Primary aluminium inventories extended decline by 35,000 mt on week

[SMM Aluminum Express News] Metro Mining shipped 700,000 WMT of bauxite from its Bauxite Hills Mine in July 2026, despite a temporary outage of its offshore floating terminal (OFT) Ikamba. The Ikamba was taken offline on 20 July to replace four large hydraulic cylinders on Crane 1, returned to service on 27 July, and resumed full-capacity operations on 30 July. Metro deployed geared vessels during the outage to minimise the impact on shipments. Metro also reported 1 million BCM of waste stripping year-to-date, up 140% year on year, following investment in additional equipment and productivity improvements. The higher stripping rate is intended to provide more consistent ore supply as the company increases shipping volumes. Metro maintained its 2026 shipment guidance of 6.6–7.1 million WMT, implying a substantial increase in shipments will be required during the remainder of the year.

The Publicity Department of the CPC Shanxi Provincial Committee and the Information Office of the People’s Government of Shanxi Province held the third press conference of the series themed “Starting the 15th Five-Year Plan on a Solid Footing,” briefing on Yangquan City’s economic and social development plan and key arrangements for the 15th Five-Year Plan period. Centering on energy transition, Yangquan will keep a firm hold on the basic foundation of stable production and supply, promote the transformation of coal from fuel to high-value-added materials, coordinate the integrated layout of wind, solar, thermal power, and energy storage, and build a national-level zero-carbon industrial park to high standards. By the end of the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the city’s installed renewable energy capacity is expected to reach 4.8 million kW, and its energy storage capacity will exceed 2 million kW. At the same time, it will focus on industrial upgrading, with an emphasis on cultivating three ten-billion-yuan-level industrial clusters: aluminum deep processing, calcium-based materials, and new-type battery materials. Among them, the output value of the aluminum deep processing industry is projected to surpass 30 billion yuan by 2030, while calcium-based materials will reach 15 billion yuan, and new-type battery materials will reach 15 billion yuan.