Sydney (Platts)--28Jan2013/753 am EST/1253 GMT

Platts Australian alumina assessment at $338/mt FOB was unchanged from Friday despite news of production cuts in Queensland, Australia due to storms and flooding.

Reports of the run cuts came during the Asian business day, but market participants mostly said they planned to wait and see what impact they might have.

Rio Tinto Alcan confirmed Monday it has curtailed alumina production in Queensland due to severe weather from the remains of Tropical Cyclone Oswald.

The company has taken offline the 3.4 million mt/year Yarwun refinery, and reduced the operating rate of the 3.95 million mt/year Queensland Alumina Ltd refinery in Gladstone, spokesman Ian McGoldrick said.

McGoldrick said the Yarwun refinery would restart when it was safe to do so. RTA's bauxite mining operations in Weipa, Queensland, were also hit when Oswald first formed, although operations have since normalized, he said. Queensland's coal transportation network has been hit by floods, local media said. Gladstone has also been declared a disaster zone after a weekend of carnage from the storms, gusting winds and flash floods.

Gladstone port reopened early Sunday, Maritime Safety Queensland said Monday, after a two-day closure. The port was closed to all shipping from 6 am local time Friday (2000 GMT Thursday) to 6 am Sunday.

On Monday, two Chinese alumina importers said they would put off reselling Australian material.

One said the decision would depend on the duration of the production curtailments in Queensland. He said while a short period of cutbacks was not expected to put upward pressure on the market, he couldn't rule out steep price increases if the curtailments were to endure.

Last Friday, the alumina bid-ask spread was $335-340/mt FOB Australia. Global supplies have not been overly long, market participants have noted in recent weeks. Alumina shipments from various Australian ports on the continent's east and west coasts have also been a little late, sources have also said in the last two weeks.

In addition participants were awaiting Rio Tinto's decision on the future of its high-cost 2.65 million mt/year Gove refinery in Australia's Northern Territory.

Subsidiary Pacific Aluminium confirmed last Wednesday it would not be extending a review of the refinery operations beyond January 31, despite an appeal from the state government to allow more time. PA is studying whether to revamp, suspend or decrease operations at the refinery. Last Wednesday PA said a decision would be made shortly after the review.

Platts China domestic alumina assessment for Henan province was stable at Yuan 2,620/mt ($417/mt) ex-works for 70:30 cash and credit terms. A Chinese smelter reported that port stocks were available at around Yuan 2,650/mt. Sources said domestic trade has slowed as the Lunar New Year holiday from February 9-15 approaches.

--Joanna Lim, joanna_lim@platts.com --Yuencheng Mok, yuencheng_mok@platts.com --Edited by Jeremy Lovell, jeremy_lovell@platts.com