Walk the bauxite-alumina-aluminum value chain across Central Asia's five republics and the picture resolves quickly: one country runs the whole chain, one runs a piece of it, and three play no meaningful role at all. That picture, however, may be on the verge of a significant shift.

[SMM Aluminum Express News] East Hope Group to be mentioned that they have reached an MoU to acquire 5 bauxite IUP in Indonesia from PT Bino Artomas Mineral Group. The 5 IUPs has never been on operation yet; however, geology review has been conducted in the Indonesian lab. It will cost around USD 200 - USD 250 mn for all 5 IUP with an area of more than 100,000 hectares in Ketapang, North Kayong, and Melawi. Current status: East Hope will gather geologist team to conduct the geology review again based on the Chinese lab. 5 IUP mentioned: PT Panca Raja Perkasa PT Cakra Internusa PT Rejeki Jaya Mandiri PT Bino Artomas Mineral PT Ridatama Cahaya Abadi

Kazakhstan's Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources recently signed agreements with Shaanxi Construction Engineering Group and East Hope Group of China to invest in the construction of waste-to-energy plants in Astana and Shymkent. According to the agreement, a waste treatment plant with a daily processing capacity of 1,500 tons of municipal solid waste (approximately 550,000 tons per year) will be built in Astana. The total investment for this project is 94.4 billion tenge (approximately US$180 million). In addition, a waste treatment plant with a daily processing capacity of 1,000 tons (approximately 360,000 tons per year) will be built in Shymkent. The investment for this project is 53.9 billion tenge (approximately US$100 million). During the implementation of the projects, more than 550 temporary jobs and approximately 200 permanent jobs will be created. The Ministry of Ecology stated that the commissioning of these facilities will significantly reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills and generate environmentally friendly electricity.

Recently, at the construction site of the East Hope aluminum-based materials project in the Tieshandong Port Industrial Park, Beihai, workers operated large machinery to carry out various construction tasks in a busy yet orderly manner. It is reported that the plant area has now achieved full-scale construction commencement, marking the entry of the main part of the project into the substantive construction phase. The East Hope aluminum-based materials project is invested in and constructed by Beihai East Hope Materials Technology Co., Ltd., with a total investment of 28 billion yuan. The first phase includes the construction of a 2 million mt/year Bayer process alumina production system, red mud conveying and drying pipelines, red mud comprehensive utilization and related supporting facilities, a 60 mt/year metallic gallium project, a 24GW PV module project, and living support facilities and equipment. The East Hope Group's 2 million mt alumina project is a major industrial project prioritized by the autonomous region. With the joint efforts of all parties, the construction progress has been generally smooth. Currently, foundation construction is underway for the steam turbine, high and low voltage distribution rooms, comprehensive power plant main building, decomposition and classification civil works, comprehensive filtration civil works, sedimentation system, and power plant installation.

East Hope Group's first lithium carbonate project was successfully put into operation at East Hope Guyang Aluminum Industry. This project is currently the first comprehensive utilization project for waste residue resource recovery in China's aluminum industry. The project uses lithium-bearing waste residue from the aluminum smelter of Guyang Aluminum Industry as raw material to produce lithium carbonate, employing a mature and advanced electrolyte lithium extraction technology.