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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The US dollar edged lower against a basket of currencies on Wednesday. LME aluminium closed higher and SHFE aluminium rose 0.9%. Three-month LME aluminium advanced to US$1,534 per tonne. It closed up 0.5% at US$1,529.5 per tonne. Shanghai Metals Market expects the contract to move between US$1,500-1,540 per tonne today. As of Wednesday May 27, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stands at US$ 1504per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1504 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 1527.50 per tonne, 3-months offer price is US$ 1527.50 per tonne; Dec 21 bid price stands at US$ 1638.50 per tonne, and Dec 21 offer price stands at US$ 1638.50 per tonne. The LME aluminium opening stock stood at 1493775 tonnes. Live Warrants totalled 1269625 tonnes, and Cancelled Warrants were...
According to Shanghai Metals Market, the average spot price of alumina has dropped today, on May 28, after remaining restrained at RMB 2,206 per tonne for almost two weeks during May 14-27. The price is now hovering at RMB 2,204 per tonne, registering a decline of RMB 2 per tonne. However, except the north of China where the price has decreased by RMB 5 per tonne to RMB 2,210 per tonne, the average alumina spot price in the east, central, and south has remained unchanged at RMB 2,190 per tonne, RMB 2,200 per tonne, and RMB 2,520 per tonne, respectively. Also, the prices of imported alumina and Australian alumina FOB have remained restrained at RMB 2,190 per tonne and US$ 246 per tonne. But despite the drop in alumina price, the A00 aluminium ingot price has recorded growth today of RMB...
The Bahamas is comprised of 700 islands and over 2000 rocks and cays, sprinkled over 100,000 square miles of ocean. The Bahamas has a predominantly market economy that is heavily dependent on tourism and international financial services. The gross national product (GNP) per capita is one of the highest in the region. The most important economic sector is financial services, which places the Bahamas among the world's leading financial centres. Major industries include tourism, banking, cement, oil refining and transhipment, salt production, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, and spiral-welded steel pipe. The island nation’s aluminium structures import has shown a steady move during 2017-19 as the total import volume has been recorded at 1967 tonnes and foreign revenue expended stood at $16.88...
Constellium SE made published today that it delivers Auto Body Sheet for the new Toyota Corolla produced at Toyota’s European manufacturing plants. Constellium was recommended as the solitary supplier of Auto Body Sheet for the hood of the new Corolla, produced at the automaker’s facilities in Burnaston, UK, and Arifiye, Turkey. This is for the first time Toyota is using aluminium for this series on its European production lines. Dieter Höll, Vice President of Global Automotive Rolled Products at Constellium Said: “We are very proud of this successful collaboration with Toyota and are honoured to be supplying one of the world’s best-selling vehicles. Toyota and Constellium have partnered for many years to develop innovative aluminium solutions for Toyota’s new models, tailored to their...
After raising aluminium prices for the three times in a row, Vedanta has reduced both aluminium ingots and billets prices as of Wednesday, May 27. After the cut, Vedanta’s aluminium ingot prices are ranging between INR 131,750 per tonne and INR 144,750 per tonne, down by INR 2,250 per tonne or 1.68 per cent from INR 134,000-147,000 per tonne on May 22. Vedanta’s aluminium ingots prices on May 22 were up by INR 2,000 per tonne or 1.5 per cent from INR 132,000-145,000 per tonne on May 20. With the latest cut, Vedanta’s aluminium billets prices have lowered to INR 139,750 per tonne compared to INR 142,000 per tonne on May 22. This means the billets prices have also been reduced by INR 2,250 per tonne. On May 22, Vedanta’s aluminium billets prices had increased by INR 2,000 per tonne from INR...
Guinea Shipping Corporation (GSC) has announced the appointment of Bernt Meldgaard Christensen as the company’s new executive chairman. Christensen succeeds his brother Henrik, who founded the company in 2010 and passed away recently. Christensen said: “Henrik had the vision to build a shipping line for Guinea; that also provides a platform to help develop the country’s maritime industry. I will carry on with that work and strengthen our ties with Guinea’s maritime sector to help local people build careers as international seafarers.” GSC has appointed Paul Bevan as its director in Hong Kong. GSC plans to deliver a range of marine logistics services for several new mining companies that are starting production in Guinea in 2020 and 2021. GSC is committed to starting a training ship for...
ALVANCE Aluminium Group, GFG Alliance’s global aluminium division, has announced today, on May 27, that it has appointed Guillaume de Goÿs as new Chief Operating Officer. The primary responsibility of Mr Goÿs will be to drive the group’s expansion and synergies across its upstream and downstream activities. Guillaume de Goÿs is one of the notable figures in the French Aluminium Sector, with experience in Aluminium Dunkerque as Managing Director. He also served Carbone Savoie, Rio Tinto Alcan, and Michelin with senior roles in countries like Cameroon, Poland, the US, and Thailand. Commenting on the appointment, GFG Alliance’s Chief Operating Officer Arnaud de Weert said: “I am delighted to announce the appointment of Guillaume de Goÿs as ALVANCE’s new COO. Guillaume’s experience, forged...
Multiple industries including automobile, aviation and construction have been catastrophically affected, accordingly diminishing the demand for aluminium that is hugely used in these industries. Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd will be focusing on its upstream investments and expansion of its smelting operation as building blocks for its future amid the current tumultuous economic environment created by the Covid-19 epidemic and US-China trade dispute. In its recently published 2019 Annual Report, Press Metal acknowledged the challenges that the company would face this year due to the epidemic that continues to hit hard the market today. Press Metal said: “Our upstream investments and smelting operation expansion are the building blocks towards our future growth. We are confident that...
According to a recent report, the Commerce Department of the United States has asked for public inputs to streamline the exclusion process for tariffs and quotas on aluminium and steel imposed by the Trump administration in 2018. The department’s Bureau of Industry and Security has opened commentary today and will accept input on the process through July 10. This follows the Aluminum Association’s call for urgent reforms to the Commerce Department’s aluminum Section 232 tariff exclusion system. The Association had pointed out that the system was forcing US aluminium companies into conflict with customers and suppliers, adding layers of bureaucratic burden and providing a price advantage to foreign aluminum manufacturers. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said, “The Department of Commerce is...
According to Shanghai Metals Market, the A00 aluminium ingot price has declined by RMB 10 per tonne to stand at RMB 13,350 per tonne, as of Wednesday, May 27, after two consecutive rises from RMB 13,150 per tonne to RMB 13,360 per tonne. The average prices are expected to range between RMB 13,330 per tonne and RMB 13,370 per tonne, with spot contract to be traded at a premium price of RMB 70-110 per tonne. Foshan has seen the highest fall today of RMB 30 per tonne to RMB 13,520 per tonne, followed by the growth of RMB 20 per tonne in Shenyang to RMB 13,295 per tonne. In Chongqing and Linyi, the A00 aluminium ingot price has dipped by RMB 10 per tonne to RMB 13,380 per tonne and RMB 13,360 per tonne, respectively. However, since the downfall in A00 aluminium ingot price has not touched...
Croatia is a country in Southeast Europe. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro to the southeast, sharing a maritime border with Italy. The Croatian economy is one of the strongest economies in Southeast Europe. The industrial sector with exports of over €10 billion annually is dominated by shipbuilding which accounts for over 10% of exported goods. Food processing and chemical industry also account for significant portions of industrial output and exports. The industrial sector represents 27% of Croatia's total economic output while agriculture represents 6%. The industrial sector is responsible for 25% of Croatia's GDP. The aluminium cans export market of Croatia during 2017-19 has shown a rapid rise as...
Tasmania will be hosting the southern hemisphere's first production of lucrative aluminium fluoride. The project can crop up the possibilities to deliver an annual revenue stream of about $20 million, and that too before its potential expansion. The initiatives for a production facility at Bell Bay were augmented by the recent results of chemical analysis from The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), an Australian federal government agency responsible for scientific research. ALCORE Limited is an 89% owned subsidiary of Tasmanian miner Australian Bauxite Limited. It stated: “CSIRO laboratory results showed aluminium fluoride produced by its research centre in New South Wales was of commercial chemical grades.” ALCORE said: “Its method involved the world's...
The US dollar slipped on Tuesday as risk sentiment returned to the market amid a reopening world economy and this subdued demand for the safe-haven currency. Three-month LME aluminium climbed and found steady support from US$ 1,520 per tonne ending the day 1.2 per cent higher at US$ 1,521.5 per tonne. Bullish prospects for demand may keep prices between US$ 1,500 per tonne and US$ 1,540 per tonne today. As of Tuesday, May 26, LME aluminium cash (bid) price and LME official settlement price stood at US$ 1486 per tonne, up by US$ 13 per tonne from US$ 1473 per tonne on Friday, May 22. 3-months bid price and 3-months offer price increased from US$ 1498.50 per tonne to US$ 1513 per tonne. Dec 21 bid price and Dec 21 offer price hovered at US$ 1629.50 per tonne compared to US$ 1616 per tonne...
RUSAL a leading global aluminium producer made public that it has started producing anodes for cathodic protection (CP) for the oil and gas, shipbuilding and other heavy industries to protect critical structures and metal objects from corrosion. The move forms part of RUSAL’s strategy to produce more value-added products (VAP) from aluminium alloys with enhancing performance attributes. The anodes will be manufactured at the Volgograd aluminium smelter. The smelter will produce five types of anodes from Zn-Mn aluminium alloy, which delivers upgraded product performance and long-lasting protection of metal objects from corrosion in hostile and challenging operating environments. The initial capacity of the site will be 50 tonnes per month; however, this can be increased if demand for the...
Altech Chemicals has delivered a positive outcome from high purity alumina research activities administered by Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. The Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems (IKTS) of Dresden, Germany, specializes in lithium-ion battery research. This research focused on assessing how impurities, such as sodium, leach from lower quality alumina (sub-4N), and boehmite into a battery electrolyte solution. This is a cause of lithium-ion battery thermal truant, inefficiency, and life cycle reduction. As the lithium-ion battery industry continues to diversify, some producers have opted for cheaper low-grade alumina and boehmite as a coating material for battery separators. Results from Fraunhofer's test work have uncovered previously unrecognized contamination and...
According to the United States Geological Survey data, the US aluminium crude and alloy imports from Australia saw a downfall in February by 51.75 per cent month-on-month to stand at 9,650 tonnes. Year-on-year, the imports were down by 49.74 per cent. In February 2019, the US aluminium crude and alloy imports from Australia were 19,200 tonnes. In January 2020, the United States aluminium crude and alloy imports from Australia were 20,000 tonnes, up 71 per cent from 11,700 tonnes in December. In November 2019, the imports were 13,600 tonnes, meaning December saw a drop of 14 per cent from the previous month in the United States aluminium crude and alloy imports from Australia. The United States total aluminium crude and alloy imports in January and February combined were 29,400 tonnes,...
In the wake of the plummeting auto sales across the country over the past two months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the automobile industry in Madhya Pradesh has appealed the government to provide stimulus to the sector and grant it the status of MSME (micro small medium enterprises). The nationwide lockdown since March 25 induced losses of over INR 1,000 crore in GST and INR 30 crore in road tax. On an average, 7,000 two-wheelers and 2,000 four wheelers have been sold in Bhopal. The lockdown served a fatal blow to the industry which was already witnessing a slow business before the COVID-19 outbreak. This is also believed to have affected the metal industry, including aluminium. Due to the lower demand and purchase of automobiles, many auto companies have cut production, leading to the...
Lindian Resources’ Managing Director Shannon Green has resigned from the company and stated due to personal reasons. Still, he will remain at the company until the end of June’20 to ensure a smooth leadership transition. Shannon joined Lindian Resources only 12 months ago from bauxite development company Canyon Resources, where he was General Manager of Position Implementation. In this role, he played an important part in the development of the Minim Martap Bauxite Project in Cameroon. Green has over 20 years of resource development and mining operations experience, having managed several world-class project developments and mines in Australia. Shannon has also had extensive experience working in Guinea, having held the role of General Manager of Project Delivery with Alliance Mining...
