SMM, March 31 – In March 2026, China's metallurgical-grade alumina output rose 10.56% month-on-month but fell 3.33% year-on-year. From a capacity perspective, as of the end of March, the national installed capacity stood at approximately 113.22 million tonnes, with some growth driven by the gradual commissioning of new alumina projects in Guangxi. However, operating capacity declined 2.1% month-on-month and 8.7% year-on-year. Although new projects were brought online, they were still in trial production at the end of March and did not contribute effective output, leading to a decline in the overall operating rate. Looking at output structure, total production in March increased from February, but average daily output declined. The main reasons are: on one hand, several enterprises in Guizhou and Guangxi carried out various levels of maintenance; among them, one Guizhou-based company shut down part of its production lines due to operational pressure, significantly lowering the operating rate in southern China. On the other hand, northern regions such as Henan and Shandong saw relatively stable operations, mainly fulfilling long-term contract deliveries. In Shanxi, some enterprises continued upgrading their production lines, causing a slight decline in the operating rate. These factors combined led to a month-on-month drop in average daily output in March. Looking ahead to April, the oversupply pattern in the alumina market is expected to persist. First, newly added capacity in Guangxi and Chongqing will be gradually released, driving overall output higher and intensifying competition within the industry. Second, attention should be paid to the indirect impact of geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East: some overseas alumina originally destined for the Middle East has been forced to be re-exported to China, resulting in an unexpected increase in China's imported alumina volume. This will likely impact the domestic market and may restrain the release of domestic production capacity. Based on a comprehensive assessment, China's operating alumina capacity in April 2026 is expected to be around 86.63 million tonnes.

Entering the second half of March, regional divergence in China’s aluminum market became increasingly pronounced, with the divergence between inventory trends and spot price spreads in east China and south China intensifying. On the one hand, the nationwide post-holiday inventory buildup in aluminum gradually approached its end, inventory overhang pressure in east China continued to ease, circulation efficiency steadily improved, the inventory buildup momentum slowed down significantly, and.....

On March 24, construction officially commenced on the 100kt-per-year deep-processing project for aluminum veneer panels in Tianlin County at the Guiqian (Tianlin) Economic Industrial Park. The project is invested in and developed by Guangxi Zhuoyuan Aluminum Technology Co., Ltd., with a total investment of 1 billion yuan, and is a comprehensive production site for construction-grade aluminum integrating R&D and manufacturing. The project will be built in two phases: Phase I covers about 36 mu and is expected to produce 50kt of aluminum coil annually; after commencing operations, it is expected to generate annual output value of 1.2 billion yuan.

This week, the tungsten market showed a divergent trend with mild corrections in domestic prices and a contrarian rise in overseas APT prices. Domestic tungsten concentrate and midstream product prices remained relatively firm, while scrap tungsten prices dropped sharply as profit-taking emerged. Supported by a tight supply-demand balance, overseas markets strengthened, further widening the price gap between domestic and international markets.

SMM March 27 News: Guangxi Yusheng Germanium Industry has issued an external announcement stating that due to significant fluctuations in the non-ferrous metal raw materials market recently, with zinc concentrate processing fees dropping sharply and the supply of germanium concentrate remaining tight, raw material costs have risen substantially, making it difficult for existing pricing to cover production costs. After careful consideration and cost accounting, the company has decided to adjust the sales prices of germanium-containing materials effective April 7 as follows: Germanium Ingot: 20,200, Germanium Dioxide: 13,580.

I. Coal-to-Hydrogen Shandong anthracite transaction range [1,680-1,680], with an average hydrogen cost of [1.61 yuan/m³] Shanxi anthracite transaction range [910-910], with an average hydrogen cost of [1.05 yuan/m³] Hebei anthracite transaction range [1,390-1,390], with an average hydrogen cost of [1.39 yuan/m³] Henan anthracite transaction range [980-980], with an average hydrogen cost of [1.06 yuan/m³] II. Natural Gas-to-Hydrogen Pearl River Delta natural gas transaction range [5,520-5,620], with an average hydrogen cost of [2.62 yuan/m³] Zhejiang natural gas transaction range [5,500-5,850], with an average hydrogen cost of [2.63 yuan/m³] Guangxi natural gas transaction range [5,180-5,610], with an average hydrogen cost of [2.5 yuan/m³] Eastern Guangdong natural gas transaction range [5,500-5,590], with an average hydrogen cost of [2.58 yuan/m³] Henan natural gas transaction range [4,720-4,890], with an average hydrogen cost of [2.31 yuan/m³] Hebei natural gas transaction range [4,720-5,080], with an average hydrogen cost of [2.33 yuan/m³] Hubei natural gas transaction range [4,980-5,350], with an average hydrogen cost of [2.44 yuan/m³] Guizhou natural gas transaction range [4,990-5,720], with an average hydrogen cost of [2.51 yuan/m³] Sichuan natural gas transaction range [4,825-5,125], with an average hydrogen cost of [2.38 yuan/m³] Shanxi natural gas transaction range [4,520-4,880], with an average hydrogen cost of [2.22 yuan/m³] Shandong natural gas transaction range [5,040-5,250], with an average hydrogen cost of [2.44 yuan/m³] Heilongjiang natural gas transaction range [4,810-5,060], with an average hydrogen cost of [2.34 yuan/m³] Inner Mongolia natural gas transaction range [4,560-4,800], with an average hydrogen cost of [2.18 yuan/m³] III. Propane-to-Hydrogen South China propylene oxide transaction range [7,280-7,370], with an average hydrogen cost of [4.11 yuan/m³] East China propylene oxide transaction range [7,100-7,310], with an average hydrogen cost of [4.05 yuan/m³] Northeast China propylene oxide transaction range [5,890-6,310], with an average hydrogen cost of [3.5 yuan/m³] Shandong propylene oxide transaction range [6,960-7,300], with an average hydrogen cost of [4.03 yuan/m³] IV. Hydrogen Production from Methanol The methanol transaction range in east China was [2,800-3,290], and the average hydrogen cost was [2.61 yuan/m³]. The methanol transaction range in central China was [2,780-2,990], and the average hydrogen cost was [2.54 yuan/m³]. The methanol transaction range in north China was [2,360-2,830], and the average hydrogen cost was [2.29 yuan/m³]. The methanol transaction range in south China was [3,310-3,390], and the average hydrogen cost was [2.8 yuan/m³]. The methanol transaction range in northwest China was [1,630-2,630], and the average hydrogen cost was [1.97 yuan/m³]. The methanol transaction range in southwest China was [2,770-3,020], and the average hydrogen cost was [2.55 yuan/m³]. The methanol transaction range in northeast China was [2,770-2,790], and the average hydrogen cost was [2.44 yuan/m³].

[Zinc Prices Fell During the Week, Guangdong Spot Premiums Rose] Guangdong premiums rose 20 yuan/mt WoW this week. As of this Friday, mainstream 0# zinc in Guangdong was quoted at discounts of 0 to premiums of 40 yuan/mt against the market, and the Shanghai-Guangdong price spread continued to widen......

【Indonesia PMMI Blast Furnace to Ignite End-March; May Slab Trial Orders Open】 SMM March 20th: Permai (PMMI), a joint venture restructured by Indonesia Tsingshan Iron & Steel and Guangxi Guixin Iron & Steel Group, will launch its new blast furnace at the end of March. Based in Tsingshan Industrial Park, Morowali, Central Sulawesi, the project upgrades the original 580m³ NPI blast furnace to a 1216m³ carbon steel blast furnace with LF refining, boasting an annual capacity of 1.8 million tonnes. It focuses on high-grade special steel smelting and production of continuous cast slab and billet. Product Specifications & Order Info Thickness: 210/230mm Width: 1000-1650mm Length: 6000-11700mm Loading Port: Bahodopi, Morowali Trial orders for May shipment slab are accepted.

Vientiane recently marked a major milestone in China-Laos green industrial cooperation—Krittaphong Group Co., Ltd. and CGN Energy Technology (Laos) Co., Ltd., together with the Ministry of Industry and Commerce of Laos and Oudomxay Province, officially signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the Oudomxay AI Green Electricity Eco-Aluminum Industrial Park Project. Tang Danzhong, Deputy General Manager of Guangxi Investment Group, and Lin Rui, Chairman of Electricite du Laos Transmission Company Limited (EDL-T), attended the signing ceremony as witnesses, fully demonstrating all parties’ firm confidence in and full support for the project’s smooth implementation. The project will center on 500,000 mt of aluminum capacity, alongside the supporting development of a 2 million kW clean energy base, and is expected to join hands with Guangxi Investment Group, a core industrial investor, to build a complete eco-industrial base for the entire aluminum industry chain.

[SMM Aluminum Flash News] The Guangxi Qiangqiang Carbon-Based New Materials prebaked anode project, with an annual capacity of 600,000 mt, officially commenced construction in April 2025 and is expected to begin trial production in July 2026. The first calcining furnace is estimated to start production by the end of March; the roasting furnace is expected to start production by the end of May, with the forming workshop producing the first green anode, marking the project’s full integration; and the first baked anode is expected to be produced by the end of July.