The US aluminium producer will take a 55% share in the Jamaican bauxite mining and alumina company

US-based primary aluminium producer Century Aluminium Company has announced that it has commenced the acquisition process of Jamalco from Noble Group Holding, which is expected to close by the end of April 2023.

The Jamalco operation is a JV between General Alumina Jamaica and Clarendon Alumina Production (CAP) and mines bauxite in South Manchester and in Harmons Valley in Jamaica. This is then refined to produce alumina at the 1.4Mtpy-rated plant in St. Jago in Clarendon, which is exported from its port at Rocky Point.

Century Aluminium produced 771kt of primary aluminium in 2022 and the deal represents a strategic move to secure raw materials for its US primary smelting operations. The deal comes at a time when China continues to strengthen its domination of the aluminium industry with International Aluminium Institute data showing that it accounted for a little under 60% of global primary supply last year.

Despite the high carbon intensity associated with its production, aluminium will play a key role in the energy transition. Aluminium is crucial for construction and transport applications, with Volkswagen stating that the metal accounts for over a quarter of the mass of a typical 400kg EV battery. The electrical sector will also increasingly depend on aluminium with the transition to renewable energies, which are considerably more aluminium intensive compared to fossil fuel sources.