Will Ebola in West Africa Affect China¡¯s Aluminum Industry? SMM Analysis

Mining operations and ore shipments have been halted and disrupted by the ongoing outbreak of Ebola in West Africa, which has claimed thousands of lives in the region.

Will Ebola in West Africa affect the Chinese aluminum industry, or in which ways? Annual output of bauxite in Guinea, Ghana, Sierra Leone, three virus-stricken countries, accounts for 7.81 per cent of world’s total, slightly lower than Indonesia’s 10 per cent.

Chinese enterprises have been looking for new suppliers since Indonesia’s export ban on unprocessed ores, and African countries have become new choices.

However, the impact on Chinese aluminum industry should be small for the foreseeable future from the ongoing Ebola crisis in West African countries, Liu Xiaolei, SMM’s aluminum analyst expects.

“Africa now is not a major supplier of China’s bauxite imports, and imports from the region are about 5 per cent of China’s total imports”, he said.

“The international bauxite supply, however, may tighten as the outbreak of Ebola virus will affect bauxite exports from these countries”, he foresees.

Besides, construction of alumina smelters in African countries will be also delayed by Ebola disease, he added.

Copyright and Exemption Declaration :¢ÙAll articles, pictures and videos that are marked with "China Aluminum Network" on this website are copyright and belong to China Aluminium Network (www.alu.com.cn). When transshipment, any media, website or individual must list the source from "China Aluminium Network (www.alu.com.cn)". We seek legal actions against anyone that disobey this. ¢ÚArticles that marked as copy from others are for transferring more information to readers, do not represent or endorse their opinions or accuracy and reliability. When other media, website or individuals copy from our website, must keep the source. Anyone that changes the articles' sources will hold the responsibilities for copyright and law problems. We also seek legal actions against anyone that disobey this. ¢ÛIf any articles copied by our website concern the copyright and other problems, please contact us within one week.