Growing uncertainty over Guinea’s bauxite export policy, alongside severe disruption to alumina supply chains caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, emerged as key themes at the Fastmarkets Bauxite & Alumina Conference in Miami on March 24-25, with delegates warning of heightened price volatility and shifting trade flows.

Until now, aluminium has been hard to move, not hard to find. Global aluminium supply had remained technically intact, even as output was curtailed in parts of the Gulf, inventory buffers were drawn down or repositioned, and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz was severely disrupted.

Global aluminium producers face heightened uncertainty over power supplies, with oil and gas prices elevated by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which around 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) flows, sources told Fastmarkets.

Guinea’s long-anticipated intervention in the bauxite market is beginning to take shape.

The publication of Fastmarkets’ alumina index, fob Australia assessment and its inferred prices for Thursday January 30 was delayed because of a procedural error. Fastmarkets’ pricing database has been updated.

The publication of Fastmarkets’ price assessments of calcined alumina on January 2 was delayed due to a procedural error. Fastmarkets’ pricing database has been updated.

Guinea bauxite exports have surged in 2025, driven by record shipments to China and reinforcing Guinea’s dominance in the global bauxite market. As oversupply weighs on alumina prices, market participants are increasingly focused on cost control, freight management and transparent FOB pricing mechanisms.

Fastmarkets has corrected the MB-ALU-0002 Alumina index, fob Australia, $/tonne, which was published incorrectly on Wednesday December 17 due to a procedural lapse. Fastmarkets has also corrected the index's rationale and all related inferred indices.

The rationales for MB-ALU-0002 Alumina index, fob Australia, $/tonne on those days had omitted a deal at $318 per tonne FOB Gladstone for 30,000 tonnes, which had been carried over from the previous index. This has been corrected. The published prices are unaffected by this change. This price is part of the Fastmarkets base metals package. For […]

Fastmarkets invited feedback from the industry on the pricing methodology for its International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO)-audited non-ferrous metals, via an open consultation process between October 13 and November 12, 2025. This consultation was done as part of our published annual methodology review process.