CRU aluminum news roundup

Alcoa reported net profit of $90 million vs. a year-ago loss of $168 million. It’s net profit also improved sequentially from $20 million in Q2 despite lower shipments, thanks to lower raw material costs and the higher alumina price.

Adjusted EBITDA, excluding special items, increased to $455 million from $70 million last year. Sales revenue was 11.5% higher at $2.90 billion, with aluminum shipments marginally up at 638,000 tons from 630,000 tons.

Alumina production was down 4% sequentially to 2.44 million tons primarily due to the full curtailment of the Kwinana refinery completed in June 2024. In aluminum, production increased 3% sequentially to 559,000 tons, primarily due to continued progress on the Alumar smelter restart.

“During the third quarter, we maintained our pace of delivering on strategic actions. We gained flexibility after closing the Alumina Limited acquisition and announced the sale of our interest in the Ma’aden joint ventures,” said Alcoa President and CEO William F. Oplinger. “Positive markets and our focus on continuous improvement led to stronger results for the third quarter, while we continue to execute initiatives to further enhance our operations.”

Hydro signs long-term power contract with Skellefteå Kraft

Hydro Energi AS has signed a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) with Skellefteå Kraft AB for the accumulated delivery of 2-terawatt hour (TWh) to Hydro’s Norwegian aluminum plants in the period of 2025-2032. The PPA secures a total of 2 TWh from Skellefteå Kraft’s SE2 portfolio over an eight-year period to Hydro’s aluminum smelters in Norway.

The power contract will be part of Hydro’s Nordic power portfolio, which consists of captive power production of 9.4 TWh per year and a long-term contract portfolio of around 10 TWh. Long-term agreements start to expire at the end of 2030 and Hydro is actively pursuing alternative sourcing options to meet the need for renewable power.

Ups and downs in Rio Tinto’s production

Rio Tinto increased its output of bauxite in Q3 by 8% year-on-year (y/y) to 15.1 million tons but suffered an 11% fall and lowering of guidance for iron ore output from IOC in Canada. The global miner’s other commodities returned mixed results.

On bauxite the company said: “The improvement continues to be driven by higher plant availability and utilisation rates owing to the implementation of the safe production system [SPS], especially at our Amrun mine at Weipa, which is operating above nameplate capacity. “We shipped 11.1 million tonnes of bauxite to third parties in the third quarter, 16% higher than the same period of 2023.”

SPS was introduced to two more sites during Q3, taking the total to 28. CEO Jakob Stausholm described the system as a step change for the company’s Australian bauxite mines. Introduced in 2021, SPS is designed to improve how Rio Tinto operates its assets, manages performance and helps employees innovate. By drawing on data to better understand asset health, maintenance scheduling and bottlenecks, the company says it has seen improved production efficiency, safety and engagement where SPS is deployed.

During Q3, alumina production was 1.8 million tons (down 7% y/y) because of the ongoing impact on the Gladstone operations in Queensland of a gas pipeline breakage back in March. Gas supplies are currently meeting around 95% of requirements and are expected to return to normal by year-end. Aluminum output fell 2% to 800,000 tons because a power supplier to New Zealand Aluminium Smelter (NZAS) asked the Tiwai Point plant to reduce electricity usage from early August. A Ramp-up back to usual run rates began in late September and is anticipated to continue to Q2.

On the iron ore side, IOC production declined 11% to 2.12 million tons because of an 11-day site-wide shutdown following nearby forest fires in mid-July. “This resulted in a revised mine plan and maintenance schedule, leading to a reduction in our full-year iron ore pellets and concentrate production guidance to 9.1 to 9.6 million tons (previously 9.8 to 11.5 million tons),” Rio Tinto said.

At Pilbara in Western Australia, iron ore output was up 1% to 84.1 million tons (company share 71.0 Mt) thanks to productivity gains offsetting ore depletion. Shipments also rose 1%, to 84.5 million tons (company share 72.5 Mt). Rio Tinto commented: “We continue to deepen the maturity of SPS and are on track to deliver a five million tonne year-on-year production uplift at Pilbara iron ore.” Consolidated mined copper production fell 1% to 167,800 tons, while refined output went up 59% to 54,300 t thanks to last year’s rebuild of the smelter and refinery at Kennecott in the US.

Editor’s note: This article was first published by CRU. To learn more about CRU’s services, click here.