Hillside Aluminium: an aluminum operation in South Africa
Hillside Aluminium is an aluminum smelter producing aluminum in South Africa, operated by South32. The sources report 717 kt, 'Aluminium production' (saleable production) for FY2026 (1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026); the basis is 100% ('HILLSIDE ALUMINIUM (100% SHARE)'). Measured as primary aluminum, whole-operation output for FY2026 (1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026) is 717,000 tonnes: about 1% of world aluminum output in 2025; it is one of 28 operations on this site whose output can be stated in primary aluminum.
Who owns and operates it?
| Owner | Interest | As of |
|---|---|---|
| South32 | 100% | 1 July 2026 |
How much does it produce?
| Period | Output | Basis | Where in the source |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 (1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026) | 717 kt, 'Aluminium production' (saleable production) | 100% ('HILLSIDE ALUMINIUM (100% SHARE)') | Table 'Hillside Aluminium (kt)', column FY26; section 'HILLSIDE ALUMINIUM (100% SHARE)', 'Aluminium production (kt)' row, FY26 column; text 'saleable production was largely unchanged at 717kt in FY26' · South32 Limited |
| FY2025 (1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025) | 718 kt, 'Aluminium production' (saleable production) | 100% ('HILLSIDE ALUMINIUM (100% SHARE)') | Section 'HILLSIDE ALUMINIUM (100% SHARE)', text 'saleable production was largely unchanged at 718kt in FY25' · South32 Limited |
Between FY2025 (1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025) and FY2026 (1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026) the reported figure fell by 0.1%, in the same unit and on the same basis.
How the primary-aluminum figure is worked out. South32 prints 717 kt of Hillside Aluminium saleable production for FY2026 on a 100% share basis; the figure converts to 717,000 tonnes. South32 calls the measure saleable production. World smelter production of primary aluminum in 2025 was 74,000,000 tonnes (USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026).
The period (FY2026 (1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026)) is not the calendar year of the USGS totals (2025), so the shares are approximate.
Status: operating, as of 30 September 2026.
- The fiscal year ends on 30 June, so the period overlaps CY2025 for six months only.
- South32 describes the smelter as testing its maximum technical capacity and states that production was affected by load-shedding (power rationing) in FY26.
How does it compare?
Other aluminum operations on this site: Alma smelter, Alouette smelter, Bécancour smelter, Boyne Island smelter, Tomago smelter, Kitimat smelter, Tiwai Point smelter, Sohar smelter, Laterrière smelter, Grande-Baie smelter, ISAL smelter, Bell Bay smelter. See where aluminum comes from for the country totals, the country page for South Africa, and South32 for its other operations here.
Sources
- South32 Limited: Agreement to Sell Aluminium Value Chain Assets to Alcoa for up to US$5.6B and Chief Executive Officer Transition (stock-exchange announcement (2026-07-01; text read in the Investegate copy of the RNS), announcement of 1 July 2026). Opened 4 November 2026; used: opening paragraphs and transaction summary.
- South32 Limited: Quarterly Report: June 2026 (quarterly report (stock-exchange announcement, 2026-07-20; text read in the Investegate copy of the RNS), Q4 FY2026 and FY2026 (to 30 June 2026)). Opened 4 November 2026; used: production summary table; sections for Hillside Aluminium, Mozal Aluminium and Brazil Aluminium.
- South32 Limited: Quarterly Report: June 2025 (quarterly report (stock-exchange announcement, 2025-07-21; text read in the Investegate copy of the RNS), Q4 FY2025 and FY2025 (to 30 June 2025)). Opened 4 November 2026; used: sections for Hillside Aluminium, Mozal Aluminium and Brazil Aluminium.
- South32 Limited: Quarterly Report: September 2026 (quarterly report (stock-exchange announcement, 2026-10-19; text read in the Investegate copy of the RNS), Q1 FY2027 (July to September 2026)). Opened 4 November 2026; used: highlights; section 'Hillside Aluminium (100% share)'.
- U.S. Geological Survey: Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Aluminum (government statistical summary, 2025 (world and country smelter production)). Opened 3 November 2026; used: world smelter production and capacity table.
Method and limits
- Reported, not estimated. Output is the figure the operator or owner published, in the unit it used. This site does not estimate output where none is published.
- Shares. A share divides output in primary aluminum by the USGS world or country total for 2025. Where the operator's year is a fiscal year or the unit is a concentrate or a carbonate equivalent, the share is approximate or not given.
- What is compared. The figure is tonnes of primary aluminum metal produced by the whole smelter, compared with USGS smelter production of primary aluminum. Remelted and recycled metal is not primary production.
- Whole operation or owner's share. The basis column says which. A joint venture's output is never counted twice.
- Partial list. Only operations with a published figure are listed, so the rank is among those on this site, not among every aluminum mine. Shares of a country's output mix periods and bases, so treat them as indicative.
- Made with AI assistance, checked against sources. The facts were gathered from the documents above by AI-assisted research and re-checked against those documents by a second, independent pass; the page text is generated from the data. No professional review took place. How the site is made. To report an error, contact us; fixes are logged on the corrections page.