The six-day shutdown at Hydro’s Alunorte refinery has hit the company’s alumina output.

The shutdown of Brazilian alumina refinery Alunorte for a few days in October could bring its production volume down by 20,000-30,000 tonnes in the fourth quarter, according to Eivind Kallevik, chief financial officer of the unit’s owner, Norsk Hydro.

Hydro produced 821,000 tonnes of alumina during the third quarter of 2018. If output goes down by as much as 30,000 tonnes, that would mean a reduction of less than 4% of the three-month output volume.

Alunorte is currently operating with output limited to 50% of capacity because of government restrictions.
In February, the company was accused of letting bauxite waste overflow from its deposits into nearby soil and waters. Federal and state authorities then limited capacity utilization at Alunorte to 50%, which was later extended to the Paragominas bauxite mine and Albras aluminium smelter.

Alumina prices were expected to remain high during the final three months of this year, because there was no way to tell when Alunorte’s operations will return to normal. The company’s costs could rise as high as Nkr200 million ($24.14 million) because of this, Kallevik said during Hydro’s third-quarter earnings call on Wednesday October 24.
Fastmarkets’ daily benchmark alumina index was assessed at $493.75 per tonne fob Australia on October 24, down from $494.17 per tonne the day before. Inferred Brazil fob prices were $499 per tonne, down by 0.2%.

The company decided to halt operations at Alunorte, in the northern Brazilian state of Pará, after its oldest solid-waste deposit approached the end of its life cycle. At the same time, it sought an operating permit for the newest deposit, which was issued by Brazil’s federal environmental agency, Ibama.

Alunorte was shut down completely from October 3 to October 8, after which output was resumed at 50% capacity.
There was still no timeframe for the removal of the restrictions, Hydro executives said during the conference call. But the company has already secured a supply of alumina that will last until the year-end, according to chief executive officer Svein Richard Brandtzæg.

Increasing demand for refractory materials pushed China’s refractories output up to 9.45 million tonnes in the first half of 2018. Magnesia and graphite prices remained firm because of the knock-on effects of environmental regulations.

China’s total output of refractory materials was 9.45 million tonnes in the first half of the year, up by 4.80% year-on-year, according to data from the China Association of Refractories.

Refractories output in January-June rose continuously because of increasing demand from downstream consumers, with more projects involving the replacement of steel production capacity, and maintenance projects at several kilns.
Supply of some refractory products was tight due to increasing demand, especially for silica bricks.

The total volume of unshaped refractory materials produced in January-June was 3.26 million tonnes, up by 5.57% year-on-year. This included 2.71 million tonnes of refractory alumina-silicon, up by 20.28%, and 550,000 tonnes of magnesia-based unshaped refractory, down by 34.09%.

The downstream crude steel sector showed a year-on-year increase in output in the first half of 2018, with total output of 451.16 million tonnes in the first six months, up by 6% compared with the first half of 2017.

Prices for most refractory raw materials, such as magnesia and graphite, were firm in the first half of this year, helped by the knock-on effects of China’s strict imposition of environmental regulations.

Magnesia prices in China were on an upward trend, especially for high-grade grade products, in the first half of 2018. But they have begun to soften recently because of increasing stock levels and slow buying during the seasonal summer lull.

This report is a review of the development of the refractories industry in the British Isle which for the purposes of this paper includes both the north and south of Ireland geologically if not politically and covers mainly the last 300 years with a summary of the current situation and future possible developments.

INFORMED’s MagForum 2018 conference was held 17-20 June, at the Grande Elysée Hotel, Hamburg/DE. With 230 international attendees networking and discussing the key issues influencing the industry, it was the largest yet. The event was stimulated with a diverse programme presented by leading experts.

Home to speciality magnesa supplier Lehmann & Voss & Co./DE, and as lead sponsor of MagForum 2018, it was fitting thar Knut Breede, Managing Partnet, formally oponed proceedings with a Welcome Address providing not just an insight to Lehmann & Voss but also the longstanding pedigree of Hamburg as a mineral trading hub.

Magnesia production hubs in China are continuing their efforts to reduce negative environmental impact, while domestic magnesia prices firm and export prices hold steady on low demand.

Following China’s closure of companies in the Dashiqiao magnesia production hub that failed to meet environmental standards and the Haicheng government’s progress in consolidating the magnesia industry in early September, the Dashiqiao and Haicheng governments have been stepping up efforts to improve local air conditions to make them comply with Beijing’s environmental targets.

Officials from the Dashiqiao and Yingkou governments held a conference with local refractory companies on September 14 to establish improved emission standards for air pollutants in the magnesia-based refractory industry. Local companies should strictly follow the production standards.

Meanwhile, the Haicheng government has started a new round of environmental inspections in the local area, which will last one month from September 18 to October 19.

During this round of inspections, some magnesia companies in Haicheng and Dashiqiao have chosen to stop production and upgrade equipment to meet the new standards for inspection, leading to reduced supply in the spot market. With mining restrictions still in place, domestic Chinese magnesia prices have firmed again, and some producers have even started to increase prices for magnesia, especially fused magnesia (FM) and dead-burned magnesia (DBM), though this has not affected market prices yet.

«China’s magnesia prices will not fall further, or even increase in a small range, due to the recent conference and new round of environmental inspections. Dead burned magnesia prices will be influenced more as more producers might stop production due to the inspections in Haicheng. Meanwhile export prices are temporarily standing still as demand from buyers remains quiet,» an exporter in Dalian told Industrial Minerals.

Industrial Minerals’ latest price assessments showed the fob China price of magnesia, fused, 97% MgO (Ca:Si 2:1) was at $1,250-1,350 per tonne on September 18, flat with previous week. Industrial Minerals’ assessment for the fob China price of DBM, 90% MgO lumpwas at $220-260 per tonne on September 18, also unchanged from the previous week.