Workers at South32's Worsley Alumina refinery in Western Australia have begun a 48-hour stoppage, seeking greater security over their remuneration and working conditions ahead of Alcoa's planned acquisition of the company's aluminium assets for up to USD 5.6 billion. The industrial action involves members of the Electrical Trades Union (ETU) and the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union (AMWU), with the ownership transition raising concerns over existing employment agreements and incentive payments. The stoppage began on November 10 and coincides with a scheduled shutdown at the refinery's main processing plant. Around 200 union members are employed at the Worsley operation, according to AMWU state secretary Steve McCartney, who said workers wanted their existing earnings protected...
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...
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Hydro announced the company has donated BRL 5 million more to support the construction and maintenance of field hospitals in the Brazilian state for Covid-19 treatment. The hospitals will have 240 new beds to combat the pandemic in the region. Hydro has signed an agreement with the government of the state of Pará to make a second donation. The donation of BRL 5 million adds to BRL 5 million already donated by the company. This will help in the fight against the coronavirus in the municipalities where the company operates. "In addition to initiatives to protect our employees and contractors, we are joining the efforts to prevent and combat the virus, planning our actions through dialogue with local authorities and communities, supporting the main needs at this time," said John Thuestad,...
Gianluca De Ficchy, Chairman, Nissan Europe said: “Nissan intends to close its Barcelona main plant and two nearby facilities starting in December’20, but it will keep open two facilities in northern Spain.” The Chairman also said: "There was no viable solution for the future of the Barcelona factory.” On 28 th May’20, hundreds of workers barricaded the plant followed by the Nissan’s announcement that it would close down the factory as part of a global restructuring plan to reduce costs. The decision came as a blow to Spain at a time when unemployment is spearing and a steep recession is emerging due to COVID-19 pandemic. As per the labour union, the plant and the nearby facilities employ 3,000 workers and the closures could indirectly affect up to 25,000 jobs. The car industry accounts...
Rain Carbon Inc. has joined Aluminium Stewardship Initiative as a General Supporter member. This brings the total number of ASI members to 121. “Rain Carbon Inc. (RCI) is pleased to join ASI in the General Supporter category. As a company whose business model is based on transforming byproducts from other industries into valuable industrial and consumer products, we strongly support the mission of ASI and its role to promote the sustainable production and use of aluminum. RCI is a major raw materials supplier to this industry and we hope to use ASI and its members experience to strengthen and grow our own sustainability initiatives,” said Les Edwards, Vice President Production Control and Technical Services. Rain Carbon Inc. (RCI) is a global leader and innovator in the production of raw...
The average spot alumina price in China is up by RMB 9 per tonne or 0.41 per cent on Friday, 29 May 2020. Alumina price stands at RMB 2213 per tonne, after a decline of RMB 2 per tonne on May 28. Alumina prices remain unchanged across all major markets in China, except North. Alumina price in North China stands at RMB 2225 per tonne on Friday, up RMB 15 per tonne from Thursday. The average price is expected to range within RMB 2200-2250 per tonne. Al Fluoride price has dropped by RMB 200 per tonne to stand at RMB 8000 per tonne, after remaining flat at RMB 8200 per tonne since May 21.The average price is likely to range at RMB 7800-8200 per tonne. A00 aluminium ingot price has increased by RMB 10 per tonne from RMB 13450 per tonne on May 28 and stood at RMB 13460 per tonne today. The...
Switzerland, a country that espouses neutrality, is a prosperous and modern market economy with low unemployment, a highly skilled labour force, and a per capita GDP among the highest in the world. The economy of Switzerland is one of the world's most advanced free-market economies. The service sector has come to play a significant economic role, particularly the Swiss banking industry and tourism and industries like machinery, chemicals, watches, textiles, precision instruments, pharmaceuticals also has a vast contribution towards the economy of the country. The aluminium scrap import of Switzerland in 2017-19 reflected an enterprising market as the total import volume recorded at 181,190 tonnes and the expenditure recorded was $344.12 million. But the projected for 2020 import has been...
The US dollar fell to a two-month trough against a basket of currencies on Thursday. LME aluminium gained 0.6% and SHFE aluminium rose 0.4%. Three-month LME aluminium hit a two-month peak of US$1,541 per tonne. It ended up 0.56% at US$1,538 per tonne. Shanghai Metals Market expects the contract to move between US$1,520-1,560 per tonne today. As of Thursday May 28, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stands at US$ 1500.50 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1500.50 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 1524 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 1524 per tonne; Dec 21 bid price stands at US$ 1635 per tonne, and Dec 21 offer price stands at US$ 1635 per tonne. The LME aluminium opening stock stood at 1493075 tonnes. Live Warrants totalled 1269625 tonnes, and Cancelled...
On 27 th May’20, the mining company, Vedanta Limited made public that credit rating agency, India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) has demoted the long term issuer rating of the company to IND AA- from the earlier rating of IND AA, revising its outlook from stable to negative. The demotion contemplates likely slip in Vedanta's credit profile following a considerable fall in economic activity due to the lockdown imposed by COVID-19, with the balance sheet leverage remaining rose in FY21 and FY22. The negative outlook reflects the risk of an additional spread of the epidemic and the resultant global demand shock, most likely leading to an extended subdued pricing environment. Further, it displays the growing risk of refinancing with material debt repayments soon becoming due at both, Vedanta...
Australia has set in motion three anti-dumping investigations into Chinese export and it includes aluminium, as per records from the Australian Anti-Dumping Commission, adding weight to Beijing’s claims that Canberra has played a lead role in abating up trade tensions between the two nations. The Chinese government has maintained its investigation was thorough and reasonable, with Commerce Minister Zhong Shan pointing out early this week that Australia had launched 100 anti-dumping cases against China since diplomatic relations began in the 1970s, including three in 2020. Australian Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said: “Trade remedy investigations were not about keeping a tally or doing things in a tit-for-tat way”. The Australian Dumping Commission in February’20 kicked-off its first...
Nexans has secured a major contract to design, manufacture and install a 335 km subsea high voltage direct current (HVDC) cable system for Ariadne Interconnection S.P.S.A, owned 100% by IPTO, Greece’s state grid operator. The interconnection will link the electricity network on mainland Greece to Crete. The project will deliver security of supply for the island and enables the transition from fossil fuel generation to renewable wind and solar energy resources. Crete is the largest of the Greek islands, with a population of around 700,000 people. It also attracts over 4 million visitors a year, mainly during the summer. The island currently relies mainly on out-dated fossil fuel generation. The new submarine cable interconnection will ensure that Crete has a reliable power supply essential...
China's social inventories of primary aluminium ingots have expanded their decline today, on May 28, by 7,000 tonnes from the previous week, found Shanghai Metals Market. Last week, on May 21, the inventories plunged by 79,000 tonnes, whereas this week they fell by 86,000 tonnes across eight major Chinese consumption areas, including SHFE warrants, to stand at 893,000 tonnes. This continuous fall in primary aluminium inventories could be attributed to the lower supplies to warehouses in comparison with consumption. The chart below indicates the current status of primary aluminium inventories across China in more details: Wuxi, among all the major Chinese cities, has seen the highest decline of 48,000 tonnes to stand at 354,000 tonnes on May 28, followed by the decline of 21,000 tonnes in...
Hydro announced that it has planned to restructure its operations in the UK due to challenging market conditions. The restructuring is expected to be completed by end 2020. The company has also decided to close the aluminium fabrication business unit in Bromyard. The Bromyard plant has 56 employees. “The activities currently performed in Bromyard will be moved to the Bedwas site in South Wales, enabling streamlining of both materials and operations,” the company said. Hydro will conduct the process in accordance with established agreements with unions and UK legislation.
According to Shanghai Metals Market, the aluminium billet inventories in China have continued to decline this week ending Thursday, May 28, driven by healthy demand and limited arrivals of stocks to warehouses. SMM data shows the aluminium billet inventories have decreased by 15,600 tonnes over the week across five major consumption areas to stand at 77,100 tonnes. Last week, on May 21, the aluminium billet inventories were at 92,800 tonnes after declining by 20,000 tonnes from the week ago. This means the decline this week has slowed down by 4,400 tonnes. The chart below indicates the current status of aluminium billet inventories across China in more details: So, as the above chart shows, Foshan has seen the highest fall of aluminium billet inventories by 9,900 tonnes to stand at...
Chinese aluminium industry’s prosperity index declined to the lowest in April 2020 since the first report launched in November 2015, according to the latest report released by China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association. Decreasing by 1.2 points, the prosperity index of China’s aluminium industry came in at 17.8 points in April, shows the report. Despite the anticipated growth in China’s primary aluminium demand in the coming months along with the estimated recovery in economic activity, the index is likely to remain low for some time to come. This could be primarily due to the uncertainty of the lasting impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the downstream aluminium demand. The COVID-19 outbreak already affected the fixed asset investment in the aluminium smelting industry, leading to a fall by...
Ardagh Group, a leading supplier of value-added, infinitely recyclable, metal and glass packaging solutions, has become a new Downstream Supporter member of Aluminium Stewardship Initiative. This brings the total number of members to 123. “Ardagh Group is proud to be a member of ASI as it enables our team to participate in multi-stakeholder dialogues on responsible aluminium sourcing as well as aligning our sustainable supply chain practices with our regulatory, customer and stakeholder requirements,” the company said. Ardagh Group operates 56 metal and glass production facilities in 12 countries, employing 16,000+ people and has global sales of approximately $7bn. The company holds a 42% interest in Trivium Packaging, a leading supplier of metal packaging to the food & specialty and...
The hardest-hit industrial metals by the COVID-19 epidemic are Aluminium. The London Metal Exchange (LME) reflected the price slammed a four-year low of $1,455 per tonne in April’20 and is brawling to recover, as the last trading marked at $1,525. Inventory has spewed, with 663,475 tonnes of metal placed on LME warrant since the middle of March’20, raising headline exchange stocks to a three-year high of 1,493,775 tonnes. COVID-19 has squeezed both demand and price with a unified producer supply response requirement. The strapped global market dynamics look even worse in North America, where the physical premium has imploded since March’20. So severe has been the collapse that aluminium could be facing its own WTI oil moment with the premium turning negative. In actuality, contrary the...
Vedanta has increased aluminium ingot and billets price on Thursday after cutting the price of same product by more than 1.5% on Wednesday, May 27. With effect from Thursday May 28, the prices of some aluminium ingots are in the range of INR 133,000-146,000 per tonne, marking an increase of INR 1250 per tonne or 0.95% from INR 131,750-144,750 per tonne on May 27. With the latest hike, Vedanta’ billet now stands at INR 141,000 per tonne, an increase of INR 1250 per tonne or 0.89% from INR 139,750 per tonne on May 27. 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 17% so far in 2020 due to slower global demand following the coronavirus outbreak....
On Friday, May 22, China held the most important political event of the year - The National People's Congress (NPC) meetings, also known as “Two Sessions” in Chinese. At the annual gathering, the NEV-related proposals suggest to extend the national subsidies and purchase tax exemption, promoting the popularity of NEVs, opening up the circulation of used NEVs, and facilitating the upgrading of NEV technologies. The suggestions were also on the development of NEVs and related policy support. The China National Democratic Construction Association tabled this proposal, highlighting the acceleration of recycling used NEV power batteries including adjusting the design of top-level power battery recycling, the recycling management system, R&D of recycling technology, and recycling business...
Hydro announced that the company’s part-owned primary aluminium plant Albras has resumed production line in Brazil after a power outage earlier this year. The facility was operating a 25% reduced capacity after a fire in an electrical transformer in March. “The plant’s three other lines were unaffected and there were no injuries. The production line is expected to be operating at normal capacity during 2020,”Hydro said. Albras has a production capacity of 460,000 tonnes per annum. Hydro owns 51% of the shares in this joint venture. The other shareholder is NAAC - Nippon Amazon Aluminum Co. Ltd., formed by a consortium of Japanese companies, trading companies, consumers and manufacturers of aluminium products. The plant produces high purity aluminium and foundry alloys.
