China’s alumina production grew in 2011, but imports dropped off sharply: Alumina Analysis | Metal Bulletin Research
Rusal has suggested that the recent carbon emissions taxation scheme being implemented by the Australian government will decrease investment into alumina refinery capacity in Australia and increase it in China.
Officials statistics from the CNIA released at the end of January state that China produced just over 34m tonnes of alumina in 2011, up from just under 29m in 2010.
In-line with this we estimate that China’s consumption of smelter grade alumina grew from between 31.5m and 32.1m in 2010 to between 34.9m and 35.5m in 2011 based on official statistics and depending on smelter efficiency. Actual production and consumption will be slightly higher in both years due to likely under reporting from refineries and smelters. However imports of alumina (including a small but significant amount of non-metallurgical grade alumina) fell from 4.3m in 2010 to 1.9m in 2011 primarily due to the growth of domestic alumina production.
