Roskill notes that “the Queensland Government has the shortlist of companies bidding on the Aurukun bauxite resource, which will make great changes in bauxite and alumina supplies in the future.  Uncertainty over future bauxite supplies from Indonesia to supply the growing Chinese demand is driving interest in new bauxite projects elsewhere, particularly Australia.”

The Queensland Government has just announced a shortlist of five bidders for the Aurukun bauxite resource on the Cape York Peninsula which includes key players in the bauxite industry – Rio Tinto, Chalco (Aluminium Corp of China) and Glencore. The two other bidders are two consortia; Australia Indigenous Resources and the Cape Alumina Consortium.

The project was previously won by Chalco, but the development agreement for a 6.5 Mt/y bauxite mine and 2.1 Mt/y alumina refinery, lapsed in 2010. It fell apart under the economic climate and the state’s insistence that both the mine and refinery were required, but now options for large- or small-scale developments are being considered. A decision on the future of the project is expected by the end of the year.

With new alumina production capacity planned in China, demand for bauxite is forecast to rise over the next five years and China will continue to rely on imports to meet its requirements. There are a number of other expansion and resource evaluation projects underway, several also in Australia, but also in India, Guinea, Brazil and Vietnam, some of which are more advanced than others. Another huge Rio Tinto project in Australia could add an additional 22.5 Mt/y to the market over the next five years, and others in Brazil may add another 5 Mt/y of bauxite.

Roskill’s latest report Bauxite and Alumina – Global Industry Markets and Outlook covers all these new projects and expansions worldwide and puts them into context in the wider marketplace. The report is available at £3,500/$5,800 /€4,600 from Roskill Information Services.