[SMM Aluminum Flash News] Alcoa Expects Q2 Alumina Shipments to Fall Following Cyclone Disruptions

Foreign news on August 7, Guinea selected Glencore as the bauxite offtaker for the state-owned Nimba Mining Company. Minister of Mines and Geology Sylla Bouna revealed in an interview in the capital Conakry that Glencore was selected through an international tender, and contract terms are still under negotiation. Last August, due to disputes over the construction of an alumina refinery, Nimba Mining Company took over the bauxite mining concession from Guinea Alumina Corporation and positioned itself as a mining champion enterprise. Earlier this week, the company officially signed a bauxite mining contract with the government. In terms of capacity planning, the company has exported 4 million mt of bauxite this year, plans to increase this to 8 million to 10 million mt for the full year, and to further raise it to 12 million mt in 2027. Meanwhile, the company is actively expanding into new business areas such as iron ore, gold, and metal refining. Guinea, the world's largest bauxite exporter, exported 183 million mt last year, mainly to meet Chinese market demand.

BMW is demonstrating that building a more environmentally friendly car involves far more than simply replacing a gasoline engine with an electric motor. Taking the latest X5 as an example, the German automaker has redesigned numerous aspects of the vehicle manufacturing process, incorporating recycled materials, renewable energy, and circular production models, which it claims can reduce emissions by up to 40%. At the material level, BMW has increased its use of aluminum semis produced with renewable energy, applying them to components such as wheel rims and brake calipers. Meanwhile, aluminum scrap generated during production is systematically collected and reintroduced into the manufacturing process through a closed-loop recycling system. According to the company, roughly one-third of the total weight of the iX5 60 xDrive, approximately 940 kg, comes from secondary raw materials, effectively reducing dependence on newly extracted resources. BMW states that this series of changes has helped reduce carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions during the X5's product development process by about 40%, though this figure remains subject to independent third-party verification.

Guangxi Long'an Hetai New Materials Co., Ltd.'s Green New Materials Industry Chain Production Site Project has entered the trial production phase. This is the first alumina project in Nanning, filling the upstream gap in the city's aluminum industry chain. The enterprise uses imported bauxite as raw material and relies on the Pinglu Canal to produce high-end aluminum-based new materials. It has completed construction of capacity for an annual output of 1 million mt of alumina, 300,000 mt of aluminum hydroxide, and 300,000 mt of iron ore concentrates, and has now produced qualified products supplied to local areas in Guangxi as well as to Yunnan, Guizhou, and other places. Furthermore, the enterprise has jointly created the nation's first circular economy model integrating the aluminum industry with the cement and building materials industry, together with Long'an Huahong Cement Company, converting solid waste such as fly ash and desulfurization gypsum into raw materials for cement production. Meanwhile, in collaboration with Northeastern University, it has developed red mud-based alkaline substances to achieve harmless treatment of red mud. Li Xiaoqiang stated that after the Pinglu Canal opens, ex-China bauxite can be shipped directly to the plant, and products can access broader markets via the Pinglu Canal, effectively reducing transportation costs.