Mine production of alumina in Australia from 2015 to 2026
Australian alumina output has entered a clear downturn. After holding above 20 million tonnes a year through the late 2010s, production eased to about 18.3 million tonnes in 2024 and roughly 16.7 million tonnes in 2025, according to Australian Government data. Official forecasts see it settling near 16 million tonnes as further capacity comes offline.
A quick clarification on wording. Alumina is not mined. It is aluminium oxide, refined from bauxite ore in industrial refineries. What Australia mines is the bauxite, in which it is a world leader, and it then processes much of that ore into alumina. The phrase mine production is a common shorthand, but the figures here are refinery output of alumina.
The chart below traces Australian alumina production across the period. It shows a long plateau above 20 million tonnes followed by a sharp fall in the mid-2020s. The 2026 point is an official forecast rather than a recorded figure.
A plateau, then a sharp fall: output held above 20 million tonnes for years before dropping toward 16 million tonnes by 2026.
Where Australia ranks in world alumina production
Even after its decline, Australia is the second-largest alumina producer in the world. The gap to first, however, is enormous. China produced roughly 84 million tonnes in 2024, close to 60 percent of the global total, while the 18 million tonnes from Australia worked out to about 13 percent. Brazil, India and Russia round out the top five, each far smaller than the two leaders.
The dominance of China in alumina mirrors its dominance in aluminium smelting, which consumes most of the alumina made worldwide. The Australian role is different: it produces far more alumina than it can use at home, so it exports the surplus. The first chart ranks the leading producers, and the second shows how the world total splits between China, Australia and everyone else.
China in a league of its own: at about 84 million tonnes it produces well over four times the output of Australia.
Set against the world total, that ranking translates into clear shares of global supply, with two producers accounting for the bulk of it.
Australia holds about a seventh: China takes close to 60 percent of world output, Australia around 13 percent.
Australia, the largest alumina exporter in the world
The real weight of Australia in the alumina market comes from trade. It is the largest exporter of the material worldwide, shipping about 15.9 million tonnes in 2023, 14.9 million tonnes in 2024 and 15.0 million tonnes in 2025. Those cargoes feed aluminium smelters across the Middle East, Asia and North America.
Because Australia produces far more alumina than its own smelters consume, roughly four fifths of output is sold abroad. That makes Australian supply an important swing factor in global alumina prices, which spiked to record highs in 2024 when Australian and Guinean supply tightened. The chart below shows the recent export trend.
Steady near 15 million tonnes: exports held up even as production fell, keeping Australia the top global supplier.
Splitting the same output between exports and domestic use makes the export tilt even starker, and shows how little stays in the country.
Mostly for export: of about 18 million tonnes produced in 2024, roughly 15 million was shipped overseas.
The bauxite behind the alumina
Alumina begins as bauxite, and here Australia is a genuine giant. It mines around 100 million tonnes of bauxite a year, placing it among the very top producers alongside Guinea, whose output has surged past 130 million tonnes. China, Brazil and India follow. Australian bauxite feeds both domestic refineries and a large export trade to China.
Domestic bauxite output has stayed close to 100 million tonnes even as alumina refining has slipped, because much of the ore is now exported rather than refined at home. That gap between abundant bauxite and shrinking alumina capacity is one of the defining tensions in the industry. The two charts show the leading bauxite producers and the recent bauxite output of Australia.
Australia among the leaders: around 100 million tonnes of bauxite, second only to Guinea.
Zooming in on Australia alone, its own bauxite mining has held remarkably steady across recent years, in contrast to the fall in refining.
Holding around 100 million tonnes: bauxite output has stayed steady even as alumina refining fell.
From bauxite to alumina to aluminium
The three products form a single chain, and the volumes shrink dramatically at each step. In round terms, the roughly 100 million tonnes of Australian bauxite yield about 18 million tonnes of alumina, which in turn support only around 1.6 million tonnes of primary aluminium metal. It takes roughly four to five tonnes of bauxite to make two tonnes of alumina, and two tonnes of alumina to make one tonne of aluminium.
This funnel explains why Australia exports so much bauxite and alumina rather than converting everything to metal at home: domestic smelting capacity is small relative to the raw material base, and energy costs make new smelters hard to justify. The chart makes the scale difference between the three stages clear.
Each step is far smaller: about 100 million tonnes of bauxite become 18 million tonnes of alumina and just 1.6 million tonnes of metal.
Why Australian alumina output is falling
The drop from the 2013 industry peak of 21.6 million tonnes to roughly 16.7 million tonnes in 2025 is a fall of nearly a quarter, and it has a clear cause. Alcoa curtailed and then permanently closed its Kwinana refinery in Western Australia, removing 2.2 million tonnes of annual capacity. On top of that, Rio Tinto announced a 40 percent production cut at its Yarwun refinery in Queensland from October 2026, which official forecasts expect to pull national output down toward 16 million tonnes.
Ageing plants, high energy costs, gas supply constraints and lower-grade bauxite have all weighed on the sector. The chart compares recent output with the 2013 peak, showing how far production has retreated.
Down nearly a quarter: from 21.6 million tonnes in 2013 to about 16 million tonnes forecast for 2026.
Australian alumina refineries
Australia now runs five alumina refineries, down from six after Kwinana closed. Three are in Western Australia, the traditional heart of the industry: Wagerup, Pinjarra and Worsley. The other two, QAL and Yarwun, sit at Gladstone in Queensland. Pinjarra is among the largest single refineries in the world.
Western Australia remains the centre of gravity for Australian alumina, drawing on the bauxite of the Darling Range. The chart shows how the operating refineries split between the two states.
Western Australia leads: three of the five operating refineries are in WA, with two in Queensland.
Australian alumina in numbers
A few figures frame the industry. Output is about 16.7 million tonnes and falling, Australia is the second-largest producer and largest exporter, and it sits on a bauxite base of roughly 100 million tonnes a year. China, meanwhile, produces close to 60 percent of the alumina made worldwide.
These numbers matter because alumina sits at the heart of the global aluminium supply chain, and shifts in Australian output ripple through to smelters and prices worldwide. A shrinking Australian refining base tightens a market already dominated by China.
Australian alumina production: the big picture
Australia spent the late 2010s as a steady, reliable supplier of more than 20 million tonnes of alumina a year. That era is ending. With Kwinana gone and Yarwun cutting back, national output is heading toward 16 million tonnes, its lowest in decades, even though the country still ranks second in the world and first in exports.
The longer-term question is whether investment in the remaining refineries, particularly an expansion at Worsley, can stabilise output while abundant bauxite keeps flowing. For now, the story is one of a globally important industry producing well below its peak, in a market where China sets the pace.
Frequently Asked Questions: Australian Alumina
Australia produced about 16.7 million tonnes of alumina in 2025, down from 18.3 million tonnes in 2024. Government forecasts point to output easing to around 16 million tonnes over the outlook period.
No. Alumina is refined from bauxite ore in refineries, not mined directly. Australia mines the bauxite, in which it leads the world, and processes much of it into alumina at its refineries.
Australia is the second-largest alumina producer in the world after China, and the largest alumina exporter globally. China alone accounts for roughly 60 percent of global output.
Alcoa permanently closed its Kwinana refinery, which had 2.2 million tonnes of capacity, and Rio Tinto announced a 40 percent production cut at its Yarwun refinery from October 2026. Both reduce national output.
Five refineries are operating, down from six after the Kwinana closure. They are Wagerup, Pinjarra and Worsley in Western Australia, and QAL and Yarwun in Queensland.
China is by far the largest, producing about 84 million tonnes in 2024, close to 60 percent of the world total. Australia is second with about 18 million tonnes.
Australia exported about 15 million tonnes of alumina in 2025, roughly four fifths of its output, making it the largest alumina exporter in the world. The rest feeds domestic aluminium smelters.
Alumina, or aluminium oxide, is the feedstock for smelting primary aluminium. It takes roughly two tonnes of alumina to make one tonne of aluminium metal.
Yes. Australia produces around 100 million tonnes of bauxite a year and is one of the largest bauxite producers in the world, providing the ore that feeds both its own refineries and export markets.
Output is forecast to settle near 16 million tonnes as the Yarwun cut takes effect, after the loss of Kwinana. The industry remains globally significant but is producing well below its 2013 peak of 21.6 million tonnes.
Australian Government, Department of Industry - Resources and Energy Quarterly - production, exports and output forecasts, including the Yarwun cut.
U.S. Geological Survey - Mineral Commodity Summaries, Bauxite and Alumina - global production and rankings.
Australian Aluminium Council - Australian Alumina - refineries, output and export figures.
CEIC / Department of Industry - Australia production volume - annual alumina and bauxite series.