Executive Interviews

Asian Metal: Welcome to this interview. Could you please briefly introduce the main business of your company?

Romain Girbal: IB2 is an industrial green technology provider for alumina refineries. We process low-grade bauxite into high-grade bauxite by removing silica, sulfur, and organic carbon. Additionally, we produce the co-product tobermorite, which is used in cement production.

Asian Metal: Over the past two years, China’s dependency on imported bauxite has risen and now stands at 80%. What do you think are the reasons for this?

Romain Girbal: Around 20 years ago, China's dependency on imported bauxite was only about 5%, as it had access to good-quality local bauxite. However, today, China no longer has sufficient supplies of middle- and high-grade bauxite, despite a large amount of low-grade bauxite being available. As a result, China has to rely on imported bauxite.

Asian Metal: How do you define low-grade bauxite in China? How can you upgrade low-grade bauxite, and what is the efficiency of your process?

Romain Girbal: We consider bauxite with an Al/Si ratio between 1.5 and 3.5 to be low-grade, while high-grade bauxite has an Al/Si ratio of 6.0. We can process low-grade bauxite with an Al/Si ratio of 2.5 and transform it into a high-grade bauxite with a ratio of 13-14. For every 2.5 tons of low-grade bauxite, we can produce 1.7 tons of high-grade bauxite. This is why IB2's project is such a strategic solution for China. All Chinese inland refineries could rely entirely on local low-grade bauxite once our technology is implemented.

Asian Metal: Compared to imported and domestic bauxite, what are the advantages of your processing solution?

Romain Girbal: Imported bauxite is much more expensive. For example, Guinean bauxite is priced at almost USD 90/t CIF China, and when transporting it to inland alumina refineries, the freight exceeds RMB100/t (USD14/t). With our processing solution, local alumina refineries can use low-grade bauxite, which reduces transportation costs and lowers caustic soda consumption by around 80%. For instance, with current Chinese local bauxite, refineries typically use around 250kg of caustic soda per unit of alumina produced, but with our technology, this drops to just 45kg.

Asian Metal: Could you please introduce the investment and construction period for a typical bauxite concentration plant?

Romain Girbal: Under our business model, alumina refineries pay a bauxite processing fee, while we build and fully operate the bauxite concentration plant by ourselves. If there is an existing sintering unit at the refinery, it will take approximately 8 months to build a bauxite concentrate plant with a processing capacity of 600,000 tons per year. If there is no existing sinter unit, the construction period will be around 10-11 months.

Asian Metal: Environmental protection is a major concern. How do you address this issue?

Romain Girbal: We are able to reduce CO2 emissions by 40% during alumina production and cut red mud production by 60%. This is a significant advantage in terms of environmental protection.

Asian Metal: Has your company achieved any successful projects in China? What have been the results?

Romain Girbal: Yes, we signed an agreement for a plant construction with a Shanxi-based alumina refinery last year. Groundbreaking for the industrial plant in Shanxi occurred in mid-November, and we plan to finish construction by May 2025 and start production in June. The plant is expected to produce around 200,000 tons of alumina this year. This project could reduce alumina production costs by 40%. I believe our technology can also be applied in other provinces like Henan. Given the current high alumina prices, this technology will be particularly beneficial when prices begin to fall. Our long-term goal is to expand our technology to all inland refineries in China, as well as in countries like Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, and India.

Asian Metal: China's current demand for bauxite exceeds 200 million tons per year. What is your forecast for Chinese demand growth in the next two years, and what is the potential for bauxite concentrate growth?

Romain Girbal: The demand for bauxite will continue to grow by at least 5% annually. If China cannot make full use of its local low-grade bauxite, it will need to import more high-cost bauxite. I predict that the demand for bauxite processing in China could reach over 7 million tons in the next two years. As a result, our company plans to build 2-3 bauxite processing plants over the next two years to process 5-7 million tons of low-grade bauxite.

Asian Metal: What is the biggest challenge to your company?

Romain Girbal: Our biggest challenge right now is hiring qualified engineers. Our plant in Shanxi will create over 60 jobs once commercial production begins.

Asian Metal: Thank you, and we wish you the best of luck with your bauxite processing applications in the future.

Romain Girbal: Thank you.