaoyi city.