Hindalco and Metalshub Launch Digital Alumina Tenders to Drive Transparency in Global Price Discovery

• Initiative aims to address the need for greater transparency and robust price discovery in the global alumina market
• Structured digital bidding to enable competitive bidding and broader market participation. 

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 first-of-its-kind digital tendering process for the sale of metallurgical-grade Alumina.

The initiative comes against the backdrop of a growing need for greater transparency in alumina price discovery. Of the 55-60 million tonnes of third-party alumina shipments traded globally each year, only around 10% is sold through the spot market. Despite representing a relatively small share of overall trade, spot transactions play an important role in shaping benchmark prices that influence a much larger volume of alumina sales, including long-term contracts.

Unlike aluminium, which has an established exchange-based pricing mechanism, alumina pricing relies significantly on privately published indices based on voluntarily reported transactions, which may not capture the full breadth and quality of market information available to participants.

By taking a significant step towards structured digital tendering, Hindalco aims to address this need by enabling competitive bidding for spot cargoes, supporting broader market participation, greater transparency and more robust, market-driven price discovery.

Through its collaboration with Metalshub, Hindalco will introduce a structured digital bidding mechanism, enabling competitive electronic bidding within defined tender windows. By taking an early step towards digital tendering, the company aims to support greater transparency, broader market participation, and robust price discovery.

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. Structured digital tenders open each cargo to competitive bidding from a wider set of buyers and produce firm, verifiable transaction data rather than voluntarily reported numbers. Metalshub is working closely with LME Insight to support more reliable, transaction-based price discovery for critical raw materials such as alumina. We believe Hindalco’s initiative can encourage wider industry participation.”

Currently, Hindalco markets its alumina using a mixture of long-term contracts and spot selling where commercial arrangements are made for spot sales via a standard RFQ process. Digital tenders will be used to replace the existing sales processes at Hindalco.

The Metalshub platform will enable participants to take part in secure digital tenders and has been vetted from an information security and data governance perspective to support compliance throughout the transaction lifecycle.

Hindalco’s first digital tender is expected to take place between October and December 2026. The exact date, quantity and tender specifications will be communicated to registered participants sufficiently in advance.

Parties interested in participating in future tenders can register on the Metalshub platform at: https://trade.metals-hub.com/

About Hindalco Industries Limited

Hindalco Industries Limited is the metals flagship company of the Aditya Birla Group. A $31 billion metals powerhouse, Hindalco is the world’s largest aluminium company by revenues, the world’s second largest Copper rods manufacturer (outside China), and a world-leading Specialty Alumina player. Hindalco operates across the value chain, from bauxite mining, alumina refining, coal mining, captive power plants and aluminium smelting to downstream rolling, extrusions, and foils. Along with its subsidiary Novelis, Hindalco is the global leader in flat rolled products and the world’s largest recycler of aluminium.
Hindalco is India’s largest copper producer, serving more than half the country’s copper requirements. Its copper facility in Gujarat, India, comprises a world-class copper smelter and refinery complex, downstream facilities, and a captive jetty. Hindalco’s global footprint spans 48 manufacturing units across 10 countries. Hindalco has been ranked the world’s most sustainable aluminium company in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) for six consecutive years – 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.

About Metalshub

Metalshub is a leading digital trading platform designed to support efficient, secure and transparent transactions across industrial metals markets. By leveraging advanced technology and market expertise, Metalshub provides digital solutions for buyers and sellers to connect, negotiate, and close transactions. With its innovative solutions, Metalshub empowers 3,000+ businesses to optimise supply chains, make informed decisions, and drive growth in the digital era. Its platform enables sellers to provide provenance, carbon footprint and ESG information to its customers in an auditable form, leading to qualification for key target market regulations.

Adani Copper Secures LME Certification, Elevating India’s Role in Global Energy Transition

Kutch Copper Limited (KCL), a subsidiary of Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL), has earned London Metal Exchange (LME) certification for 'Adani Copper'. Approval by the world centre for the trading of industrial metals validates KCL's manufacturing excellence and responsible sourcing practices against strict global benchmarks, enabling Adani Copper cathodes to be delivered with warrants eligible for issuance against LME Copper futures contracts from July 10, 2026.

For the Adani Group, LME listing of Adani Copper as a Good Delivery brand for 'Copper Grade A' contracts places the brand alongside the world's leading copper brands, conferring international recognition and market credibility on the Group's entry into the metals sector and its emergence as a globally competitive producer of refined copper.

"Copper is the backbone of the global energy transition. Achieving LME brand status places Adani among the world's leading copper producers and strengthens India's role in building a resilient, responsible supply chain for this vital metal. Kutch Copper's world-class infrastructure and ESG standards make this recognition both timely and well deserved. It will enhance the global acceptance of Adani Copper. Apart from reinforcing India's growing stature in the international metals industry, the registration is a landmark step towards self-reliance in refined copper," said Dr. Vinay Prakash, CEO – Natural Resources, Adani Enterprises, and Managing Director, Kutch Copper Limited.

An LME-brand certification is a rigorous process involving superior quality assurances — covering chemical composition, shape and weight — alongside strict responsible sourcing protocols. The LME listing enables eligible Adani Copper cathodes to be placed on warrant in LME-approved warehouses, strengthening financing flexibility as LME-listed metal is recognised as high liquid asset that can be used as collateral. For the LME, the addition of Adani Copper broadens the exchange's deliverable base with high-quality cathode from a major new production hub, deepening the liquidity and geographic diversity of the global copper market.

The USD 1.2 billion Kutch Copper facility with production capacity of 0.5 million tonnes — one of the world's largest single-location custom copper smelting complexes, designed with state-of-the-art technology, advanced process automation, and sustainability-led design principles embedded across operations — strengthens domestic supply, reduces the nation's dependence on imported copper, and advances India's 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' ambitions in a metal central to electrification, renewable energy and the energy transition.

About Kutch Copper Limited

Kutch Copper Limited (KCL) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Adani Enterprises Limited and a part of the metals and mining portfolio of the Group. With an annual production capacity of 0.5 million tonnes, the company manufactures high-quality copper Grade A cathodes and other value-added products to serve domestic and international markets. For more information, please visit: https://www.adanimetals.com/

About Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL)

Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL) is the flagship company of Adani Group, one of India's largest business organisations. Over the years, Adani Enterprises has focused on building emerging infrastructure businesses, contributing to nation-building and divesting them into separate listed entities. Having successfully built sizeable and scalable businesses like Adani Ports & SEZ, Adani Energy Solutions, Adani Power, Adani Green Energy, Adani Total Gas and Adani Wilmar, the company has contributed to make India self-reliant with our robust businesses. This has also led to significant returns to our shareholders for three decades.

The next generation of its strategic business investments are centered around green hydrogen ecosystem, airport management, data center, roads and primary industries like copper and petrochem - all of which have significant scope for value unlocking.