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...
Grow with
AL Circle
The German-based Scholz Recycling Group and Shandong Weiqiao Pioneering Group Co. have signed a memorandum of understanding to build a recycling industrial park in the Chinese City of Binzhou. Scholz Recycling Group plans to expand its recycling business in China. Rafael Suchan, Chief Executive Officer at Scholz and its parent company Chiho Environmental Group, signed MoU together with Shandong Weiqiao Pioneering Group Co., Ltd.. “This signature hopefully marks the next step for Scholz and shows that our unique recycling know-how is crucial for securing supply chains sustainably – especially in those difficult times”, Mr Suchan SAID. The industrial recycling park will source more than 200,000 tonnes of aluminium scrap for Hongqiao, a Weiqiao subsidiary. This will further reduce emissions...
The aluminium utensil producers in some of the districts of the Southern part of India have resumed their factories last month. Insufficiency of raw materials and workers are the crucial challenges they have been facing. Suresh Shankar, CEO, Gomathi Metals said: “For the aluminium utensil manufacturers here, numbering nearly 10, availability of manpower is a major issue.” He said: “As it is labour-intensive work, the units employ a large number of unskilled migrant workers. The skilled workers are mostly from Tamil Nadu. The migrant workers have gone home. A couple of units have not reopened because of a labour shortage.” The aluminium vessel manufacturers’ mostly use recycled aluminium as raw material and it is available locally. Kathiresan, President of Annuparpalayam utensil...
Worley has declared that it has secured a three-year services contract with Alcoa for its Australian operations consolidated in mining, refining and smelting operations. As per the contract, Worley will provide engineering and project delivery services for Alcoa’s site‐based sustaining capital program of works. The contract is the continuation of the existing relationship between Alcoa and Worley and establishes Worley as the most preferred engineering services provider for base-load works across the Wagerup, Pinjarra and Kwinana alumina refineries, Bunbury port terminal and the Willowdale and Huntly bauxite mining operations in Western Australia. Worley will also support Alcoa’s Portland Aluminium smelter in Victoria, Australia. The Company said: “The services will be executed by...
The economy of Argentina is an upper-middle-income economy for the fiscal year 2019 according to the World Bank. It is the second-largest in South America behind Brazil. Argentina benefits from rich natural resources, a highly literate population, an export-oriented agricultural sector, and a diversified industrial base. Early in the twentieth century Argentina had one of the ten highest per capita GDP levels in the world, on par with Canada and Australia and surpassing both France and Italy. The major industries of the driving the economy of the Latin American nation are food processing, beverages, motor vehicles and auto parts appliances, electronics, machinery and equipment; chemicals, pharmaceuticals, glass steel, aluminium, cement, textiles, tobacco products, publishing, furniture...
The Environment Agency reported that 17,066 tonnes of aluminium packaging were collected for recycling in the UK in May. Recycling rates was up 48% year-on-year. Aupro executive director Rick Hindley said: “The UK’s PRN data for May shows a dramatic increase, both month-on-month and year-on-year, in aluminium packaging recycling rates. “Alongside greater public awareness about the benefits of recycling and an increase in the number of companies – including incinerator bottom ash processors – accredited for reprocessing, impressive rates can be attributed to the Covid-19 lockdown and resulting increase in household recycling volumes. Over the past three month, some 38,014 tonnes of aluminium packaging were collected for recycling, from 25,986 tonnes of packaging were collected last year....
Parkers Beverage Company, based in New Zealand, is now eyeing Singapore’s convenience stores to roll out its aluminium canned water, after first entering the country via e-commerce late last year. Currently, Parkers’ still and sparkling canned water is available only on online platform RedMart in Singapore at SGD27 (US$19) for 24 cans. Receiving positive responses with 30,000 units sold, the company is now planning to expand its sales channels by collaborating with convenience stores in Singapore. Doug Speedy, managing director of Parkers Beverage Company, said: “We feel the best channel will be small retails and convenience shops like 7-Eleven, where people patronage these stores everyday and can buy a small snack with a drink. If they buy a can, they know they can easily recycle in the...
Australian Bauxite Limited has announced that mining and screening operations are well advanced at its Bald Hill mine, Tasmania. Trucking to port has started to assemble the next cargo of cement-grade bauxite to its customer’s specifications. Australian Bauxite has secured sales contracts for fertiliser-grade bauxite and cement-grade bauxite worth more than $2.5 million during April-May 2020. Fertiliser grade bauxite sales are rising steadily as agricultural demand for granulated superphosphate fertiliser increases. A just-in-time sale before Easter will be repeated in June. The trucks will load and transport the fertiliser-grade bauxite product over coming weeks. “ABx has long-standing relationships with experienced contractors that are well known for meeting the strict specification...
According to the data shown by the US Geological Survey on bauxite and alumina imports in the first quarter of 2020, the United States imported 775,000 tonnes of crude and dried bauxite, down by 22.5 per cent from 1 million tonnes of imports in the fourth quarter of 2019. However, when compared to the data year ago, the United States’ bauxite imports in Q1 2020 stood higher by 3.61 per cent. In Q1 2019, the United States had imported 748,000 tonnes of crude and dried bauxite. Jamaica continued to be the leading supplier of bauxite to the US in the first quarter of 2020, but lesser than the previous quarter. While in the fourth quarter of 2019, Jamaica exported 702,000 tonnes of crude and dried bauxite, in the first quarter of 2020, it exported 554,000 tonnes, down by 21.08 per cent....
The average spot alumina price in China has increased by RMB 12 per tonne or 0.53 per cent on Tuesday, 16 June 2020, after two days of restraint. Alumina price stands at RMB 2259 per tonne. Alumina prices have increased in in Central and North China markets. The prices of alumina in Central and North markets have climbed by RMB 10 per tonne and RMB 15 per tonne to stand at RMB 2260 per tonne each. Alumina-East and Alumina-South remains unchanged at RMB 2225 per tonne and RMB 2520 per tonne. Australian alumina FOB price has risen from USD255 per tonne to USD258 per tonne on Tuesday, 16 June 2020. This records a rise of USD3 per tonne or 1.18 per cent. The price of Aluminium Alloy (A356) has increased RMB150 per tonne to range at RMB14600-14700 per tonne as on June 16. Aluminium Alloy...
The United States removing Canada’s exclusion from aluminium tariffs with quotas, focusing to encourage the survival chances of the local producers. The aluminium market has exhibited its price rising in the prospect. However, some US aluminium industry references are expecting the exemption to be lifted completely. This would slow down Canadian imports and stimulate a huge price rise, securing the possibility of high-priced US smelters i.e. Magnitude 7 Metals and Century Aluminium. The USA aluminium pricing is positioned on the physical market premium AUPc1 plus the standard price CMCU3 on the LME, presently around $1,570 per tonne. An outpouring of aluminium from Canada and the drop in demand in present due to COVID-19 lockdowns has forced the US premium below $180 per tonne from $400...
The US dollar declined on Monday amid mounting fears of a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. The Federal Reserve announced it would buy individual corporate bonds in the secondary market, and this sparked a risk-on move, sending US stocks higher and safe-haven assets like the US dollar lower. Against a basket of currencies, the dollar eased but still held close to a more than one-week high hit in the previous session. Three-month LME aluminium regained losses from early session last night, as it rallied from a session low of US$ 1,564.5 per tonne and closed 0.73% higher on the day at US$ 1,587.5 per tonne. Open interest added 1,243 lots to 869,000 lots as longs loaded up their positions. On Monday, June 15, both LME aluminium cash (bid) price and LME official settlement price...
Vedanta has cut its aluminium products price for the second time in a row. With effect from Saturday 13 June 2020, the prices of some aluminium ingots are in the range of INR 135,750-148,750 per tonne, registering a decline of INR 1500 per tonne or 1.09% from INR 137,250-150,250 per tonne on June 12. With the latest decline, Vedanta’ billet now stands at INR 143,750 per tonne, a decrease of INR 1500 per tonne or 1.06% from INR 145,250 per tonne on June 12. 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 are down more than 10% so far in 2020 due to slower global demand following the coronavirus outbreak. Vedanta Limited cuts its aluminium Cost of Production (CoP) in...
Hindalco reported consolidated Q4 and FY20 results. The company's Utkal Alumina refinery recorded its highest-ever quarterly production of 441,000 tonnes in Q4FY20. Capacity expansion of Utkal of 500, 000 is on track and is expected to be commissioned in Q4FY21. Hindalco also announced its Muri Alumina refinery re-started operations in December 2019 and is ramping-up production. Hindalco Aluminium Business (including Utkal Alumina) EBITDA stood at INR 1,039 crore in Q4FY20, up 3 per cent year-on-year. EBITDA margin of 20 per cent in the fourth quarter set an industry benchmark amid a challenging macro environment. Revenue stood at INR 5,284 crore in Q4FY20, down 11 per cent due to low aluminium prices. Stable operations in the Indian Aluminium Business helped achieve Aluminium metal...
Shanghai Metals Market chief aluminium analyst Frank Liu estimates strong domestic demand for aluminium to likely sustain till mid-June in China. Speaking at the China International Aluminium Processing Industry Summit in Yantai on June 11, Liu pointed out that although the global demand for aluminium has weakened as expected amid the Coronavirus crisis, there has been no significant impact on the domestic consumption. In China, demand from the construction industry rose since mid-March and demand from the pharmaceutical sector increased after the Chinese New Year holiday, resulting in the ramp-up in aluminium consumption. Demand from the home appliance sector, on the other hand, surged after the Labour Day holiday, becoming a key driving force for the Chinese aluminium market, said Liu....
The Federal Financial Police of Bosnia-Herzegovina submitted a report on the operations of the former Mostar giant and aluminium smelter “Aluminij” to the Government, which refers to the period from 1 st January’14 to 10 th July’19. The Federation’s Financial Police tracked down all cash flows, and now it is expected that the report will be submitted to the Prosecutor’s Office, on the existence of grounds for suspicion of committed crimes and perpetrators. The report that was submitted to the Federal Government, states exclusively that the total value of the share capital of “Aluminij” Mostar is 190,110,000 BAM, however, the loss above the amount of capital is as much as 273,638,742 BAM. To make things worse, the complete assets of “Aluminij” for 408,208,254 BAM are financed from other...
Hindalco Industries Ltd has cut its aluminium products price, marking the second consecutive fall. With effect from June 13, Hindalco aluminium ingots price now stands at INR 137,250 per tonne, a drop of 1.08% or INR 1,500 per tonne from INR 138,750 per tonne on June 12. The company is now selling its wire rods and billets at INR 148,350 per tonne and INR 144,350 per tonne with effect from Saturday, 13 June 2020. This registered a decline of INR 1,500 per tonne each from June 12. 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 declined by more than 10% so far in 2020 due to slower global demand following the coronavirus outbreak. Aluminium prices are expected to...
The economy of Lebanon is classified as a developing, upper-middle-income economy. The nominal GDP was estimated $54.1 billion in 2018, with a per capita GDP amounting to $12,000. Government spending amounted to $15.9 billion in 2018 or 23% of GDP. The major industries of the country are banking, tourism, real estate and construction, food processing, wine, jewellery, cement, textiles, mineral and chemical products, wood and furniture products, oil refining, metal fabricating. The aluminium scrap export of Lebanon in 2017 was recorded only 6319 tonnes and the revenue income stood at $9.09 million, whereas in 2018 the aluminium scrap export saw growth by 237.63%, as the total export volume reflected at 21,355 tonnes with Y-o-Y excess volume of 15,016 tonnes and the revenue generation...
As updated by Shanghai Metals Market, social inventories of primary aluminium across eight consumption areas in China, including SHFE warrants, continued to decline over the weekend. The drop in stocks was due to robust demand and higher arrivals. Inventories stood at 767,000 tonnes as of Monday June 15, down 20,000 tonnes from Thursday June 11. The chart below shows the current status of the primary aluminium inventories across China in more details: Primary aluminium stocks in Wuxi and Shanghai decreased by 12,000 tonnes and 5,000 tonnes from June 11 to stand at 273,000 tonnes and 112,000 tonnes. But inventories in Nanhai and Chongqing rose by 3,000 tonnes and 1,000 tonnes to stand at 164,000 tonnes and 10,000 tonnes. In Tianjin and Linyi, inventories of aluminium remained unchanged at...
