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Posted by Allen Newton
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7 April, 2026
THE FOUR million tonnes of Alumina that Alcoa usually sends from its West Australian mines to Middle East refineries have come to a halt because of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Marghanita Johnson, CEO of the Australian Aluminium Council said the Gulf region produces around 9% of global aluminium capacity and the Strait of Hormuz remains a critical chokepoint for both alumina imports and aluminium exports.
Smelters in the region usually source more than 80% of its alumina from Australia.
According to a report in Aluminium International quoting executive vice president and chief financial officer of Alcoa, Molly Beerman, most of the alumina that would go to the Middle East is now going to China.
Speaking at the J.P. Morgan Industrials Conference in Washington D.C. in March, Ms Beerman was quoted as saying Alumina prices are already under pressure, and these developments may add further volatility.
Because they can’t reliably receive raw materials (including alumina and bauxite), Gulf smelters are curtailing production capacity.
Despite the problems in the Middle East Ms Beerman was reported by Aluminium International as saying that Alcoa was seeing an uptick in orders for other customers who were worried about second half supplies.
According to a report in the West Australian newspaper on Monday, Alcoa has an eight-year supply agreement in place with Emirates Global Aluminium, whose Al Taweelah site in Abu Dhabi was hit by an Iranian missile on the weekend.
The agreement was reported as being for 15.6 million metric tonnes of alumina from Alcoa mines at Huntly and Willowdale in Western Australia’s south-west.
Ms Johnson said aluminium prices had reached a four-year high. Last week, on the London Metals Exchange, a tonne of aluminium reached US$3471.54.
