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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Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C (Alba), the world’s largest aluminium smelter ex-China, announced that the company has been running its operations at full capacity despite COVID-19. The Chairman of Alba’s Board of Directors, Shaikh Daij Bin Salman Bin Daij Al Khalifa made the announcement during the second quarterly Board of Directors’ meeting held virtually on Wednesday 10 June 2020. Shaikh Daij Bin Salman Bin Daij Al Khalifa said: “As COVID-19 unfolds, we had to adapt quickly -- finding our balance in the new normal. Our production facilities continue at full run rate while new Safety measures were adapted across the plant to ensure that our workforce is safe at all times. I also congratulate everyone, employees and contractors, on topping more than 22 million working-hours without Lost Time...
Aluminium consumption in China’s automotive industry is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.9 per cent to 10.7 million tonnes by 2030. The news came after Tao Zhimin, auto sheet project manager at Nanshan Aluminium, said this at the China Aluminium Processing Industry Summit 2020. Speaking at the 15th China International Summit in Yantai, Shandong province on Friday, June 12, Tao pointed out that China’s automotive industry in 2018 had consumed 3.8 million tonnes of aluminium, of which 72 per cent was for passenger vehicles. By 2030, electric vehicles, including passenger vehicles, buses and e-bikes, are estimated to account for 34 per cent of China’s aluminium consumption in automobiles, said Tao. Tao also predicted that aluminium consumption per unit is...
Guinea Alumina Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), provides humanitarian and economic support to local communities in Guinea in their fight against COVID-19, Emirates Global Aluminium said in its press release. The company provides medical equipment to the national health authority and prevention education. Other supports include engaging local community members in the manufacture of soaps, facemasks and other protective equipment to donate to local people, employees and sub-contractors. Aissata Beavogui, Director General and Head of Corporate Social Responsibility of GAC, said: “The UAE Government is providing assistance to many countries in their fight against COVID-19, including Guinea. As a UAE-owned company and proud corporate citizen of Guinea,...
The British metal baron Sanjeev Gupta’s GFC Alliance made public on 11 th June’20 that it will slash costs and reduce human resources owing to a steep slide in demand that might stretch to 18-20 months. The GFG Alliance, a conglomerate with wide-ranging operations including aluminium , infrastructure and steel, stated its business had been strike hard by the COVID-19 epidemic. GFG said: “With 35,000 workers, needed to adjust to the new market environment so it would aim to cut costs by 30%, including an unspecified number of job cuts.” The demand from aluminium and other metal consuming sectors in précised region has dipped heavily. The impact is likely to hold on for month after month, resulting in an aforesaid difficult market. GFG said it's aluminium and steel businesses were sticking...
Hindalco Industries Ltd’s aluminium products price continued to trend higher. This marked the fourth consecutive hike in the price of the same products. With effect from June 11, Hindalco aluminium ingots price now stands at INR 140,750 per tonne, marking an increase of 2.55% or INR 3,500 per tonne from INR 137,250 per tonne on June 9. The company is now selling its wire rods and billets at INR 151,850 per tonne and INR 147,850 per tonne with effect from Thursday, 11 June 2020. The prices of the products are up by 2.36% or INR 3,500 per tonne and 2.42% or INR 3,500 per tonne from June 9. 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...
According to Shanghai Metals Market, the 6063 aluminium billet inventories on Thursday, June 11, gained 900 tonnes over the week to stand at 74,000 tonnes, following a drop of 4,000 tonnes on last Thursday, June 4, to 73,100 tonnes. SMM estimated that the growth in stock arrivals in contrast to lower shipments from inventories could be attributed to the slight rise in aluminium billet inventories on June 11. The chart below indicates the current status of aluminium billet inventories across China in more details: Nanchang saw a rise in billet inventories of about 2,120 tonnes, while Wuxi and Changzhou witnessed growth of 970 tonnes and 360 tonnes, respectively. Thus, the stocks in Nanchang are presently at 6,220 tonnes and that in Wuxi and Changzhou at 12,300 tonnes and 7,780 tonnes. In...
Prebaked anode price in Southwest China market has edged lower by RMB 150 per tonne. As on Friday, 12 June 2020, prebaked anode price has ranged at RMB 2750-3090 per tonne; the average price stand at RMB 2920 per tonne, after remaining flat at RMB 3070 per tonne since May 6. The prebaked anode price in Northwest China has recorded a drop of RMB 150 per tonne to RMB 3150 per tonne on June12, The price is likely to move within a range of RMB 3050- 3250 per tonne. The average prices of prebaked anode in East and Central markets remain unchanged at RMB 2670 per tonne and RMB 2730 per tonne respectively. A00 aluminium ingot price has registered a drop of RMB 60 per tonne or 0.43 per cent from Thursday’s price of RMB 13860 per tonne. The price now stand at RMB 13800 per tonne on Friday, 12 June...
The US dollar gained on Thursday, June 11 as US stocks plunged amid reduced expectations that the global economy would recover swiftly from the coronavirus pandemic, following Wednesday’s economic outlook from the Federal Reserve. The three-month LME aluminium declined, closing the day 2.03 per cent lower at US$ 1,594 per tonne. On Thursday, June 11, both LME aluminium cash (bid) price and LME official settlement price declined sharply by US$ 31.5 per tonne to stand at US$ 1582 per tonne. 3-months bid price and 3-months offer price decreased by US$ 32.5 per tonne to come in at US$ 1605.5 per tonne. Dec 21 bid price and Dec 21 offer price hovered at US$ 1705 per tonne, down by US$ 30 per tonne from US$ 1735 per tonne. The LME aluminium opening stock decreased from 1541125 tonnes on June 10...
The COVID-19 pandemic has slowed down the restart of the Bécancour Smelter. However, 90% is complete now and more than 200 people have been hired since January’20. Nicole Coutu, General Manager, who also became CEO of Alcoa Canada, admitted that the markets are very difficult. On 11 th June’20, while inaugurating the industrial incubator in Bécancour, Nicole said: "It was already difficult at the end of 2019 and the automotive, aviation and construction markets are greatly affected by the pandemic.” While the restart of the ABI must be completed by the end of the summer, Coutu confirmed that hiring summer students is no longer part of the company's plans. In regards to the management of coronavirus, all measures have been put in place and only one case has been reported at the factory so...
A start-up renewable energy company has invented a low-cost, zero-emissions solution to the problems that occur while the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing. In contraction, the more the world grabs clean energy like solar and wind, the more it must support something remarkably less-clean—diesel fuel or batteries. In a building cut-off from a reliable grid powered by fossil fuel, diesel generators might be used to cover the hours of darkness when solar panels cease providing electricity. An alternative to this is to store the energy generated from the sun during the day in batteries, but along with representing a serious recycling problem, batteries require rare-earth minerals that are obtained from environmentally-destructive mining operations. Jonas Eklind, CEO of Azelio said:...
The primary aluminium ingot inventories in China have continued to trend down today, on June 11, found Shanghai Metals Market. The stocks across eight major consumption areas, including SHFE warrants, have decreased by 60,000 tonnes over the week to stand as low as 787,000 tonnes, following a decline of 46,000 tonnes to 847,000 tonnes last Thursday, June 4. The chart below indicates the current status of primary aluminium inventories across China in more details: The primary aluminium inventories in Wuxi have seen the highest fall today of 41,000 tonnes to 285,000 tonnes, while the stocks in Nanhai have plunged by 17,000 tonnes to stand at 161,000 tonnes. In Gongyi, the inventories have decreased by 3,000 tonnes to 42,000 tonnes and in Hangzhou by 2,000 tonnes to 104,000 tonnes. In...
European aluminium scrap suppliers need to expand their customer base to maintain healthy business levels as manufacturing industries slow against recessionary forces driven by the COVID-19 epidemic. However, it will be a difficult venture with so many consumers facing uncertain futures. Murat Bayram, Director and Head of European Non-Ferrous business at EMR Ltd. said: "Space is limited on the yard and if the metal isn't flowing out anymore, you have to do something," director of European Metal Recycling's (EMR) European non-ferrous business. We will see problems on the aluminium side, not only in autos but in aerospace and others too." The lockdowns imposed in Europe due to the COVID-19 pandemic, reflected scrap generation decline as factory activities remained suspended and third-party...
Rusal, the largest aluminium producer outside China, is seeking alternative routes for sourcing raw materials to its Siberian Achinsk alumina refinery as damaged rail infrastructure has interrupted supplies. Such was the news that came after Rusal reported on Wednesday, June 10. A section of Russian railways, the state-owned railway monopoly, used by Rusal’s Achinsk refinery, was damaged by heavy rains on Sunday, June 7. Railways said the area received half a typical month’s rainfall in 24 hours. Rusal said in a statement that it was corresponding with Russian Railways for an alternative route to the refinery, the largest in Russia. The refinery supplies the ore to Krasnoyarsk aluminium smelter. Rusal also said that as of today, the supply of bauxite and other raw materials to its Achinsk...
The economy of New Zealand is a highly developed free-market economy.[20] It is the 51st-largest national economy in the world when measured by nominal gross domestic product (GDP) and the 67th-largest in the world when measured by purchasing power parity (PPP). New Zealand has a large GDP for its size and population. The major industries constitute food processing, textiles, machinery and transportation equipment, finance, tourism, mining, aluminium, etc. The import of Aluminium plates, sheets and strips of the island nation in the South-western Pacific Ocean demonstrate a uniform growth as the total import volume during 2017-19 has been recorded at 59,301 tonnes and the revenue expended stood at $183.28 million. The import projected for 2020 has also been analysed with positive growth...
Ukraine decreased the import of aluminium ore and concentrate (bauxite) by 9% in January-May’20 compared to the same period in 2019, to 1.945 million tonnes. According to statistics released by the State Customs Service, bauxite imports in monetary terms decreased by 8.2%, to $85.069 million during that period. The import was mainly made from Guinea (67.77% of supplies in monetary terms), Guyana (15.02%) and Ghana (8.49%). In January-May’20, some 70 tonnes of bauxite worth $11,000 were re-exported to Poland, while in January-May 2019 Ukraine supplied 22 tonnes of bauxite worth $1,000 to Poland.
According to a recent report, Vedanta has further increased its aluminium ingot and billet prices with effect from Thursday, June 11, marking the third consecutive growth. While the rate of price hike has increased from the earlier time to 2.77 per cent or INR 3,750 per tonne, the aluminium ingot price of Vedanta is now ranging between INR 139,250 per tonne and INR 152,250 per tonne, compared to INR 135,500-148,500 per tonne on June 6. In the latest hike, Vedanta’s aluminium billet price has also increased by INR 3,750 per tonne or 2.61 per cent to stand at INR 147,250 per tonne. Earlier, after the price growth on June 6, Vedanta’s aluminium billet price was standing at INR 143,500 per tonne. Vedanta’s price hike today follows its aluminium Cost of Production cut report yesterday, on June...
According to Shanghai Metals Market, the average alumina spot price has extended its growth by RMB 9 per tonne to stand at RMB 2,247 per tonne on Thursday, June 11. In the east and central, the price has increased by RMB 10 per tonne to RMB 2,225 per tonne and RMB 2,250 per tonne, while that in the north and south has remained restrained at RMB 2,245 per tonne and RMB 2,520 per tonne, respectively. The imported alumina price has displayed no change as well from RMB 2,190 per tonne, while the price of Australian alumina FOB has grown by US$ 3 per tonne to US$ 255 per tonne. Backed on the rise in the average alumina spot price, the A00 aluminium ingot price has recorded a hike of RMB 40 per tonne to come in at RMB 13,860 per tonne. The average prices are expected to range between RMB 13,840...
The installation of aluminium contact wires through the Severn Tunnel to prevent the corrosion that delayed the project by three years already. The infrastructure manager Network Rail has disclosed that this system has been used in Britain for the first time. The 134 years old tunnel with a stretch of 6.4 km tunnel’s electrification was launched as a part of the Great Western electrification programme in June 2010. The tunnel runs 60 metres beneath the Severn Estuary. Dr Dave Hewings, NR special projects manager said: “Several systems were considered for the tunnel, before an overhead rigid conductor rail system developed by Furrer and Frey, Switzerland, was selected. The system has already been used in many major tunnels in Europe, including the Gotthard Base Tunnel and the Ceneri Base...
