Aluminum Corporation of China adopts new technology to produce 388,000 tons of electrolytic aluminum

Aluminum can replace steel or copper

Regarding the prospects of the aluminum industry, Luo Jianchuan acknowledged that the oversupply situation in the aluminum industry is still present in China and the world. However, it is precisely because aluminum prices are lower than other major metal prices, or the outlook for aluminum consumption has been broadened, such as replacing Steel or copper applications.

In addition, Chinalco will add 388,000 tons of electrolytic aluminum production capacity this year. Luo Jianchuan said that this batch of new production capacity will be produced by new technologies, which will result in lower costs. The single electricity consumption is already about 10% less than before, plus The upper factory is located in the northwest region and has the advantage of electricity price. It is believed that the factory will have better competitiveness.

In the face of oversupply and rising costs in the aluminum industry, China Aluminum (2600) will actively expand coal resources this year. Chairman and chief operating officer Xiong Weiping said that this year's capital expenditures of the group will be approximately RMB 22.5 billion, including The acquisition and development of large bauxite resources strive to acquire 500 million tons of bauxite resources at home and abroad; the distribution of alumina and primary aluminum industry will shift to domestic and overseas regions with advantages in resources and energy; Wait.

Luo Jianchuan, president of the company, said at a press conference last week that aluminum processing was the only loss-making segment of the company last year, mainly because of the impact of the financial crisis, which led to a significant reduction in the number of processing contracts and related costs. He said that the Group has strengthened its basic avoidance, implemented operational transformation, and made cost control effective. Therefore, this year's aluminum processing sector has shown significant improvement compared to last year.

Senior vice president and chief financial officer Liu Caiming said that the overall electrolytic aluminum prices have increased steadily in January-February this year. This factor can enhance profitability, but inflation in the Mainland will also increase operating costs. Luo Jianchuan pointed out that the aluminum processing sector had turned a profit in a single month in December last year, and its performance in the January-February period was also good, and it was optimistic about the sector.

Increase new technology production capacity

China's largest alumina producer, China Aluminum, turned losses into profits last year, but its control of production costs has been questioned by the market. Xiong Weiping, chairman and chief executive officer of the company, stated that he hopes to reduce the overall production cost in the future by eliminating obsolete production capacity and increasing production capacity of new technologies. He pointed out that in the first two months of this year, the price of electrolytic aluminum has risen steadily and profitability has improved; however, the increase in operating costs due to inflation in the Mainland, including the rise in coal prices, is also worthy of attention.

Chinalco’s alumina production reached 10.13 million tons last year, production of chemical alumina was about 1.2 million tons, and electrolytic aluminum production was 3.84 million tons. Luo Jianchuan, executive director and president of the company, said that the large-scale electrolytic aluminum plant with an annual output of 388,000 tons will be completed and put into operation this year, and the new technology will reduce the production cost, including the unit investment cost from the previous 11,000 to 12,000 yuan (RMB. With the same reduction to 9,000 yuan, operating costs have also dropped by 10%. The cost of this project is competitive. He also pointed out that 70,000 to 80,000 tons of backward production capacity will be eliminated this year.

Of Chinalco's business sector, last year only the aluminum processing sector still suffered losses, amounting to 324 million yuan. Liu Caiming, the company's senior vice president and chief financial officer, said that the sector had turned a profit in December last year. By January and February of this year, the operation continued to be better at the end of last year, but the tight supply of natural gas in the mainland affected the production of the sector. .

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