JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – With the acquisition of South32’s aluminium assets, Alcoa will surpass Rio Tinto to become the world's largest bauxite mining companies on an equity-attributable production basis, with global share rising from 8.5% to 13%, Wood Mackenzie reported on Thursday, July 2.
In addition to South Africa's Hillside Aluminium smelter and the idled Bayside smelter property in KwaZulu-Natal province, Alcoa will acquire South32’s interests in the Boddington bauxite mine and the Worsley alumina refinery in Western Australia; and the Mineração Rio do Norte bauxite mine and the Alumar alumina refinery and aluminium smelter in Brazil.
In 2025, Hillside generated some $2-billion of revenue and $200-million of earnings before tax depreciation and amortisation. In the current pricing environment, Hillside has been highlighted by Alcoa President and CEO William (Bill) F Oplinger as a distinctively strong cash flow generator.
Alcoa has agreed to acquire a portfolio of South32's aluminium, alumina and bauxite assets in a transaction valued at up to $5.6-billion, in one of the most significant deals in the global aluminium sector in years. Wood Mackenzie analysis finds the transaction is strategically coherent for both parties, but the headline discount to fundamental value largely reflects conservative pricing assumptions and the inclusion of higher-cost downstream assets.
