AM Statistics: China's alumina production down by 1.23% MOM in September

BEIJING (Asian Metal) 10 Oct 14 - According to the latest statistics from Asian Metal, China produced around 4 million tonnes of alumina in September, down by around 1.23% month-on-month, with the total outputs at around 36.86 million tonnes from January to September, up by 4.78% year-on-year.

With the exception of the routine maintenance, two Chinese alumina refineries halted production due to various accidents in September, so the overall outputs decreased to some extent during the month.

Alumina production in Shanxi decreased from 1.107 million tonnes in August to around 1.097 million tonnes in September. Supported by the rising alumina prices, Chalco Shanxi Branch’s alumina refinery’s production reached 180,000t in September, around 20,000t up than that in August, while Jiaokou Feimei Aluminum started maintenance on some of its roasters and reduced their output from 170,000t in August to around 150,000t during the month. Due to the accident happened to one of their natural gas pipelines, Senze Coal Aluminum halted production with the outputs reducing by around 10,000t to 40,000t in September.

Influenced by a serious accident, a major alumina refinery halted production in Henan, leading to the decreased outputs from 956,000t in August to around 916,000t in September.

Alumina production in Shandong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Inner Mongolia, Chongqing and Yunnan remained relatively stable at around 1,060,000t, 620,000t, 160,000t, 57,000t, 25,000t and 70,000t, respectively. Encouraged by significant rise of alumina prices, some Chinese alumina refineries are planning to resume production in the near future, so Asian Metal predicts that the overall alumina production may increase in the coming months.