PRICING NOTICE: Proposal to amend frequency of bauxite prices

Fastmarkets proposes to reduce the frequency of publication of its fob Guinea and Brazil bauxite price assessments due to low spot liquidity in the past year.

The proposed change is to publish those two price assessments on a monthly basis instead of fortnightly. If this is approved, the price assessment will made on the third Thursday of every month at 2-3pm London time.

Fastmarkets selects the frequency of publication of a market after considering the number of data points (deals, bids, offers, deals heard and assessments) that it can reasonably expect to collect on a consistent basis in the selected collection window to support the price assessment process.

This consultation is in conjunction with Fastmarkets’ reviewing its coverage of the bauxite industry, in which Fastmarkets aims to try to capture more global liquidity. Fastmarkets invites feedback from market participants on possible new locations that could be priced, such as China, or different incoterms from the current fob prices. 

Fastmarkets will continue to track the evolution and progress of fob Guinea and Brazil bauxite markets and is committed to increase the frequency of publication of those two assessments should liquidity improve.

The consultation period for these proposed changes will end one month from the date of this pricing notice, on July 20, with changes taking place, subject to market feedback, from Thursday August 15. The price will subsequently be published on a monthly basis on the third Thursday of the month. 

During the consultation period, the current scheduled publication for the bauxite prices – of June 20, July 4 and July 18 – will not change.

The specifications are laid out below, with the proposed new price frequency in bold.

Assessment: Bauxite fob Kamsar, Guinea, single figure
Quality: Total alumina: 48.5% min, 53% max; total silica 1.20% min, 2.10% max; reactive silica 3.2% max; Fe 22% max; Ti 4% max; organic carbon 0.15% max; moisture content 5.5% min, 7.5% max
Quantity: Minimum 20,000 tonnes
Location: Kamsar (other ports normalized)
Timing: Within two months
Unit: USD per tonne per dmtu
Payment terms: 30 days after loading (other payment terms normalized)
Publication: Monthly – third Thursday of the month between 2pm and 3pm London time

Assessment: Bauxite fob Trombetas, Brazil, single figure
Quality: Total alumina 50.5% min, 55% max; total silica 4.3% min; 5.6% max; reactive silica 4% min, 5% max; Fe 12 % max; Ti 1.5% max; moisture content 9% min; 10% max
Quantity: Minimum 20,000 tonnes
Location: Trombetas (other ports normalized)
Timing: Within two months
Unit: USD per tonne per dmtu
Payment terms: 30 days after loading (other payment terms normalized)
Publication: Monthly – third Thursday of the month between 2pm and 3pm London time

We will continue to make available historical data related to the two price assessments in the Fastmarkets Price Book.

To provide feedback on these prices or if you would like to provide price information by becoming a data submitter, please contact Alice Mason or Hui Li by email at: pricing@fastmarkets.com. Please add the subject heading FAO: Alice Mason/Hui Li, re: bauxite prices.

To see all Fastmarkets’ pricing methodology and specification documents please go to https://www.metalbulletin.com/ prices/pricing-methodology.html.

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To view and download the schedules please visit: https://www.fastmarkets.com/methodology/forest-products. For questions and comments please contact pricing@fastmarkets.com.