Stuff on pricing and opex... and even a bit on refineries.
------------------------------------------------ What is Bauxite... How do we mine... etc http://www.riotinto.com/whatweproduce/452_aluminium_3530.asp
Bauxite Bauxite is the mineral form of aluminium, occurring naturally in the earth's crust, and containing about 50 per cent alumina. It is formed by the weathering of sedimentary rocks which contain a high proportion of aluminium-bearing minerals. Bauxite is normally found in a layer averaging three to five metres deep, located about half a metre beneath the topsoil. Mined bauxite resembles small red pebbles, called pisolites, averaging about five millimetres in diameter.
Mining and processing bauxite Bauxite exists in free-flowing form, which makes it relatively easy to dig out of the ground. Front end loaders load the bauxite into 150 tonne bottom-dump trucks, which take the ore to a dump station for transportation to the processing plant (called a beneficiation plant) by rail and belt conveyor.
At the beneficiation plant, the bauxite is screened and washed to remove fine particles. It is then placed on stockpiles, which are loaded onto ships.... ------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------ Price Of Bauxite 2008 http://rusmet.com/news.php?id=11656
"Bauxite prices may gain 30% next year on the back of rising demand in China and dwindling Indonesian exports. Prices may rise as high as $65/t, including insurance and freight, Chetan Shah, managing director of Ashapura Minechem Ltd., India`s largest exporter of bauxite, said in a telephone interview yesterday in Mumbai. "
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Price Of Bauxite 2008 http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/1246603/
"Bauxite prices vary given differences in quality, but Brazilian bauxite is towards the upper end of the price range, getting around $35 a metric ton because of its high quality. "
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Price Of Bauxite/Alumina 2008 http://www.rescoproducts.com/pdf_newsletters/2008%20increase.pdf
"The landed cost of bauxite increased 68% in 2007. The Chinese government also announced in late 2007 that they will impose a 15% Export Tax on all bauxite shipments from China effective January 1, 2008. There was no Export Tax on refractory grade bauxite in 2007. New pricing being quoted for bauxite is now over 100% higher than the end of 2007!!
BROWN FUSED ALUMINA (BFA) July 2007 prices of BFA were in the range of $365 - $375/ton and escalated to $380 - $400/ton in August 2007. By early September, price levels had reached $550 - $600/ton. It is being reported that by the second quarter of 2008, prices will escalate to $750 - $775/ton range, an increase in price of 112% since July of 2007 to June of 2008."
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Price Of Bauxite 2007 http://in.reuters.com/article/asiaCompanyAndMarkets/idINHKG9455520071113?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0
"Spot imported bauxite prices had risen to nearly $80 per dry tonne versus $70 to $75 in September and $60 in August, due to strong Chinese demand and high freight costs, traders said.
One trader said some term Indonesian bauxite for 2008 shipments to China had been set at about $18, based on free-on-board, versus around $17 this year."
"When delivered to Chinese ports, the 2008 term price would rise above $70, based on current freight charges, compared with about $44 for term shipments this year. "
"Plus, China imported 4.096 million tons of bauxite from India during Jan.-Oct., up from 217,000 tons in 2006. Furthermore, the CIF price of imported bauxite from India hovers at above 80 U.S. dollars per ton, up 60 percent from the beginning of 2007. "
"It means the country misses out on a crucial economic boost: whereas a tonne of bauxite costs about $20 on the world market, spot prices for refined alumina can reach $400 a tonne. "
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Price Of Bauxite 2000 http://minerals.er.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/bauxite/090400.pdf
"Industrial Minerals (2000b) quoted end-of-year prices for several types of imported refractory-grade bauxite from China and Guyana. The price quotes for Chinese refractory-grade bauxite, minimum 87% Al2O3 free on board (f.o.b.) Chinese ports, were as follows: Shanxi, shaft, lump, $71 to $75 per ton;
Shanxi rotary, lump, $85 to $90 per ton; and Guizhou, round, lump, $70 to $73 per ton. The price ranges for Guyanese refractory-grade bauxite were as follows: $155 to $175 per ton, f.o.b. barge, U.S. Gulf Coast; and $165 to $175 per ton, cost, insurance, and freight (c.i.f.) Europe."
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Price And Cost Bauxite 2008 http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS107789+01-Apr-2008+RNS20080401
"Total US$/tonne 20.58
A value of US$ 32 per tonne was assumed for the bauxite product. This value was selected to produce a positive cash flow and a positive net present value (NPV) at a discount rate of 7.5 percent. The internal rate of return (IRR) is 9.0 percent at US$ 32 per tonne. At a value of US$ 30 per tonne, both the NPV at 7.5 and 5.0 percent become negative and the internal rate of return (IRR) is 3.0 Percent."
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Price And Cost Bauxite 2005 http://www.cseindia.org/misc/mine/mineralgrowth.htm
"Take bauxite. Only a small quantity of bauxite, as raw material for aluminium, is sold in Indian markets, because most aluminium makers have captive mines. In the international market, bauxite is priced at US $100 per tonne (over Rs 4,000), while in India, the estimated cost to mine bauxite is Rs 225 per tonne. The price of aluminium in the global market is US $2,680 per tonne—over Rs 1,00,000 as per June 20, 2007. Indian companies can make a killing in this market with their captive bauxite mines. This explains the aluminium rush to Orissa. "
"Aluminum is the second most common element in the earth’s crust after silicon. The vast majority of today’s supplies are obtained from bauxite ores, which occur widely in the tropical regions, and are low cost to mine. Typical bauxite mining costs are only $5-10/t. Compared with other forms of mining, bauxite extraction is relatively simple. Most operations incorporate progressive land rehabilitation and re-vegetation programs in order to minimize environmental impact. There is no likelihood of bauxite resource depletion in the foreseeable future. "
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------------------------------------------------ Alumina Refinery - Brazil - 2004 http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article.php?a_id=51132
"he initial phase of the project is preliminarily estimated to have a capital expenditure cost of approximately $1-billion and is expected to come on line in 2007. "
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BAU Price at posting:
0.0¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
