Lead & Zinc Markets in India

H O M E

India's secondary lead industry is likely to witness a sea of change in the next few years due to stringent environment guidelines framed by State Pollution Control Boards (SPCB). Organised sector players are set to get a majority of share of smelters in unorganised sector. The country's total lead demand stands today at 600,000 tonnes. Hindustan Zinc, the only producer of primary metal produces around 70,000 tonnes while the remaining is met through a combination of secondary producers and imports. Of the secondary producers' contribution of 320,000 tonnes, nearly 250 - 300 unorganised sector players mainly smaller ones in remote Indian cities contribute around 170,000 tonnes. These producers randomly consider installing pollution control equipment. Nearly 30-40 organised sector players like Gravita India Ltd and others, however, have installed all mandatory equipment for controlling discharge of obnoxious gases into the environment while processing of lead through secondary sources. These players contribute 150,000 tonnes of lead output annually. The remaining around 33 per cent or 200,000 tonnes of India's lead demand is met through imports. Lead demand in the country is growing at 12 per cent due to rapid growth in infrastructure as against 6 per cent of global average. Meanwhile, in order to step up production Jaipur - based Gravita India plans to ramp up capacity from the existing 35400 tonnes to 121,125 tonnes by 2013-14 at an investment of Rs 100 crore. For the current financial year, however, the company plans to invest Rs 40 crore to expand production capacity to 79125 tonnes. SPCBs in the industrialised states have come out with stringent regulations for processing of secondary lead from battery scrap. Under these regulations, all plants engaged in this sector require to install pollution control equipment before seeking a clearance from SPCB. Since, small unorganised sector players do not have financial capability to install pollution control equipment, they will not get their license renewed, said an official SPCB. This will benefit companies like Gravita, said M C Mehta, president of the company. Gravita has recently acquired controlling rights in KM Udyog, Jammu, a lead remelting unit with production capacity of 7200 tonnes. The production activity is set to commence on this plant by the end of this month. The unit will derive advantage of benefits for its operations and sale of products by way of exemption from excise duty, income tax etc. as per the special benefits granted by state of Jammu & Kashmir.

India's state-run National Aluminium Co. Ltd (Nalco) sold 6,000 tonnes of aluminium ingots at $103 per tonne premium over the average LME cash price on a cost, insurance and freight basis, a senior company official said. The European buyer will get the metal in six batches of 1,000 tonnes each from August to January, Ansuman Das, director (commercial) at Nalco said. Nalco, whose tenders serve as a global benchmark, last sold 12,000 tonnes of aluminium ingots in April to European trading firm Trafigura in April at $95 per tonne premium over the average LME cash price on a cost, insurance and freight basis.

Hindustan Copper Limited (HCL) has decided to revive its two closed mines at Kendadih and Rakha in Singhbhum district through outsourcing, reports said. Open tenders will soon be floated from private player to revive the two mines that were closed for over two decades. According HCL source, de-watering process would be the first step for revival of the mines. The source said the revival of the mines would generate employment opportunities in the district. The company also decided to reopen the sulphuric acid plant that was closed nearly two years ago. Presently, only one mine at Sarada is functioning with the help of the Indian outfit of an Australian mining company on the basis of a long term contract with HCL. The mine generates about 30 tonnes of copper concentrate per day against the processing plant's daily requirement of nearly 230 tonnes.The shortfall of the concentrate is met by HCL's Malanjkhaund unit in Madhya Pradesh and Khetri unit in Rajasthan.

A licence guaranteeing the holder to produce 100 per cent of any kind; will be issued by a new draft mining bill. As India gears up for inviting foreign technology and money, this bill will facilitate its underperformed mining sector.
The bill will also create an independent regulator for the sector and should be approved by end-2012. India's mineral potential matched resource rich western Australia and southern Africa but exploration had not been done fully so far.
The Large Area Prospecting Licence (LAPL) proposes areas up to 5,000 square kilometres (sq km) for hunting resources and will be allocated for a six year period. Around 570,000 sq km of the 3 million sq km country has high potential of resources. Companies would have to hand data from the area to the government.
India's mining sector has opened up to private investors in recent years. The state-run companies lack funds and expertise to probe deeper than 50 metres where reserves are found.
Global mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto have small ventures so far in the country. Rio Tinto has been negotiating since 1995 with the Orissa government to develop iron ore deposits in a joint venture.
The mining bill should go to the government for approval after possibly a final meeting of a group of ministers and could be presented in parliament in August. The bill could take a year or so to make its way through parliament. The draft mining law proposes foreign firms to share some of their mining profits with local communities as the government wants to reassure the rural population that the resources are not being carted away by outsiders.

National Aluminium Company Ltd. (NALCO) has brought down its domestic aluminium price by Rs 2,000 per tonne since the global rate of the metal has fallen.
For the third time NALCO has revised prices across all products. The aluminium price at the London Metal Exchange (LME) has seen fluctuation.
In the past, India's top aluminium producer, had reduced the price by Rs 5,000 per tonne after surging it by Rs 6,000 per tonne earlier. In the fiscal year 2010-11, NALCO had manufactured 4.44-lakh tonnes of aluminium. By 2020, NALCO hopes to manufacture 170-lakh tonnes of aluminium annually. The firm will be offering a discount of Rs 2,000 per tonne across all products.

Bosnia's sole aluminium smelter Aluminij Mostar has secured a favourable 100 megawatt power supply deal for the rest of 2011 with Croatia's utility HEP in exchange for 60,000 tonnes of the metal a year, reports said. The smelter, based in the southern town of Mostar, has been complaining for years about insecure, inadequate and expensive power supplies and has often urged Bosnia's Muslim-Croat federation government to subsidise the prices. The contract was signed until the end of 2011 at a price of 42.75 euro ($62.17) per MWh set by the Croatian energy regulator between Aluminij, Croatia's HEP and its TLM aluminium semi-products plant, the company said in a statement. Under the deal Aluminij pledged to supply TLM, which holds a 12 percent stake in Aluminij, with 60,000 tonnes of aluminium alloys a year, or about a half of Aluminij's total output, for TLM's own purposes. The smelter said the price was much favourable than on the Bosnian market where it had to pay 48 euros per MWh. Alumij says the electricity price in Bosnia accounts for about 60 percent of the cost to produce one tonne of metal. Aluminij plans to launch in December new negotiations with Croatian counterparts to extend the deal in 2012 and further. The smelter produced 118,000 tonnes of aluminium last year when it restored full output. This was 10 percent up from 2009, when it had been forced to cut output by a quarter after the global economic crisis slashed demand for the metal. The company, one of Bosnia's top exporters with much of its output destined for construction and car industries in the European Union, said it plans to modernise its technology and production which would enable it to boost output further to 135,000 tonnes per year.

Japan's refined zinc exports for May fell 32 percent from a year earlier to 5,905 tonnes, narrowing from April's year-on-year drop of 40 percent, Ministry of Finance data showed, partly reflecting a recovery in production. The drop in May exports was also narrower than a 34.6 percent year-on-year decline in March, while exports rose 17 percent from April. Exports were hit by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, which devastated northeast Japan and shut nearly 65 percent of the country's production capacity for zinc, used in automotive steel sheet and construction materials. Taiwan remained by far the biggest market for Japan's refined zinc in May, accounting for 32 percent, up from 25 percent in April. China's share also rose to 12 percent in May from about 5 percent in April. Indonesia accounted for 23 percent, down from about 27 percent in April. Zinc is mainly used as an anti-corrosive coating in galvanized steel production and in plating.

Grupo Mexico and miners at its U.S. copper mining unit Asarco agreed to extend their existing contract for two more years, the Mexican company said in a statement. The contract covers 2,100 workers at Asarco's operations in Arizona and Texas and will now be valid until 2013. Grupo Mexico lost control of Asarco's board when the company went bankrupt over costly environmental claims but then it regained control in 2009 after a drawn out court battle, beating out rival bids. During the court case, Asarco's union threatened a strike if Grupo Mexico won but then backed off that stance. Grupo Mexico has had ongoing labor problems at several of its Mexican mines, recently restarting production at the massive Cananea pit near the U.S.-Mexico border that had been shut for nearly three years by a strike. Asarco mines around 350 million to 400 million lbs of copper each year and operates a copper smelter in Hayden, Arizona, which produces almost half a billion lbs of anodes annually. Another refinery in Texas and SX/EW plants at the Ray and Silver Bell mines produce about 375 million lbs of refined copper per year, according to the company website.

United Company RUSAL Plc, the world's top aluminium producer, said it has made further repayments of $119 million to its international and Russian creditors. The payments took the company's total debt repayments from the beginning of the year to $1.7 billion, RUSAL said in a statement. The board of directors earlier this month approved the terms and conditions of a new pre-export finance facility of up to $4.75 billion, which will be used to refinance debt, including debts owned to international lenders.

Antofagasta Plc, the operator of four copper mines in Chile, expects to benefit from “huge demand” for metals as China and other emerging economies develop, said Chief Executive Officer Jean Paul Luksic. There's a tremendous demand push by the industrialization and urbanization of China. There is a huge demand for all these metals. The company will continue to invest in new mines in Chile and overseas to meet demand from the so-called BRIC economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China. Mine projects will “take time” to meet rising demand. Antofagasta, which is developing new mines in Pakistan and Zambia, has fallen 19 percent this year in London trading as investors sold producers of commodities on concern that the European debt crisis will slow global economic growth.

Australia's Minara Resources was forced to reduce production at its Murrin Murrin nickel ore processing facility due to an equipment failure but analysts said the incident's impact on global supply and prices would be minor. The acid plant, where acid is run through the ore to recover a nickel solution, had to be taken offline after the incident while the damage was being assessed, the company said. It is too early to say what affect there will be on production, a Minara official said, adding that production from the rest of the operation continues at reduced rates. The incident was unlikely to prompt a rise in world prices for nickel, which have been languishing well below this year's peak levels due to a supply glut and the promise of new supplies entering the market. European stainless steel producers, key consumers of nickel, traditionally run down inventories held at their mills during the third quarter, reducing demand over the period, according to ANZ Bank senior commodities strategist Mark Pervan. This can be seen more as a potential slow down in the increase in supply. The market is aware there is a lot of new nickel supply coming on. Minara, 71 percent-owned by commodities trader Glencore International , earlier said it expects to produce between 33,000 and 37,000 tonnes of nickel in 2011. Minara is Australia's second largest nickel producer after BHP Billiton , which only recently resumed production at its nearby Kwinana refinery. That plant, which has the capacity to produce around 70,000 tonnes a year of refined nickel, was closed in late May due to a shortage of hydrogen supplies. Murrin Murrin was built in the late 1990s by the then Anaconda Nickel and was designed to squeeze more than 40,000 tonnes of nickel from brittle clay-like ores found in the Australian outback using new acid-leach technology. Murrin Murrin has faced numerous technological setbacks over the years and has yet to reach design production levels. Mining companies, including Vale , Xstrata , AngloAmerican and Sherritt International have been racing to construct new mines mostly to feed demand for nickel to make stainless steel, hoping prices will continue to strengthen in step with projected consumption growth. But this year's expected supply deficit of around 30,000 tonnes -- against consumption of 1.59 million tonnes, could reverse into a 25,000-tonnes surplus in 2012 building to an 80,000-tonne surplus in 2013, according to forecasts by BNP Paribas.

GMK Norilsk Nickel, the biggest Russian mining company, won approval from the Economy Ministry to avoid paying duty on metal processed for export from imported concentrate, Deputy Chief Executive Officer Sergey Buzov said. Norilsk completed its first trial shipment of nickel and copper concentrate from Votorantim Metais in Fortaleza, Brazil, for processing at its plant in Murmansk, Russia, Buzov said in an interview in Moscow. The nickel producer may also process concentrate from its Australian and Asian mines. Companies including United Co. Rusal have used the so called tolling arrangements, arguing use of imported materials to produce exports isn’t subject to local duties. Russia will decide by the end of August whether to curb or ban the programs. Nickel and copper exports are taxed at 10 percent of their customs value. Norilsk may seek to ban tolling, Vedomosti reported at the time.

National Aluminum Company Limited will decide on buying stake in an Indonesian coal mine by July end after going through the due diligence report.
Mr BL Bagra acting chairman of Nalco said that IFCI will submit the due diligence by July. After going through the report, Nalco will decide on buying stake in the mine. This might be by July end.
Mr Bagra said that following the acquisition of stake which would be a minority one, in the coal mine, Nalco would start the process of preparing the detailed project report on the aluminum project. The DPR will take 6 to 7 months to prepare. After that, company will seek the approval of the board for investment in the smelter project by March 2012.
He said that the Indonesian government owned mining firm Pte Antam has already evinced interests to buy a minority stake in smelter project. The proposed facility was to be set up through a step down Nalco subsidiary.
Nalco, which is nearly 87% government owned, is the largest producer of alumina and second largest producer of aluminium in the country. It is self sufficient in the entire value chain which includes mining of bauxite, refining of bauxite into alumina, captive power plants and smelting of alumina into aluminum.
Getting access to coal is the key for Nalco's proposed USD 3.9 billion aluminum smelter projects in Indonesia. It plans to set up 0.5 million tonne per annum smelter and 1,250 MW coal based captive power plant at East Kalimantan province in Indonesia.
The company had earlier said that buying stake in a coal mine would ensure long term supply of the dry fuel to its project. The alumina smelter project would be funded with debt equity ratio of 70:30.

The Philippines' Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development Corp may raise $390 million through a four-phase equity and convertible notes issue to fund its full takeover of unlisted gold and copper miner Carmen Copper Corp.
Carmen Copper operates the 1,674-hectare Toledo mine complex which is estimated to contain about 1.5 billion tonnes of ore, or about 5 million tonnes of copper.
Carmen Copper plans to spend $200 million to more than double annual capacity to 100,000 tonnes of copper metal in concentrate in two to three years from the current 42,000 tonnes at a cost of $200 million. The mine-life could be 30 – 40 years and output had risen by 50 per cent on rising demand from China and South Korea.
Atlas plans to sell more than 700 million shares, about 33 percent of its fully-diluted outstanding capital stock, to buy the 45.54 percent of Carmen Copper.

Alcoa has signed a multi year agreement with Airbus to supply aluminum solutions. The deal was signed at the 2011 Paris Air Show and the contract value is approximately USD 1.0 billion.
Under the terms of the agreement, Alcoa will deliver aluminum plates and sheets using its aluminum alloys. These products will be employed by Airbus in all its commercial aircraft programs and will range from single aisle or short-range jets to twin aisle or long haul jets as well as structural parts, fuselage panels and new wing skins for Airbus.
Alcoa will supply the flat rolled aluminum products from its manufacturing facilities located in Belaya Kalitva, Russia; Kitts Green, UK and Davenport, Iowa, US.
Recently, the company has introduced a number of aerospace solutions, which include advanced structural technologies and innovative proprietary alloys. When compared to composite materials, these solutions will decrease the cost, weight as well as maintenance of new airplanes.

Despite the recent crisis at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, Rio Tinto will not abandon its uranium ambitions. Uranium prices fell immediately following the Japan earthquake, but have since recovered to around US$55 per pound. Nuclear energy represents about 14% of global electricity and is set to grow. 25 new plants are currently under construction in China and some 100 are on the drawing board to add to the 400 operating around the world.

Kazakhmys Plc, the copper producer that last month abandoned plans to raise $200 million through a sale of new shares in Hong Kong, said it will wait for ¿very poor¿ market conditions to improve before reviving an offer. The market currently is very poor and the company does't want to disappoint the existing shareholders with issuing shares with a low price, Chief Executive Officer Oleg Novachuk said. While the company's shares have tracked copper prices lower, present levels for the metal “are only a correction,” he said. Kazakhmys has been raising funds for expansion. It agreed a $1.5 billion loan this month for its Aktogay mine, allowing it to keep control of the project. The company said last year it would sell 49 percent to Jinchuan Group Ltd. as it sought to raise as much as $2 billion to develop the mine. The Kazakh company said in March it hadn't been able to reach an agreement with Jinchuan and was considering alternative funding options. The 15-year loan for Aktogay from China Development Bank Corp. should be signed by the end of the year on similar terms to an existing facility for the Bozshakol project, of 480 basis points above the London interbank offered rate, Novachuk said. Kazakhmys plans to issue 2.5 percent of its enlarged share capital, or about 10 million shares, in Hong Kong once market conditions improve or funding needs require it. At the very least, the company plans to wait until the end of the year, after the completion of a feasibility study for a $2 billion investment in the Bozshakol copper mine, he said. The secondary listing is for 2.35 million shares, or 0.44 percent. Kazakhmys has talked to some holders on the possibility of moving their stock to Hong Kong from London to ensure there are enough shares to trade in the Chinese city, Novachuk said. The company is open to any “commercial offer” for its stake in Eurasian Natural Resources Corp.

What started as a mining boom a decade ago, has soon become a difficult business. Worker unrest and strikes Indonesia, Chile, Australia and Africa,shortage of skilled workers and rising labour costs all over the globe are becoming a cause of concern to the mining industry. High overall jobless rate is masking wages in the resources sector in the US, butworkers in emerging markets are shutting down operations as mining companies may not to be sharing record profits fairly. Mine workers are digging in on wages, pensions and benefits. Mining companies are trying to hold their ground to prevent a further rise in costs, at the same time maintaining output levels to capitalize on near-record prices for copper and coal. Prolonged strike action could lead to production shortages that would raise prices for resources. Nickel faced similar situation last year due to strikes at Brazilian mining giant Vale SA's Canadian.

Jiangsu Alcha Aluminum Company Limited plans to build a 250,000 tonne aluminum project in the Baotou National Rare Earth Hi Tech Industrial Development Zone in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
Shenzhen Stock Exchange listed Alcha Aluminum will fund the project's construction through a private issuance of 120 million shares priced at least CNY 12.69 each to a maximum of 10 investors.
The casting and rolling production lines are expected to be completed within 12 months while the whole project will be finished within 18 months. It has an annual production capacity of 100,000 tonnes for aluminum and aluminum alloy ingot, 100,000 tonnes for aluminum strip and 50,000 tonnes for aluminum foil.
Aluminum strip produced at the site will be shipped to the company's branch in Changshu City, Jiangsu Province for the first 2 years while aluminum foil will be used to supply the air conditioning industry in northern China.
Alcha Aluminum forecast China's aluminum sheet and strip consumption to reach 6.50 million tonnes annually by 2015. Aluminum foil consumption will total two million tonnes per annum.
Alcha Aluminum currently has an annual production capacity of 150,000 tons. Its controlling shareholder is privately owned Changshu Aluminum Company Limited.

China may impose export taxes on aluminium alloy additives such as silicon, magnesium and zinc purchased in the domestic market, in a move that could lead to new taxes on other alloys containing base and minor metals. Exports of unwrought aluminium alloy such as grade ADC12, which trades on the London Metal Exchange , are subject to a 15 percent export tax. But the exports can be duty-free if these alloys are made from imported materials. To avoid taxes, producers buy standard imported aluminium scrap containing 3-10 percent of silicon and then beef up levels of the additive with silicon bought in the Chinese market. Such aluminium alloy exports are not taxed. But two industry sources said customs officials had verbally informed large aluminium alloy producers that additive metals bought from the domestic market would be taxed based on rates for primary metals. For silicon, the tax is 15 percent. The taxes are expected to raise exporters' prices for Chinese aluminium alloy. An alloy producer in Guangdong province in the south said the firm had not received any verbal or written notice about the new requirements. He said the firm would increase imports of high silicon aluminium scrap if a tax was required. China's exports of aluminium alloy used by car makers are typically made from imported aluminium scrap. The alloy usually contains 9-13 percent of silicon, making it the second-biggest metal content in the alloy after aluminium. China exported more unwrought aluminium alloy than any other base metal-based unwrought alloys, shipping 263,280 tonnes in the first five months, up 39 percent on the year after a 112 percent rise to 560,835 tonnes in 2010. Japan was the top buyer. Paying taxes is basically certain. The matter now is whether firms would be required to pay taxes for exports they made in previous years. Beijing, which is trying to restrict exports of primary metals, may issue guidelines for the tax requirements soon.

Xstrata Copper has completed its acquisition of the E1 and Monakoff copper tenements in north west Queensland, Australia from Exco Resources Ltd for a cash purchase price of AUD175 million.
The E1 and Monakoff copper tenements are located 8 kilometres east and 21 kilometres south respectively of Xstrata Copper's Ernest Henry Mine and contain open pit copper mineral resources with completed feasibility studies. Ore from the projects will be transported to Ernest Henry Mine where it will be processed through the existing concentrator. It is anticipated these two new projects will increase Ernest Henry Mine's production profile from the second half of 2012, including gold by-product credits. The E1 and Monakoff deposits have a combined JORC compliant resource of 52.1 million tonnes grading 0.77% copper and 0.23g/t gold at a cut-off grade of 0.3% copper for E1 and 0.5% copper for Monakoff.1 This represents 401,000 tonnes of contained copper metal and 384,000 ounces of contained gold metal.
Xstrata Copper North Queensland Chief Operating Officer, Steve de Kruijff, said the acquired projects would strengthen the viability of Xstrata's Ernest Henry Mine operations in Cloncurry, along with the benefits those operations deliver to the local community.
“The finalisation of this acquisition is a significant step towards integrating the development of these projects into our north Queensland business plan,” said Mr de Kruijff.
“We are now working to finalise the necessary government approvals for the projects and expect initial production from the E1 and Monakoff copper projects to commence in the second half of 2012.
“We anticipate the development and operation of the E1 and Monakoff copper projects will create around 100 full-time jobs, some of which will be sourced from Ernest Henry Mine's existing open pit workforce. This is in addition to the 330 construction jobs currently underway and 400 long term job opportunities being created in the transformation of Ernest Henry Mine's open pit operations to a major underground mine and associated magnetite extraction plant.
“The E1 and Monakoff copper projects will expand Ernest Henry Mine's expected production profile by utilising the remaining capacity of the Ernest Henry concentrator while leveraging other significant synergies available through our existing site infrastructure, equipment and workforce.
“We will continue to work closely with landowners and other stakeholders as we finalise planning requirements and develop these tenements into operations.”

Premiums paid for zinc in North America may extend gains from a four-year high because of supply constraints and a seasonal upturn in demand from the automobile and construction industries, according to Macquarie Group Ltd. The premium may climb to 8.5 cents a pound by the end of the year from 7.5 cents now, the highest since May 2007, according to sources in London. The premium is added to the price of metal for immediate delivery on the London Metal Exchange. Financing accords have tied up a “significant” amount of zinc held in warehouses monitored by the London Metal Exchange. Orders to withdraw zinc from LME warehouses in the U.S. have jumped 84 percent this month. LME rules require a minimum “load-out” rate, or delivery of metal each day. Total zinc inventories are up 24 percent this year. Stocks are not easily accessible to end users, because certainly a significant amount of metal has been locked up in financing deals and because of the load-out rates the LME sets for its warehouses. Automakers and the construction industry usually need more zinc in the fourth quarter. About half of all zinc produced is used to rustproof steel, according to zinc producer Boliden AB in Stockholm. Warehouses are currently obliged to deliver a minimum of between 800 tons to 1,500 tons daily. The LME is considering a proposal to increase the amount of metal that has to be delivered from the biggest stockpiles. The issue of metal deliveries is specific to aluminum, LME Chief Executive Officer Martin Abbott said last month.

The Australian Aluminum Council said that the industry needs time to adapt to the introduction of a carbon tax.
Miles Prosser from the council said that if it is implemented too rapidly, jobs from facilities like Alcoa's Portland refinery could be forced overseas
He said that “The carbon tax must be designed to give the aluminum industry time to adapt to the higher costs it will impose. So we understand there will be a carbon price and we are looking for that to be factored in a way that gives industry chance to compete with other overseas producers and a chance to transition to a low carbon economy.”

Aluminium inventories have declined 10825 tonnes on LME. Since beginning of June the inventories have declined by 3.12% from 4691450 tonnes. The prices of 3 months Aluminum forwards has been down by 6% to USD 2669.5 per kilogram. The fall in the prices has been due to the tensions in Greece related to high debt that eradicated buying from EURO currency.
Indian Aluminium futures have seen a decline of 5.1% from June 1st 2011 to INR 112.2 per kilogram. The prices at the beginning of June 2011 were at INR 118.3 per kilogram.
The Aluminium markets surplus for primary aluminium for January to April 2011 was 180000 tonnes that compared with a surplus of 417000 tonnes registered in the first 4 months of 2010 and with a surplus of 709000 tonnes in the whole of 2010.
According to analysis the demand for primary aluminium in the first 4 months of 2011 was 13.64 million tonnes, 504 kilo tonne more then the equivalent total of 2010.
Global production rose in January to April by 2 % compared with the first 4 months of 2010. Chinese output was estimated at 5533 kilo tonne and this currently accounts for 40% of the world production total. China was a net exporter of unwrought aluminium with exports exceeding imports by 96 kilo tonne. During the whole of the 2010 calendar year, Chinese net exports were 390 kilo tonne.