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Alumina targets bauxite exports despite Malaysian supply boom


Post Date: 31 Aug 2015    Viewed: 353

Malaysia's sudden emergence as a significant bauxite exporter is unsustainable, aspiring Australian bauxite exporter Alumina says.

Alumina and joint venture partner Alcoa have long mined bauxite for conversion into aluminium products, but have recently flagged a desire to start exporting Australian bauxite in a raw form.

The change in attitude follows a turbulent 18 months in bauxite markets. Prices for the bulk commodity rose to a record high of $US73.80 per tonne in May 2014, before sliding back to the low $US50 per tonne range in recent weeks.

The recent slide had been largely blamed on opportunistic, and in some cases amateur, mining in Malaysia, where bauxite exports rose from zero to 20 million tonnes in one year.

Alumina chief executive Peter Wasow said he did not think Malaysia's impact on bauxite markets would be sustained, labelling it a "temporary solution" for Chinese consumers who were short of bauxite.

"The Malaysian temporary solution is not going to be satisfactory or sufficient for the long-term needs of China," he said.

Mr Wasow said Malaysian bauxite was lower quality than the bauxite found in Western Australia and the Cape York region of Queensland, and was typically found in smaller deposits, meaning Chinese customers could not rely on Malaysia to deliver a consistent product long term.

"A refinery is a continuous, high-temperature, high-pressure process and it requires a very standardised input of bauxite to get the maximum yield. When every cargo is different, you wind up getting huge inefficiencies," he said.

Mr Wasow's conclusion is similar to bauxite expert Al Clark.

He told Fairfax Media last week that he expected Malaysia's influence on bauxite markets to have disappeared by 2017.

Alumina and Alcoa do not yet have a licence to export bauxite from their operations in Western Australia, but are negotiating with the state government.

Mr Wasow was speaking after Alumina revealed a $US122 million ($166 million) statutory profit; a big improvement on last year's $US47 million half-year loss.

The strong result prompted a $US0.045 interim dividend, which was more than double the $US0.016 full-year dividend paid for 2014.

The company's Anglesea power station and coal mine would stop generating power next week, and would close on August 31 after Alumina and Alcoa decided to shut the Point Henry smelter.

Anglesea is on Victoria's "Great Ocean Road", and local communities have campaigned loudly for the coal mine to be shut rather than sold.

Mr Wasow said the company had struggled to find buyers and decided to shut the mine in a bid to ensure its reputation was not tarnished by selling it on to a less responsible company.

"To be sure the environmental liabilities were dealt with properly, we took the decision that it's better we close it than pass it off to someone we can't guarantee will meet the obligations," he said.

Alumina shares closed 4¢ higher at $1.335.  


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