Century Aluminum’s proposed USD 4 billion primary aluminum smelter in Inola, Oklahoma, is “moving forward on all fronts” as the company prepares for construction, despite local opposition and legal challenges, CEO Jesse Gary said during the company’s third-quarter earnings call. Developed jointly by Century Aluminum and Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), the project is designed to produce 750,000 tonnes of primary aluminum annually, potentially doubling U.S. primary aluminum production. The facility is expected to create thousands of direct and indirect jobs and add USD 1.5 billion to Oklahoma’s gross domestic product, according to company estimates. The partners had targeted construction to begin by the end of 2026. However, local restrictions and permitting challenges have affected the...
Aluminium manufacturers are facing a challenge that extends across the entire production chain: improving output and product quality while making better use of raw materials, energy and existing equipment. From recovering metal from complex scrap to controlling billet solidification and achieving precision in rolled products, every stage presents technical demands that influence the efficiency and economics of the final operation. Addressing these demands requires more than conventional machinery. Equipment manufacturers are developing specialised technologies to tackle problems such as low scrap recovery, surface segregation, casting defects, unnecessary metal removal and inconsistent strip flatness. Increasingly, the focus is on improving process control, reducing production losses and...
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Vedanta for the sixth consecutive time has cut its aluminium ingots prices by nearly 1 per cent, with effect from Wednesday, April 1. The company had cut the prices of these products by 2 to 3 per cent. After the cut with effect from April 1, Vedanta is now selling ingots at INR 127,250 per tonne to INR 140,250 per tonne, down by 10 to 11 per cent from that the end of 2019. The last aluminium ingot price cut by Vedanta was with effect from March 27 , which brought the prices to INR 128,500 per tonne to INR 141,500 per tonne, down from INR 131,750-144,750 per tonne on March 24. The billet price after the cut on Wednesday came in at INR 135,250 per tonne, 0.91 per cent lower than INR 136,500 per tonne last week. The Indian aluminium producers generally link their product prices to the...
Multiple US aluminium rolling mills and extrusion plants declared temporary suspensions to their operations this week as the COVID-19 epidemic has continued to disrupt markets and erode demand. Aleris Aluminium at its Lewisport, Kentucky, rolling mill has suspended its production from 30th March’20 until 13th April’20. Jason Saragian, Communications Director of Aleris said: "In response to our major automotive customers announcing temporary production shutdowns, coupled with uncertainty in other markets, we are making the difficult decision to temporarily suspend production at our Lewisport site for two weeks, or until we have worked through the full extent of COVID-19's impact on our customers.” "These are very dedicated and committed employees, and we will remain in close contact with...
The average spot price of alumina witnessed a downward movement over the week. After declining by RMB 18 per tonne on Friday, the price dropped by RMB 33 per tonne and RMB 27 per tonne to RMB 2370 per tonne and RMB 2343 per tonne on March 30 and March 31. The alumina price ended the week lower at RMB 2246 per tonne on Friday, April 3, down RMB 21 per tonne from Thursday. On April 1, the prebaked anode price in the Central recorded a drop of RMB 170 per tonne to RMB 2,890 per tonne, after remaining flat at RMB 3,060 per tonne since March 2. The markets in the southwest and northwest China declined by RMB 170 per tonne each to RMB 3,200 per tonne and RMB 3,430 per tonne. In the east, the prebaked anode price is currently hovering at RMB 2,830 per tonne. Other raw materials like Bauxite...
With the beginning of this week, the US dollar rebounded against major currencies and riskier emerging market units, snapping a week of declines as investors braced for prolonged uncertainty and governments tightened lockdowns and launched monetary and fiscal measures to fight the coronavirus pandemic. However, on Tuesday, March 31, the dollar fell against a basket of major currencies, but again on April 1 advanced, with the index up 0.6 per cent at 99.52. Three-month LME aluminium resumed its downtrend on Monday, March 30, slipping to its lowest since April 2016 at US$ 1,522 per tonne in North American trading hours before closing the day sharply lower at US$ 1,529 per tonne. On March 31, it slipped to the further lowest at US$1,507 per tonne and closed the day at US$1,525.5 per tonne....
Liberty British Aluminium, Britain’s only remaining aluminium smelter, is supporting the fight against COVID-19 by making metal for NHS oxygen bottles. The Fort William plant has assisted with an emergency job to produce 20 tonnes of oxygen bottles for treating coronavirus patients. The order was placed by Bridgnorth Aluminium in Shropshire which usually supplies the pharmaceuticals and food industry. Tonnes of aluminium have been produced by the company’s 160 on-site workers to keep continuing to supply essential sectors. The smelter’s managing director Brian King said: “It’s good to know that we are keeping the supply chain going and contributing to the fight against the virus. It’s a classic example of turning your hand to try to help the situation.” “There are lots of reasons why we...
The Russian aluminium giant Rusal has approved a new long-term aluminium supply contract with Glencore worth up to $16.3 billion, as announced in a Hong-Kong regulatory statement on 03 rd April. The British born Swiss trader and metals producer Glencore Plc has long been one of the principal clients of Hong Kong-listed Rusal, the world's largest aluminium producer outside China. Glencore holds a stake in Rusal parent Group En+. <iframe width="500" height="300" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/G4gK_YvzyuU" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe> Rusal stated that the new contract is set for 2020-24 and can also get extended to 2025. The board of director had already approved the deal in December’19. This...
Ball Corporation has reportedly created a collection of newly designed, infinitely recyclable 250ml cans for Dorset-based UK beverage brand Jimmy’s Iced Coffee (‘Jimmy’s’). With the adoption of aluminium cans, Jimmy’s can achieve its environmental aim of removing plastic from packaging in 2020. Aluminium cans in Europe have an average recycling rate of 75 per cent. The partnership between Ball and Jimmy’s started in 2019 with the launch of the original Flat White in cans. Following that, Jimmy’s worked with Ball to produce three brand-new canned Flat Whites – Skinny, Oat, and Extra Shot Flat White. All three Iced Flat Whites are below 150 calories and come in 250ml infinitely recyclable aluminium cans, with distinctive and fresh designs with two-tone packaging and Jimmy’s timeless new...
Aluminium Corporation of China Limited, popularly known as Chalco, may consider carrying out maintenance or even shut some aluminium production if prices fall below its cash costs, said a company executive on Friday, April 3. With the weak demand for aluminium in China and also across the globe due to the outbreak of COVID19, the social inventories of primary aluminium ingot have been witnessing incessant hikes, resulting in continuous declines in aluminium prices over the past 2 months. On Thursday, April 2, aluminium prices in Shanghai hit a more than four-year low of RMB 11,250 per tonne. However, as far as the alumina production is concerned, Chalco’s Finance Chief Wang Jun said that there had been no change in Chalco’s production capacity for alumina. He also said the company would...
Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) declared that: “outbreak of COVID- 19 is currently hitting Ghana’s economy as there are indications that aspects of the Sinohydro deal will be delayed.” CDD-Ghana has raised concerns regarding the need for the government to initiate socio-economic reforms to mitigate the effects of Coronavirus on the country’s economy. The statement also stated: “as a net consumer of goods and services, any disruptions in the global economy ripples down to Ghana. Currently, there are indications that the aspects of the Sinohydro Bauxite agreement will be delayed due to disruptions in the Chinese economy. Should this happen, this could have a significant impact on the government’s development agenda.” The Sinohydro Bauxite Project is expected to bring...
The land of Pyramid’s, Egypt, has been reflecting positively for aluminium foil importation market during 2017-19. The total importation for aluminium foil remained at 87,626 tonnes during 2017-19. The projected for 2020 though shows a dip of 7%, whereas when the total import quantity adds up with estimated value it stands at 116,932 tonnes. The top trading partners for aluminium foil import for Egypt are China, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, India, Saudi Arabia, Belgium, UAE, Austria, etc. Egypt’s total importation of aluminium foil in 2017 stood at 26,608 tonnes, whereas in 2018 it rose to 29,539 tonnes, growth by 11.01%. The excess quantity reflected as 2931 tonnes. In 2019 the aluminium foil import tended positive with growth by 6.56%, as the total volume of import stood at 31,479...
Toyota Motor Corporation has reportedly won the Okochi Memorial Production Prize in the 66th (2019) Okochi Memorial Prize awards for developing an innovative aluminium casting technology. The technology is for improving the plant environment and product functionality. The award has been presented in the acknowledgement of remarkable achievements by Toyota related to research and development, and application of production engineering, production technology, and production systems annually. Toyota says this is the 12 th Okochi Memorial Prize for the company. <iframe width="500" height="300" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vy9PSvTXBtE" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe> This innovation by the Japanese...
According to the latest Reuters update, the premium for aluminium shipments to Japanese buyers has been set at $82 per tonne for April to June. The premium is lower by 1.2 per cent from the last quarter, reported sources involved in market pricing. Japan is the biggest importer of aluminium in Asia and the premiums it agrees to pay for primary aluminium shipments for each quarter over the cash price settled at the London Metal Exchange (LME) set the benchmark for the region. During January-March quarter, the premiums for aluminium shipments were $83 per tonne. This marks the third consecutive quarterly drop. The premiums for Q2 2020 are also lower than the initial offers of $98-$105 made by producers. “We have struck all deals at $82 a tonne by early this week,” a source at an aluminium...
JISCo Alpart Jamaica’s efforts to contain dust pollution from the bauxite/alumina waste disposal area, popularly known as the red mud lake, have received guarded thumbs up from political representatives. The news came after the Member of Parliament for St Elizabeth South Eastern Frank Witter told on Tuesday, March 31, “They (JISCo Alpart) have more work to do, but from what I have seen, the situation in March was a great improvement on how it was before.” Writter also said the efforts by Jiuquan Iron and Steel (Group) Co Ltd (JISCo), since late December, to control dust from 660-acre red mud lake with the use of a mix of anti-dust “mesh” covering, dust suppressants, and huge volumes of water, appeared to have helped considerably. Councillor Layton Smith (People's National Party (PNP),...
Hydro has postponed the restart of 95, 000 tonnes capacity at the Husnes aluminium plant in Norway. The ramp-up, which was planned to start in the first half of 2020, is now postponed to the third quarter of 2020 at the earliest. The company has also decided to freeze around 25 percent of remaining capital expenditure in 2020 by NOK 2 billion. Hydro has reduced cost across the company, including forced vacations, delaying projects, and temporary layoffs. President and CEO Hilde Merete Aasheim said: “With forceful mitigating actions and contingency plans across the company, we will continue operations to the extent possible, keeping the wheels turning, to the benefit of our people, our business, local communities and society at large.” “We will continuously evaluate further measures as the...
The average spot alumina price in China has dropped by RMB 21 per tonne or 0.93 per cent on Friday, 03 April 2020, after a decline of RMB 66 per tonne on Thursday. The price now stands at RMB 2246 per tonne today. The drop in alumina prices has continued in all other major markets in China, except South. The average prices of Alumina-East and Alumina-Central have reduced by RMB 7 per tonne and RMB 15 per tonne to stand at RMB 2260 per tonne each. Their average prices are expected to range at RMB 2240-2280 per tonne and RMB 2240-2280 per tonne. The price in North stands at RMB 2230 per tonne, down RMB 20 per tonne. South China markets remain unchanged at RMB 2520 per tonne. Aluminium Fluoride price in China stands at RMB 9300 per tonne, down RMB 200 per tonne after remaining flat at RMB...
Three-month LME aluminium rallied from a new four-year trough of US$ 1,481 per tonne touched in North American trading hours, finishing the day higher at US$ 1,504 per tonne. The build-up of long positions primarily accounted for the gains on the day. LME aluminium is expected to continue to trade at US$ 1,480 per tonne to US$ 1,530 per tonne today. As of Thursday, April 2, both LME aluminium cash (bid) price and LME official settlement price declined from US$ 1463.50 per tonne to US$ 1448.50 per tonne. 3-months bid price and 3-months offer price slipped to US$ 1482.50 per tonne from US$ 1498 per tonne, while Dec 21 bid price and Dec 21 offer price stood at US$ 1618.50 per tonne. The LME aluminium opening stock stood at 1210475 tonnes. Live Warrants totalled at 1062750 tonnes, and...
The new Rolls-Royce Ghost will be reinforced by a new manifested platform that has been developed in-house but will share quite a few components with the Phantom and Cullinan. The new aluminium platform equipped in the ghost will make the model lighter than the outgoing one. Rolls-Royce has been testing the new-generation Ghost which is expected to go on sale globally by the end of 2020. The spook pictures of the new Rolls-Royce Ghost undergoing testing in winter conditions have come out. Looking at the heavily camouflaged prototype, normally we can’t see too much difference in its appearance when compared to its predecessor. The headlights are sleeker and the taillights too look tad angular. The model is of the long-wheelbase model which is 1700 mm longer than the standard-wheelbase...
Turmec has reportedly designed, supplied, and installed an advanced MRF plant in Wiltshire to treat kerbside collected comingled recyclable materials picked from around 220,000 households across the region. The plant will have the capacity to process 20 tonnes per hour of dry mixed recyclables, ensuring a high-quality separation of recycled materials is achieved. Turmec’s advanced sorting equipment includes various screens with optical and magnet elements to maximise the recovery of paper, cardboard, plastic bottles, plastic pots, tubs and trays, steel and aluminium cans, food and drink cartons. The MRF’s plant and personnel are ready to recover materials of the highest quality for reprocessing. Comingled recyclables will be sorted in a single pass into 10 separate products for recycling....
