August Global Alumina Output Falls Short on Brazil Disruptions

Global alumina production declined by approximately 5.2% year-on-year and 4.7% month-on-month in August, according to Shanghai Metals Market statistics.

The drop was mainly attributed to temporary production cuts at Brazil's Alunorte due to natural gas supply disruptions. The refinery reduced output as an emergency response after gas supplier CELBA notified an interruption in natural gas supply, resulting in estimated lost production of 100,000-120,000 tonnes of alumina during the outage.

However, following approval from Brazil's ANP to become an autonomous natural gas importer, Alunorte reached a temporary agreement with CELBA on terminal access and promptly began ramping up production, currently returning to full operating rates. The outage is expected to impact third-quarter financial results by US$75 million to US$100 million.

In the Middle East, EGA's semi-annual results disclosed the restart progress at the Al Taweelah aluminum smelter, which was shut down following an attack on March 28. 18% of the plant's 1,262 electrolytic cells have been restarted, with production expected to return to pre-incident levels by Q1 2027.