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Alumina and aluminum market rebalance

1. Changes in market supply and demand Due to the weak market, some western aluminum smelters have to be forced to close down. However, due to the rebalancing of the global supply chain, the demand and prices of bauxite and alumina in the market have continued to rise. The main reason for the increase is the demand from China, although the performance of other countries and regions in the world is mediocre or even declining. According to Joan Mottsol, research director of the price and purchasing department of HIS Inc, one of the factors in the supply side, especially China, is that Indonesia has banned the export of raw ore since the beginning of this year, so as to encourage more aluminum smelters in Indonesia. Investment in the construction of factories will definitely affect the bauxite market that is more scarce than those of nickel, tin and copper. At the same time, Ocarol, a senior analyst at Lloyd’s North Coast Research in Cleveland in the United States, also pointed out that Rio Tinto’s Govo alumina smelter in northern Australia will also be closed this year. This has further led to a shortage of alumina supply, especially in markets outside of China. But he added that the bauxite from Govo will likely be actively sold to Chinese smelters, which will relieve some pressure on the bauxite market at least in the near future. According to the British "Metal Herald Research" aluminum research analyst Yang Cao believes that even if the global demand for alumina increased in 2013, it showed that the growth rate mainly came from China as high as 14.6%, and Africa increased by about 10%. And the Middle East and North America also grew by 5.2% and 1.8%, respectively. In contrast, Latin America's alumina demand fell by 7% last year, which also led to a sharp drop in Brazilian alumina production. In addition to Asian regions except China, alumina consumption in Central and Eastern Europe and Australia both fell by more than 5%, mainly due to the closure of some aluminum smelters in these regions. But Yang Cao predicts that in 2014 China and other countries and regions in the world will increase alumina demand by 7.7% and 3.3% respectively. The main reason for the weaker growth in the rest of the world was dragged down by the decline in North America and Central and Eastern Europe, as Alcoa and UC Rusal continued to cut production capacity. However, despite the decline in alumina demand in the above-mentioned regions, it still cannot offset the growth momentum of India and Saudi Arabia in addition to China's growth. 2. The Middle East market is eager for alumina According to Rio Tinto Alcan’s chief commercial officer, Geweis Jacques, with the completion and commissioning of a number of new aluminum production capacity in the Middle East, it is particularly noteworthy that Alcan’s joint venture Maeden United When completed and put into production, raw materials such as alumina and bauxite will become a net shortage market. It is understood that some plans not only increase India's smelting capacity, but also increase the development of alumina and bauxite production capacity here. Even so, the alumina and bauxite market in the Middle East has been in short supply for a long time. According to Ocarol, the main reason is the lack of cheap power supply to support smelter production in India. Moreover, the country's domestic political turmoil often encounters trouble in its operations. However, despite the continuous growth of global alumina production in recent years, the market still tends to be in excess of supply and demand. And it is predicted that the surplus will continue in the next three years. O Carroll estimates that as the decline in aluminum production exceeds the control of alumina production capacity, this year's surplus will be roughly maintained at about 2.7 million tons last year. In fact, the alumina market may still be or tend to be surplus in the future. However, it is not ruled out that until sufficient alumina production capacity reaches a level that matches the primary aluminum production rate reasonably, it is possible to balance the supply and demand of the alumina market. O Carroll pointed out that before that, he had predicted that the world alumina supply and demand market would show a deficit of 400,000 tons in 2014. But some factors made him re-evaluate the forecast, not only is the growth of aluminum production lower than originally expected, but also that more than expected production capacity is controlled. Moreover, as China continues to import bauxite to smelt alumina in the country, the self-sufficiency rate of alumina continues to increase. In addition, another reason for the surplus of the alumina market is that many large mining companies believe that the greatest value of the aluminum industry is the upstream products, namely alumina and bauxite. So they pay more attention to centralized production, and do not need to refining and smelting. Even from 2012 to 2015, th

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The advantages of high-purity alumina powder in 4 major media

 Time of issue: : 2019-02--27

Alumina powder has a large surface area and high surface activity. The particles are prone to agglomeration. Choosing an appropriate surfactant (dispersant) can reduce the surface activity of the particles and avoid the effect of agglomeration between particles. Do you know that high-purity alumina powder is more suitable for those aspects? 1. High-purity alumina powder is often used as a medium for chromatography. 2. High-purity alumina powder is the reason why metal aluminum is not easily corroded in the air. Pure metal aluminum easily reacts with oxygen in the air, forming a thin aluminum oxide film covering the surface of aluminum exposed to the air. This aluminum oxide film can prevent aluminum from being oxidized further. The thickness and properties of this oxide film can be enhanced by a process called anodic treatment (anodic corrosion protection). 3. Aluminum is a good conductor of electricity and heat, while high-purity alumina powder is an insulator of electricity and heat. Its crystal form corundum is suitable for abrasive materials and cutting tools because of its high hardness. 4. It can be used as an emergency brake device for high-speed railway trains (spraying high-purity alumina powder on the rails to increase the friction of the rails). The above is the introduction about the application of high-purity alumina powder. Through the above points, unnecessary waste can be avoided and real value for money.

Controls that should be done in the production of flame retardant with alumina powder

 Time of issue: : 2018-02--10

When using alumina to make flame retardants, not only the environment must meet the production requirements, but also other aspects must be controlled, so that better products can be made smoothly. 1. If clips are used in the process of making flame retardant with alumina powder, it is best to use strong acid and alkali resistant PP all plastic clips to avoid pollution caused by corrosion and oxidation of the clips. 2. When replacing the anode, the material on the old electrode should be stripped off, and the alumina powder on the residual electrode should be cleaned up. 3. Control the precipitation to prevent excessive precipitation and hardening of the precipitation. 4. The particle size of the alumina powder should be controlled well. It should not be too fine. When cutting, the anode sealing material should be reduced to fly, and the window should be closed during processing. Only when all links are controlled within the required range and the external environment is also in line, can the flame retardant made of alumina micropowder have higher flame retardant performance.

The government will allow some companies to continue to export bauxite

 Time of issue: : 2018-02--10

On March 23, my country’s Ministry of Energy and Minerals stated that the government is studying the lifting of the bauxite export ban on some enterprises. Didu, Chairman of my country’s Ministry of Energy and Minerals to accelerate the development of smelters, said that due to the shortage of funds during the construction of smelters by some investors, the government will allow these companies to continue to export bauxite in order to promote the smooth completion of the smelters. "The government will allow companies that are building smelters to continue to export raw bauxite ore so that they can obtain funding for the construction of smelters," he said.

Liu Xiangmin, Senior Vice President of Aluminum Corporation of China, meets guests from Pallau, Indonesia

 Time of issue: : 2018-02--10

On March 17, Liu Xiangmin, a member of the party group of Chinalco and senior vice president of Chinalco, met with Wata Nabe, the marketing president of Indonesia's PTBerau, and his party at the company's headquarters. The two sides conducted in-depth discussions on potential cooperation areas and reached a consensus. The heads of relevant departments of Aluminum Corporation of China and relevant heads of Chinalco International Trade Group attended the meeting. Liu Xiangmin welcomed the guests and introduced the reform and development of Chinalco. He said that Chinalco aims to build a world-class enterprise, and developing extensive and mutually beneficial international trade is an important way to promote this process. Chalco International Trade is the main marketing and trade window of Chalco. It is committed to participating in the global allocation of resources and the international circulation of production factors, focusing on developing business areas with strategic competitive advantages and growth opportunities, and striving to become the most competitive in the world Of non-ferrous metals trading companies. The Belau mine is currently the largest mine in Indonesia’s export volume to China, and it is also Indonesia’s closest coal mine to China. It has a significant advantage in the China-India coal trade. The two parties should establish an efficient and pragmatic cooperative relationship based on the principle of mutual benefit. This will not only help Chalco to enhance its market competitiveness, achieve efficient integration of domestic and foreign trade businesses and resources, and further tap the potential of the Chinese market for Indonesia's Belau. , Increasing influence in the field of energy trade is also of great significance. It is hoped that both parties will enhance mutual understanding and trust, further deepen cooperation, and achieve mutual benefit and win-win results. Wata Nabe expressed his appreciation for Chinalco's development achievements in recent years. He said that Indonesia's Belau attaches great importance to the Chinese market and is also very willing to actively cooperate with Chinalco in related fields. He introduced the production and operation and sales pricing model of Indonesia's Belau Company, analyzed the global coal market situation, and discussed issues of mutual concern. He hopes that the two sides can strengthen the docking, realize efficient cooperation as soon as possible, and establish a long-term cooperation mechanism to achieve win-win development.