LME Aluminum Inventory Falls 0.72% to 344,000 MT on May 15, Down 12.64% Over Past Month

Australasian Metals has returned encouraging results from bulk sampling at its May Queen South Bauxite Project in central Queensland, with composite samples confirming strong aluminium oxide grades ahead of the next phase of metallurgical testing.The company collected three bulk samples, each weighing more than 50 kilograms, from bauxite outcrops along a 20-metre strike. Each bulk sample consisted of 10 individual samples weighing between 5 kg and 6 kg. Analysis returned composite aluminium oxide grades of 39.5 per cent, 42.0 per cent and 43.8 per cent, while individual samples recorded grades of up to 58.7 per cent aluminium oxide. Australasian Metals said the latest results are consistent with bulk sampling undertaken at the project in 2015, providing additional confidence in the deposit's grade profile.

On Friday, July 24, Norsk Hydro, a major European aluminum producer, said that the global aluminum market supply gap would deepen if shipping restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz continued. In an interview, Hydro CEO Eivind Kallevik stated that shipping conditions in this key waterway have deteriorated since the resumption of hostilities between the US and Iran, hindering the import of raw materials and the export of metals from the Persian Gulf region. Kallevik said the conflict in Iran has forced smelters in the Middle East, which account for nearly one-tenth of global aluminum production, to seek alternative logistics routes, while producers in other regions are increasing output. However, he indicated that if the conflict prolongs, the market supply gap will exceed the company's current estimate of 900,000 tons. "The situation is clearly deteriorating rapidly, and the longer the situation in the Gulf region continues, the more naturally the global market supply tension will intensify," Kallevik said.

According to foreign media reports, in the first quarter of 2026, Jamaica's alumina production reached 267,060 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 30.3%, compared to approximately 383,000 tons in the same period of 2025; bauxite production was 415,143 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 26.4%, compared to approximately 563,900 tons in the same period of 2025. In the first quarter, Jamaica exported 319,600 tons of alumina, a year-on-year decrease of approximately 10.7%, compared to 358,070 tons in the same period of 2025; bauxite exports were 384,276 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 29.7%, compared to approximately 546,500 tons in the same period of 2025.