Tianshan Aluminum builds bauxite presence in China, Indonesia, Guinea

Early on April 7, Tianshan Aluminum obtained a mining license for a 1 million tonnes/year bauxite mine in Guangxi through its wholly-owned subsidiary Jingxi Tiangui Aluminum, according to its official announcement. The mine, located in Jingxi, a county-level city under Baise city in the western part of Guangxi, is about to begin substantive production soon, though no specific start date has been released.

In Baise, Tianshan Aluminum also operates a 2.5 million t/y alumina production line that has already reached full capacity. The project has been built in three phases, with the first phase involving a capacity of 800,000 t/y commissioned in March 2020 and the remaining two phases totalling 1.7 million t/y coming online in June 2022, according to public information. The alumina produced from this line is supplied both internally to guarantee sufficient feed for the group's 1.2 million t/y aluminum production and sold to external buyers.

In Indonesia, the company completed the acquisition of a 100% share in PT Inti Tambang Makmurr in November 2024, indirectly obtaining mining rights for three bauxite mines previously owned by the Indonesian company's subsidiaries. The mines are located in West Kalimantan province, with capacity information not given. 

Exploration work for these bauxite mines is now underway, and initial mining activities have already begun this year, the company said. The extracted bauxite will supply Tianshan Aluminum's planned two-phase alumina project in Indonesia, which has a total designed capacity of 2 million t/y. Tianshan Aluminum received approval on the environmental assessment for the 1 million t/y phase-one alumina project in early 2025 and is currently advancing preliminary works such as land acquisition, site leveling, and wharf construction. 

In Guinea, Tianshan Aluminum indirectly acquired a 50% share in Elite Mining Guinea S.A. in 2023 and obtained the right to purchase ore from a bauxite mine under the Guinean company at a price stipulated in an agreement. The mine's planned annual production capacity is 5-6 million tonnes. Its first shipment was delivered in December 2024, and regular shipments from the Guinean mine to China have continued since then. The company has not disclosed the exact location of the project in Guinea.

Written by Iris Pang, pangjunyu@mysteel.com