Alumina Services
Hong Kong
London
Sydney
New York
Bridging the Gap
Before making any strategic or financial decisions, seek our professional opinions on the geology, engineering,
processing and performance of your individual operation(s). Our advice is rigorous, not generic market ‘batch’
intelligence.
Culturally, we are a firm of mining engineers, petroleum engineers, process engineers, software engineers and
geologists. We come from an operational environment and visit resource projects. We are assisted by our economics
group and, thus, we bridge the gap between market analysis and the work undertaken by consulting engineers.
We are pioneers in fundamental grassroots research on mines, fields, plants and projects. Our granular site-by-site
approach offers a unique and detailed industry insight, which we consider necessary in any technical industry.
We operate two major global research centres within an integrated global footprint of regional offices.
Improve production and throughput
Reduce site operating and capital costs
Optimise your supply chain
Increase return on invested capital
Our Method
Our colleagues have an intimate knowledge of and passion for their respective industries, having both direct hands-on
experience and technical qualifications. Our engineers and geologists periodically visit operations and producers in Asia,
the Middle East, South America and Africa. In addition to this, we thoroughly track all of the available public information
and technical journals.
We initially look at the reserves and resources of a project—the independent variables. This leads to the standard
engineering method to assess the block flow model and the process flow circuits. Each process is individually costed
based upon labour costs, fixed and mobile equipment costs, consumable costs, transport and depreciation.
Our aim is to capture comprehensive technical information through deductive research, travel, experience and
perseverance. Constantly updating ‘new’ knowledge drives our operational understanding and, in aggregate, determines
the global supply.
To facilitate this ‘big data’ gathering and site analysis, we utilise a sophisticated software research platform managed by
a brilliant team of software engineers who have a solid understanding of engineering principles.
This process drives our asset valuations and is linked to highly tailored (manipulable) valuation models. Exploration
projects, mines, smelters, refineries, steel mills and oil fields can be directly and conveniently compared to determine
financial return, risk, capital outlay and industry attractiveness.
Select your
project or site
Briefing by AME
Energy
Steel and Bulks
Build your
project
Base Metals
Project
valuation (NPV)
Precious Metals
Formal cost review
(opex, capex)
Technical
review
Our Alumina Research
Following the dramatic refining capacity curtailments at the end of 2015, the March Quarter saw a comfortable recovery
in the alumina industry. Prices rose over the quarter as a result of a number of converging factors, including continued
curtailments under Chinese supply-side reform, restocking, and belated production slowdowns. The alumina market is
expected to fall to a deficit in 2016, before moving into surplus in 2017.
The March Quarter of 2016 AME Alumina Strategic Study sees a gentle recovery of the alumina industry after a dramatic
close to 2015, when significant refining capacity curtailments occurred in the closing months. As spring begins, and the
railway congestion eases after the Chinese New Year holiday period, interior Chinese smelters have consumed their
excess winter alumina stock, and have restarted purchasing alumina. These factors have contributed to a steady
increasing trend of the aluminium price in China, and resulted in a regain in alumina prices.
In the March Quarter, significant refining capacity was curtailed or ramped down, following the extensive alumina refining
capacity that was curtailed in the December Quarter of 2015 as a result of action on the Chinese Government’s ‘supply
side reform’ policy. Along with the restocking occurring, the supply side discipline has been a large factor in the price
recovery of alumina. Additional influences have come from local costs increasing as the AUD, BRL, RUB, and INR have
all appreciated through the quarter, increasing local costs.
Aluminium Daily Price
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Aug - 2010 Mar - 2011 Oct - 2011 May - 2012 Dec - 2012 Jul - 2013 Feb - 2014 Sep - 2014 Apr - 2015 Nov - 2015
FOB Australia Alumina Price
The Technical Approach
Build Your Project in Direct
You have a potential 25,000 tonne per day (ore and waste) base metals deposit in Peru, suitable for open-pit
development. Will it work and what is it worth? Use our EVO model designed for non-technical users.
Reserve and resource assessment
Assess mining method (use our defaults)
Design the block flow (use our suggestions)
Design the process flow
Choose equipment, fixed and mobile
(excavators, haul trucks, crushers, mills etc)
Calculate operating and capital costs
Calculate NPV
Call our professional engineers and geologists
Benchmark your project against all projects
(global supply)
AME’s Research Tools and Resources
Mining/site data and production parameters are at the centre of what we do. It is our core, as these basic inputs are the
fundamental variables that show the operational changes within the industry. To leverage this research, we offer the
following separate products.
Analytical Tools
Research Resources
Sniper Tool
Equipment View
Valuation and cashflow modeller based on
site-by-site inputs available in Excel
Multi-segmented capex and opex equipment
database
M&A Tool
Commodity Pricing Database
Compilations of companies and individual
assets
Long time series data and indices
Production Cost Modeller
Macroeconomics Module
Ability to manipulate project and industry
parameters
Comprehensive global industry data
Cost Curve Archive
International Labour Database
Historical site-by-site costs
Historical and forecasts labour rates
Engineering Site Modeller
Shipping/Freight Database
Site engineering models
Transport costing and assessment
Supply Chain Tool
Consumables Database
Material flows through each production stage,
port and transport route
Cost inputs for mines, fields and beneficiation
plants
Bulla Tool
Port Database
Mapping and tenement assessment
Distances, costing and capacities
AME’s Research Tools & Resources
Dive into each site, project or industry with six steps using EVO Direct.
 Industry—Compare the risk and return for each industry based upon site-specific research, and global supply and
demand analysis.
o Energy
o Steel and raw materials
o Base metals
o Light metals
o Precious metals
 Choose your site.
o Determine your criteria
o Benchmark your sites/projects against the entire industry
o Create a ground floor scoping study with EVO
 Build your site.
o Determine your production criteria.
o Build your own project using our equipment database that drives AME’s Engineering Model
o Benchmark your project against the entire industry
o Create a ‘ground floor’ scoping study
 Technically review your project.
o Based upon a scoping study format
o Check the engineering logic, block flow and process flow
o Technology based upon specific equipment manufacture (mobile and fixed)
o Scenario analysis and modelling
 Project Cost.
o Capex (capital cost) and opex (operating cost)
o Benchmark these costs to similar operations
o Scenario analysis
 Project Valuation.
o NPV analysis via Direct or Excel spreadsheet
o Transactional histories
o Scenario analysis
 Opinions on your project or industry
o Call our teams who have industry ‘scars’ and experience
o We will point out any errors of logic
o Our advice is forthright and practical
Hong Kong
t: +852 2846 8220
e: [email protected]
London
t: +44 20 3752 7277
e: [email protected]
Sydney
t: +61 2 9262 2264
e: [email protected]
Toronto
t: +1 646 736 7887
e: [email protected]