Aluminum casthouses are facing a growing operational challenge of increasing the use of recycled metal without compromising melt quality, recovery rates or production efficiency. As manufacturers look to incorporate more post-consumer recycled (PCR) aluminum, processing lightweight scrap, machining chips and other low-density materials has become increasingly important. Such materials are difficult to introduce into conventional melting furnaces, making efficient scrap feeding and submergence essential to improving recycling performance. The challenge extends beyond scrap preparation. Maintaining consistent temperature and chemical composition throughout the molten metal bath is critical to producing specification-compliant aluminum. Equipment used for circulation and stirring must...
ClearFlow Metalworks plans to invest $28 million in a new aluminum manufacturing facility in Russellville, Kentucky, marking an expansion of secondary aluminum production in the United States. The project is expected to create 50 full-time jobs, with its first phase designed to deliver an estimated annual production capacity of approximately 100,000 tons. The company, which focuses on sustainable aluminum recycling and production, will develop the facility in phases. Phase I will feature a secondary aluminum billet casting operation, processing recycled aluminum materials into billets for extrusion and other downstream manufacturing applications. The project will establish ClearFlow's manufacturing presence in the U.S. and support domestic demand for aluminum products while expanding...
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According to the data released by the US Geological Survey, the United States in March 2020 exported 254,000 tonnes of aluminium (including scrap), marking a month-on-month hike of 7.63 per cent from 236,000 tonnes. This brought the United States total aluminium exports in the first quarter of 2020 to 720,000 tonnes, down by nearly 3 per cent from 741,000 tonnes exported during the same period last year. In March 2020, Mexico continued to be the top importer of aluminium from the US among other key importers like Canada, India, the Republic of Korea, and Malaysia. Mexico’ aluminium imports from the US totalled 53,600 tonnes in March 2020, up by 3,400 tonnes or 6.77 per cent from 50,200 tonnes in February. In January, Mexico had imported 49,200 tonnes of aluminium from the US, meaning a...
Vedanta has reduced its aluminium products price for the second time in a row. With effect from Friday 26 June 2020, the prices of some aluminium ingots are in the range of INR 133,750-146,750 per tonne. This marks a drop of INR 2000 per tonne or 1.47% from INR 135,750-148,750 per tonne on June 25. With the latest decline, Vedanta’ billet now stands at INR 141,750 per tonne on June 26, down INR 2,000 per tonne or 1.39% from INR 143,750 per tonne on June 25. The Indian aluminium producers generally link prices of its products to the three-month futures of aluminium on London Metal Exchange. The three-month futures of aluminium have been declining due to slower global demand following the coronavirus outbreak. Vedanta Limited cuts its aluminium Cost of Production (CoP) in the fourth quarter...
Digital manufacturing innovator VELO3D has received a $20M order for its metal Additive Manufacturing (AM) printers from aerospace company, the largest order in company history. “This significant order validates that VELO3D’s SupportFree process is production-ready,” said Benny Buller, founder and CEO of VELO3D. “Our recent successes across various industrial sectors show that many OEMs and contract manufacturers are adapting their supply chain to meet the demands of manufacturing mission-critical components. Design freedom, agile production, and quality assurance are requirements that VELO3D is uniquely positioned to meet.” This news came after VELO3D’s completion of a $40M fundraising round in the midst of COVID-19, totalling $150M to date. VELO3D is well-known for enabling geometric...
An investigative report published by the Reuters News Agency on Wednesday, June 24, claimed that Iran had been secretly producing aluminium powder for using in missile programme. On the basis of testimony from a former Iranian government official and documents, former senior Tehran official shared with Reuters that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps had been running a facility for the past five years to produce the military-grade material. The facility is located near the city of Jajarm in North Khorasan province in northeast Iran, near the country’s largest deposit of bauxite. The report states that Iran is secretly producing aluminium powder amidst international sanctions designed to block its efforts to acquire advanced weapon technology. Aluminium powder is produced from bauxite and is...
Constellium announced that it will lead £15 million ALIVE (Aluminium Intensive Vehicle Enclosures) project for the development of new aluminium battery enclosures for electric vehicles. The project will be deveoped in the UK and funded in part by a grant from the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) as a component of its low carbon emissions research program. Constellium will lead a consortium of automotive manufacturers and suppliers for the development of enclosures.The company will design and produce the aluminium extrusions for the project at its University Technology Center (UTC) at Brunel University London. The project is scheduled to start in July and is expected to deliver its first prototypes at the end of 2021. “Constellium is delighted to partner with the APC, as well as automakers...
On 25 th June, Piyush Goyal, Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry said: “Will be talking to USTR Robert Lighthizer in the next few days to quickly wrap up initial aspects of the proposed trade deal, which is under negotiations.” “India and the US are negotiating a trade deal to iron out differences and promote two-way commerce.” The Commerce and Industry Minister stated that he is in regular dialogue with US Trade Representative (USTR) and US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. Piyush Goyal said: “I think Mr Wilbur Ross and I will be meeting with businessmen of both the countries sometime in the middle of July and going to be talking to my US counterpart also in the next few days… to quickly wrap the first immediate aspects of the trade deal that is already in discussion and look forward...
Benchmark aluminium price on the London Metal Exchange dropped 1.31 per cent to US$ 1543.50 per tonne on Thursday, June 25, from US$ 1564 per tonne on Wednesday, June 24. As of Thursday, June 25, LME aluminium cash (bid) price and LME official settlement price slipped by US$ 20.5 per tonne to stand at US$ 1543.50 per tonne. 3-months bid price and 3-months offer price stood down by US$ 23 per tonne to US$ 1563.50 per tonne, while Dec 21 bid price and Dec 21 offer price came in at US$ 1666 per tonne compared to US$ 1688.50 per tonne on Wednesday, June 24. The LME aluminium opening stock totalled 1637750 tonnes, up by 23,650 tonnes from June 24. Live Warrants stood at 1456050 tonnes, while Cancelled Warrants 181700 tonnes. LME aluminium 3-months Asian Reference Price hovered at US$...
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Chinese aluminium producer China Hongqiao Group Limited's Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'BB-'. The Outlook remains Stable. Hongqiao's ratings indicate its position as one of the world's largest aluminium smelters, with a competitive cost base braced by sizeable economies of scale and low input costs. Hongqiao's ratings are constrained by a possible surcharge on its captive power-generation assets, which could significantly increase its production costs. The Stable Outlook exhibits the expectation that Hongqiao's industry-leading profitability will allow it to maintain net leverage at a level that is comparable with its rating, even against the current backdrop of weakened domestic economic activity and depressed commodity prices. A...
SIG is offering ASI-certified aluminium as standard for all SIG packs in Europe. SIG claims the company is the only aseptic carton producer to offer ASI-certified aluminium in its packs. The company is the first in the industry to obtain certification to both the ASI (Aluminium Stewardship Initiative) Performance and Chain of Custody standards. “ASI certification helps to drive improvements for people and the environment throughout the aluminium value chain,” said Carsten Haerup Christensen, Vice President Cluster Europe at SIG. “And it offers SIG customers another credible label, alongside FSCTM certification for paper board, to show consumers that they are committed to responsible sourcing of their packaging.” “The first ASI-labelled cartons were launched by customers such as B-Better®...
Unifor, the general trade union in Canada and the largest private-sector union in Canada, believes that threats by the American administration to impose new rates on Canadian aluminium are "intimidation tactics" and implores the Trudeau government not to give in. There is a possibility of re-imposing Canadian aluminium tariffs if Canada declines to cut exports south of the border. On 24 th June’20, Unifor has urged the Canadian Government to stand strong against what it calls a “disinformation campaign”. The American Primary Aluminum Association (APAA), that represents Century Aluminum Company and Magnitude 7 Metals LLC, demanded tariffs of 10%, contended that an increase in aluminium coming from Canada has caused prices to fall. Jerry Dias, National President, Unifor wrote a letter to...
According to the latest data revealed by the International Aluminium Institute (IAI), the GCC countries in May 2020 produced 496,000 tonnes of primary aluminium, compared to 483,000 tonnes in April. This means the GCC countries saw a month-on-month rise of 13,000 tonnes or 2.69 per cent in aluminium production in May. However, GCC's primary aluminium production in April stood down month-on-month by 16,000 tonnes or 3.21 per cent, following growth in March. From 473,000 tonnes in February, the aluminium output in GCC countries grew by 26,000 tonnes or 5.50 per cent to amount to 499,000 tonnes in March. In January, the production was 498,000 tonnes, meaning a month-on-month decline of 25,000 tonnes or 5.02 per cent in February. The above data indicates that GCC countries saw a downfall in...
Braidy Industries said its leadership team will now accelerate plans to build state-of-the-art aluminium rolling mill after the appointment of Don Foster as new Acting President and Chief Executive Officer of the company. “Braidy Industries is the future of aluminum, and there is no one better to lead the team than an experienced professional like Don Foster,” said Braidy Industries Chairman Charles Price. “Don has more than 40 years in the industry and is a proven, successful metals executive with a history of profitable business development and large project experience.” The new mill in Eastern Kentucky is likely to create more than 1,000 construction jobs, 550 full-time mill jobs and thousands of indirect jobs in the region. “The business case for this project is strong, and I’m...
China’s giant aluminium production sector looks like being untouched by the COVID-19 crisis, according to an observation by a columnist for Reuters. The country’s annualised production has increased by 718,000 tonnes over the first five months of 2020, as per the latest estimate from the International Aluminium Institute (IAI), bringing its share to the world aluminium output to 57 per cent in May. But in contrast, the annualised aluminium production in the rest of the world has decreased by 612,000 tonnes over the same period (January-May), owing to restricted movements and low international prices, which have led many smelters to close or curtail their productions. China is already the world’s largest aluminium producer and it dominance over the world is less likely to not increase in...
Czech Republic’s largest sector is the automotive industry. The Czech industry produces mainly electrical, electronic and optical equipment, as well as cars, transport vehicles and machines. Most of the produced components are exported abroad - an important revenue factor for the Czech Republic. The structure of industrial production has changed in the last 20 years. The town Mladá Boleslav, a Czech town in the Central Bohemian region north-east of Prague, is the home of the main plant of the car manufacturer Škoda, the Czech Volkswagen subsidiary. The nation’s aluminium ingot importation during 2017-19 has been recorded at 803,596 tonnes and the revenue expended stood at $1.42 billion. The projected import for 2020 has remained to 255,177 tonnes only and the revenue expenditure might...
On 24 th June’20, an official spokesperson said that a big step to realise the long term goal of 'carbon neutral Ladakh', the Union Territory administration has ordered a complete ban on the use of plastic water bottles and other plastic made objects in government offices and other institutions. The target and timeline for a phased ban would be 100% of plastic bottles by 15 th July’20 and 100% of plastic files and folders by July end, the spokesman said, quoting an order issued by Commissioner Secretary Finance and General Administration Department, Ladakh, Rigzian Sampheal on 23 rd June’20. The order details that all government offices, boards, corporations, autonomous bodies or units, educational institutions including universities would dispense with the use of plastic water bottles in...
North America’s primary aluminium production stood at 346,000 tonnes in May 2020, 6.13 per cent higher year-on-year. The output was 326,000 tonnes in May 2019. On a month on month basis, the output rose by 3.9 per cent from April’s production of 333,000 tonnes. In the first five months of 2020, the production stood 4.65 per cent higher than the same period last year. The output totalled 1.665 million tonnes, from 1.591 million tonnes in the first five months of 2019, according to the latest data showed by the International Aluminium Institute (IAI). In 2019, the output stood at 3.809 million tonnes, an increase of 0.93 per cent from 3.774 million tonnes in 2018. Primary aluminium production in South America decreased by 15.12 per cent year-on-year, but up 2.82 per cent month-on-month to...
Vedanta has cut its aluminium products price on Thursday after raising it by more than 1% on June 18. With effect from Thursday 25 June 2020, the prices of some aluminium ingots are in the range of INR 135,750-148,750 per tonne, marking a decline of INR 2000 per tonne or 1.45% from INR 137,750-150,750 per tonne on June 18. With the latest decline, Vedanta’ billet now stands at INR 143,750 per tonne, a decrease of INR 2000 per tonne or 1.37% from INR 145,750 per tonne on June 18. The Indian aluminium producers generally link prices of its products to the three-month futures of aluminium on London Metal Exchange. The three-month futures of aluminium have been declining due to slower global demand following the coronavirus outbreak. Vedanta Limited cuts its aluminium Cost of Production (CoP)...
Amaero International Limited, a world-class additive manufacturing specialist, announced that it has applied for broad international patent coverage for its high-performance aluminium alloy Amaero HOT AI. The new heat treatable alloy has already entered the final approval stage, the national phase of the Patent Co-operation Treaty (“PCT”), with three out of four stages of patent application already completed. Amaero HOT AI is a new high-performance aluminium alloy with scandium and manganese alloying, resulting in 3D printed parts that can be directly treated with age-hardening heat treatment to yield superior strength and durability at high operating temperature. “There has been a significant amount of work completed over more than half a century to improve the heat tolerance of...
