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 aims to improve transparency and strengthen price discovery in the global alumina market by enabling structured digital bidding for spot cargoes. The move comes amid growing demand for reliable market-based pricing mechanisms in alumina trading.

Globally, around 55-60 million tonnes of third-party alumina shipments are traded annually, with only about 10% sold through the spot market. While spot transactions account for a smaller share of overall trade, they influence benchmark prices that impact a wider volume of alumina sales, including long-term contracts.

Unlike aluminium, which benefits from exchange-based pricing, alumina prices are largely determined through privately published indices based on voluntarily reported transactions. Hindalco’s digital tendering initiative is aimed at creating a more structured and transparent mechanism for competitive bidding and market participation.

Through the partnership with Metalshub, Hindalco will introduce a secure electronic bidding platform that will allow buyers to participate in defined tender windows. The platform has been assessed for information security and data governance standards to support compliance throughout the transaction lifecycle.

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 is the first major to take this important step towards structured digital tendering for alumina. While only a small fraction of the world’s alumina is sold in the spot market, these transactions play an important role in shaping trade price for the entire market.”

Currently, Hindalco sells alumina through a combination of long-term contracts and spot sales managed through a standard request-for-quotation (RFQ) process. The new digital tendering system will replace existing spot sales processes.

Hindalco’s first digital tender is expected to take place between October and December 2026. Details regarding the date, quantity and tender specifications will be shared with registered participants in advance.