China's Bosai expands alumina, aluminum capacity

August 10 MetalBiz--China's Bosai Group is doubling capacity of alumina and aluminum in the first half of 2010, adding production to the world's top aluminum producing nation.

Privately owned Bosai is in talks with Minermet and Krupadeep Traders, to import Indian bauxite, the ore from which alumina is manufactured, company sources said.

The firm is building up a facility in Sichuan province to boost its annual alumina capacity to 500,000 tonnes in April 2010 from 200,000 tonnes now.

"Our mines do not have sufficient ore supplies," a senior executive said. Importing bauxite from India was one of the firm's options, he stated, but did not identify other potential overseas suppliers.

To satisfy Bosai's expanding alumina production, the firm may import about 500,000 tonnes of bauxite per year, a company source said. That amount would cover half of the firm's annual demand of bauxite from next year.

Alumina is the main material for primary aluminum production.

Bosai's new 110,000-tonne-per-year A-Ba Aluminum Smelter, which was slightly damaged by massive earthquakes in May last year in Sichuan, started production in December 2008 and is adding 90,000 tonnes of annual capacity, the company source noted.

Construction of that capacity will be completed as early as June next year, bringing A-Ba's capacity up to 200,000 tonnes per year.

China already produces more aluminum than it needs, with annual smelting capacity of more than 18.5mln tonnes. Capacity is expected by Chinese smelter officials to reach nearly 20mln tonnes at the end of this year.

A-Ba Aluminum also intends to set up a 100,000-tonne-per-year plant to produce semi-finished aluminum products, the company source expressed.