Bauxite output doubles

After languishing during the first half of the 1990s, the bauxite and alumina industries have expanded in recent years, according to a report by London-based Roskill Information Services.

The Economics of Bauxite and Alumina (fifth edition) states that world production of bauxite and alumina grew at an unprecedented rate between 1994 and 2000. In 2000, 135.7 million tonnes bauxite were produced (26% more than in 1994), whereas 51.6 million tonnes alumina were mined (28% more). Average annual growth rates over this period were 3.9% for bauxite and 4.2% for alumina.

Both commodities experienced broad-based growth, and although Australian production accounted for the largest share of the increase in terms of volume, Chinese and Brazilian output of both bauxite (16% and 8% per year, respectively) and alumina (15% and 12% per year, respectively) showed the most rapid expansion. Output growth is expected to slow considerably in the near term.

Total new alumina capacity under consideration in 2001 was 12.8 million tonnes per year, with 3.5 million tonnes in expansions coming on-stream by 2004. Gapco in Guinea and Utkal in India are the largest projects; both are unlikely to be in production before 2006. Comalco’s 1.4-million-tonne-per-year Gladstone plant in Queensland, Australia, is probably the largest refinery.

The report says world capacity for, and production of, alumina will probably grow comparatively slowly until 2005, and output in 2001 was probably less than in 2000. Roskill expects little major new bauxite mining capacity to be commissioned in the near term. Development of the large Boksit Timana resource in Russia is ongoing, and output is expected to increase annually.

Demand for non-metallurgical bauxite will grow at 0.8% per year up to 2006, bringing the market to just over 7 million tonnes per year. The highest growth in percentage terms is expected in its minor uses. Markets for non-metallurgical alumina are expected to expand somewhat faster, at about 2.4% per year, to reach 4.4 million tonnes per year by 2006, bolstered by demand for cement, chemicals and ceramics.

Demand for bauxite refractories has declined, whereas the market for calcined and fused alumina for use in high alumina refractories has been maintained.

Roskill finds growth potential in the relatively small markets of zeolites (the main builder in detergents), catalysts (mainly in petrochemical hydrocracking and hydrotreating) and fillers (paper and adhesives). Advanced ceramics used in electronic and wear-resistant applications are widely seen as a growing market for alumina, as are aluminosilicate ceramic fibres.

The single largest non-metallurgical use of bauxite is as an addition to Portland cement. The report examines the potentially large market for upgrading cement quality in Asia and Africa, and forecasts demand growth for both bauxite and calcined alumina.