Hindalco Industries Ltd, through its subsidiary Utkal Alumina International Limited, has partnered with Metalshub, a strategic partner of the London Metal Exchange (LME), to introduce a digital tendering process for the sale of metallurgical-grade alumina. The initiative is aimed at improving transparency, market participation and price discovery in the global alumina market. Around 55–60 million tonnes of third-party alumina shipments are traded globally each year, but only about 10% is sold through the spot market. Spot transactions, despite accounting for a relatively small share of total trade, influence benchmark prices that are also used in a larger volume of long-term alumina contracts.
Unlike aluminium, which has an established exchange-based pricing mechanism, alumina prices are largely linked to privately published indices based on voluntarily reported transactions. Hindalco and Metalshub said a structured digital tendering process can provide broader participation and more transaction-based information to the market.
Under the partnership, Hindalco will conduct electronic tenders through the Metalshub platform, allowing eligible buyers to compete for spot cargoes within defined tender windows. The digital process is expected to provide a more transparent mechanism for buyers and sellers while generating transaction data based on actual bids and completed sales.
Saurabh Khedekar, CEO, Alumina Business, Hindalco Industries, said, “Alumina is a critical raw material for aluminium, a metal that is increasingly enabling lightweighting, recyclability and the transition towards a circular economy. By implementing digital tenders for spot sales, our aim is to broaden market participation, strengthen competitive price discovery and bring greater efficiency and transparency to the global alumina market.”
Hugo Brodie, Head of Sustainability and Physical Market Development, LME, said, “I am excited to see one of the LME’s key brand producers, Hindalco, join forces with Metalshub to establish a pathway towards more robust and trusted price discovery in the alumina space. The development of independent, transaction-led price references will bring greater pricing transparency and overall market efficiency.”
Dr Sebastian Kreft, Managing Director, Metalshub, said Hindalco was the first major producer to take the step towards structured digital tendering for alumina. He said digital tenders could open individual cargoes to competitive bidding from a wider group of buyers and generate verifiable transaction data.
Hindalco currently sells alumina through a combination of long-term contracts and spot transactions, with spot sales managed through a standard request-for-quotation process. The digital tendering mechanism will replace the existing spot sales process. The Metalshub platform provides secure digital tenders and has undergone information security and data governance checks to support compliance throughout the transaction process.
Hindalco’s first digital tender is expected to be conducted between October and December 2026. The company will communicate the date, quantity and tender specifications to registered participants in advance. Interested buyers can register on the Metalshub platform.
Hindalco Industries Limited is the metals flagship company of the Aditya Birla Group and operates across the aluminium and copper value chains. The company is involved in bauxite mining, alumina refining, coal mining, captive power generation, aluminium smelting and downstream products including rolled products, extrusions and foils. Along with subsidiary Novelis, Hindalco is a global producer of flat rolled aluminium products and aluminium recycler. Its global operations include 48 manufacturing units across 10 countries.
Metalshub is a digital trading platform for industrial metals markets. It provides digital tools for buyers and sellers to connect, negotiate and complete transactions. The platform is used by more than 3,000 businesses and supports the exchange of information including product provenance, carbon footprint and ESG data in an auditable format.
