Alcoa flags lower Australian alumina shipments after cyclone
Alcoa Corp expects shipments from its Pinjarra alumina refinery in Australia to fall by around 120,000 metric tons in the second quarter compared to the first quarter due to the impact of Cyclone Narelle, its chief financial officer said.
The cyclone, which hit Australia in March, disrupted LNG supply to the 4.7 million ton per year capacity Pinjarra plant and increased second-quarter production costs by $30 million, Molly Beerman told the Wells Fargo Industrials & Materials Conference in Chicago on Wednesday.
Alcoa is also expecting additional fuel costs of $15 million in the quarter at its Sao Luis alumina refinery in Brazil due to the conflict in the Middle East, Beerman said.
Sao Luis remains profitable, but Alcoa’s alumina business is “very pressured right now” and the refineries in Western Australia are “really challenged” due to low alumina prices and poor-quality bauxite. “So the segment as a whole will be under water,” she said.
Alcoa is helping its aluminum smelter customers in the Middle East redirect some of their contracted alumina cargoes, primarily to China, because of their war-driven production constraints, Beerman said.
Alcoa’s shares plunged 9.5% on Wednesday to $65.55.
(By Tom Daly; Editing by Jan Harvey)
Madagascan miner Ambatovy resumes nickel production after cyclone
Madagascan miner Ambatovy plans to produce 2,500 metric tons of nickel in June as it is restarting production after a cyclone hit it in February, the company told Reuters on Thursday.
Cobalt production is expected at around 250 tons this month, Ambatovy added.
Ambatovy restarted one acid plant on May 23 and plans to start the second one by the end of June, Ambatovy’s chief executive Trevor Naidoo said in a post on social media.
The miner’s current shareholder, Korea Mine Rehabilitation and Mineral Resources Corporation (KOMIR), and Japanese trading house Sumitomo, which sold its 54% stake to a group of investors in May, provided the funding to Ambatovy for the rebuild after the cyclone, he added.
Ambatovy produces nickel and cobalt briquettes. Its production was at around 29,000 tons of nickel and 2,700 tons of cobalt in 2025.
(By Polina Devitt and Pratima Desai; Editing by Louise Heavens)
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