Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin) has proposed an integrated bauxite mining and processing project worth VND 5.2 trillion (USD 208 million) in Lam Dong province, Vietnam. Currently under appraisal by provincial authorities, it is designed to produce around 3 million tonnes of refined bauxite ore annually, reinforcing raw material requirements at the Nhan Co Aluminium Plant and the planned expansion of its alumina operations. Located in the Nhan Co Cluster, the proposal spans over 6,666 hectares. Of this, approximately 5,269 hectares are earmarked for mining and around 50 hectares for the ore processing plant. The project also includes five post-processing sludge reservoirs covering about 1,120 hectares, alongside the 318-hectare Dak Buk So 8 water reservoir. A...
Aluminium production depends on high-temperature processes where furnace efficiency, thermal management and equipment durability are essential for maintaining operational performance. However, refractory materials used in melting, holding and casting operations face continuous exposure to extreme temperatures, thermal fluctuations, chemical corrosion and mechanical wear. These conditions can lead to premature furnace-lining failure, molten-metal penetration, corundum formation and heat loss, increasing maintenance requirements and operating costs. Addressing these challenges requires materials that can withstand demanding operating conditions while keeping equipment efficient and reliable. Alkegen, a supplier of high-temperature refractory and insulation materials, serves this requirement...
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Engaged in processing aluminium primarily in China, the company named Xinjiang Joinworld Co. Ltd., reportedly revealed its plan of building an alumina refinery in Guinea. The news came when Xinjiang Joinworld announced its project plan worth US$ 831 million after a filing to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on Monday, December 3. Per the report, the plant will be built in the next one month in a special economic zone in the vicinity of the coastal city of Boffa. It will have a 27-year lifespan, raking in US$69 million per year from refining bauxite into alumina. Reportedly, the company itself will cover the cost of one quarter approximately or US$ 240 million of the construction. The remaining cost will be funded via loans and other debt vehicles. “The Guinea project will ensure sufficient...
China Customs data found that yuan’s depreciation, as well as trade uncertainty in the overseas market demand, prompted firms to rush out shipments and drove up unwrought aluminium and aluminium products exports in November 2018. Per the data, China exported 536,000 tonnes of unwrought aluminium and aluminium products in November, up some 54,000 tonnes from October. This means China’s unwrought aluminium and aluminium products exports in October stood at 482,000 tonnes. Hence, China’s November aluminium exports registered a growth of 11 per cent month-on-month. This month-on-month increase in exports of aluminium came after three consecutive months of declines. In the same period last year, China had exported around 316,204 tonnes of aluminium, which means this year in November, the...
Hindalco Industries has moved the Bombay high court against a Maharashtra State Pollution Control Board (MSPCB) order directing it to shut down its bauxite mine at Dhangarwadi in Kolhapur district for alleged violation of Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act. On November 29, the court stayed the pollution control board’s order until 11 December. “We are inclined to grant ad interim relief to the petitioner as the petitioner’s unit at Dhangarwadi is directed to be closed with immediate effect,” said the division bench of the Bombay high court. This means the company is expected to get a temporary relief from the court. Hindalco was ordered immediate closure of the bauxite unit by the MSPCB on 27 November. The board also ordered disconnection of water and electricity supply to the...
The US dollar fell on Friday after the release of weaker-than-expected monthly job report. LME and SHFE base metals ended in the black on Friday night. LME aluminium jumped over 1% SHFE aluminium rose 0.55%. After dropping to US$ 1945 per tonne on Thursday December 6, LME aluminium recovered the losses and closed at US$ 1962 per tonne on Friday. Then the contract jumped past the 40-day moving average to a high of US$1,977 per tonne on Friday night after the US dollar slid. It closed at US$1,963 tonne, near the five-day moving average. We expect it to continue to move among moving averages with a trading range of US$1,945-1,970 per tonne today. As on December 7, Friday, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1961 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1962 per tonne;...
After four consecutive drops since the beginning of the month, the A00 aluminium ingot price has rebounded today, on December 10, and jumped from RMB 13,500 per tonne, as of December 7, to RMB 13,590 per tonne, Shanghai Metals Market found. This marks a growth by RMB 90 per tonne. The average prices are expected to range between RMB 13,570 per tonne to RMB 13,610 per tonne, with spot discount remaining the same at RMB 20 per tonne. As the increase in ingot prices have touched all the major markets in China, markets in the east -Wuxi have recorded a growth of ingot price by RMB 105 per tonne to stand at RMB 13,595 per tonne and that in Hang Zhou have registered a rise by RMB 100 per tonne to clock at RMB 13,625 per tonne. The ingot prices in the south and north, on the other hand, have...
A Press release from Aluminum Association confirms that The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) determined that the unfairly-traded imports of common alloy aluminium sheet from China have harmed the business of U.S. producers. The U.S. Department of Commerce will impose antidumping duties ranging from 49.85 to 59.72 percent and countervailing duties ranging from 46.48 to 116.49 percent on their import. The USITC’s determination has successfully completed the investigations initiated by the Department of Commerce in November 2017. “Rules are essential to a functioning global trading system and businesses as well as workers must have confidence that rules are enforced fairly and consistently,” said Aluminum Association President & CEO Heidi Brock. “Today’s unanimous decision...
Heesen Yachts, in collaboration with Arcon Yachts, which introduced the client, has reportedly sold its 50-metres superyacht Project Aster. Project Aster, also known as Hull YN18750 is the seventh iteration of the Heesen 5000 Aluminium class, designed by Frank Laupman of Omega Architects. It is the third yacht sold by the company this year, adding up to a total of 190 linear metres and 3,259GT. “The whole concept started in about 2011 with the delivery of Satori [now Septimus ],” said Cavendish of the class. “She was the first one and she won multiple awards, so that kicked off the whole thing for a very good start, and since then we’ve consistently delivered one a year on average.” The boat features six staterooms including a main deck master suite and five lower deck cabins and has...
According to a report, over 37 tonnes of recyclable materials have been collected by more than 58 schools in Perlis in the first Perils Recycling Campaign 2018. The schools in Perils had taken up this challenge of collecting recyclable materials for advocating best recycling practices during the campaign co-organised by Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd (F&N), Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Corporation (SWCorp) in Perlis, with the state Education Department and the support of state National Unity and Integration Department. The campaign was held during the first half of the year from Jan 1 to July 31, aiming at educating and creating awareness on the importance of applying the 5R philosophy - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rethink and Reinvent in conserving the environment and reducing...
According to the latest report from Aluminum Association, aluminium net shipments (including exports) by domestic U.S. and Canadian facilities increased 6.7 per cent YoY to stand at an estimated 1 million tonnes during October. The October 2017 shipment stood at 933,946 tonnes. Out of the total shipments, aluminium mill product shipments rose 6 per cent over the previous year to 667,234 tonnes. Shipments of aluminium ingot for castings, exports and destructive uses increased 8 per cent year-over-year to 328,401 tonnes. For the period of January to October 2018, preliminary total producer shipments increased about three per cent to an estimated 9.4 million tonnes over the 2017 year-to-date total. October inventory levels stood at an estimated 1.5 million tonnes, slightly up over the...
According to Shanghai Metals Market, China’s total alumina production in November came in at 6.08 million tonnes, with average daily output at 203,000 tonnes. This marked a growth by 6.7 per cent from a year ago and 4.1 per cent from a month earlier. The entire production from January to November, thus, totalled at 64.3 million tonnes, 2.3 per cent higher than the same period last year. New and expanded alumina capacity in Shanxi and Henan provinces, as well as production commencement after maintenance in Guizhou and Shanxi accounted for the increase, SMM learned. Eased supply tightness of raw materials in Shanxi also drove the production. In Shanxi, however, November alumina output lowered due to maintenance across refineries, electric power plants, and baking furnaces. Visit of the...
China’s primary aluminium production for the month of November 2018 stood at nearly 2.96 million tonnes, an increase of 1.8 per cent from a year ago. However, daily average production in November dropped 1.8% month on month to 99,000 tonnes, according to the data shared by Shanghai Metals Market. As of the end of November, there were about 36 million tonnes of primary aluminium capacity in operation across China, an increase of 645,000 tonnes Year on Year. Operating rates dipped 2.9 percentage points from a month ago 85.7% in November. Losses across aluminium smelters resulted in their capacity cuts, at around 2.3 million tonnes currently. There is another 460,000 tonnes of capacity facing cutbacks. New capacity commissioned at slower paces, with expanded capacity in Inner Mongolia,...
According to an Automotive News China report, Electric-vehicle startup NIO is on target to sell 10,000 vehicles in 2018. The company launched its first product the seven-seat ES8 crossover, in June. The company said that in November, it delivered 3,089 ES8s to the market, registering a 96 per cent increase from October 2018. The ES8 comes with a starting price of RMB 448,000 ($65,211). The November sales number brought total sales volume of the ES8 to 8,030 from June to November. From Dec. 1, Nio has started booking orders for its second EV model, the ES6, a five-seat crossover with a tentative starting price of RMB 370,000. Both ES8 and ES6 are assembled at Jianghuai Automobile Co., a state-owned automaker in the east China city of Hefei. Nio signed a manufacturing contact with Jianghuai...
Microdrones, a manufacturer and supplier of customized and intelligent UAV/drone solutions in Germany, has announced it has merged with Schübeler Technologies, a provider of robust turbo fans, jets, compressors, pumps, electric motors, carbon fiber and aluminium composites. Daniel Schübeler, Founder and CEO of Schübeler Technologies stated: “Merging with Microdrones empowers us to develop and deliver systems where we can best support customers locally. This is a happy homecoming for me and the team that we’ve built over the past twenty years.” “Both of these companies have enjoyed global growth and impressive technological advancements independently- merging our talents and teams will yield amazing solutions in the years to come.” Schübeler products provide thrust power and lightweight...
AlCircle has launched a brief Region Focus Report – “ Guinea and Sierra Leone; Two Growing Investment Hubs in West Africa” into its 2018 Report portfolio. Africa has more than its fair share of small poor economies because of fragmentation that it inherited from European colonizers. It has become a continent most prone to ethnic-based conflicts which stand as a hurdle in the path to development along with numerous political, socio-economical and medical issues that ravage the countries in this continent. Yet, African countries have some of the richest mineral reserves which have not been explored due to the existing problems. Despite West Africa’s enormous investment potential, its integration into the global economy is low. One sign of this is that the region captures only 5% of Africa’s...
Mo Xinda, division chief of China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association (CNIA), pointed out at SMM Al-Si Summit on Thursday, December 6, that China would have to seek more opportunities to expand aluminium consumption domestically and abroad as trade disputes with the United States lowered aluminium product exports in 2018. China, however, has a record of maintaining a trade surplus in aluminium materials exports since 2005, she added while addressing delegates at the SMM 2018 SMM Aluminium-Silicon Summit in Guangzhou, Guangdong province. 2018 witnessed a significant plunge in aluminium products exports by China owing to trade disputes with the United States, which otherwise was the biggest destination of Chinese aluminium products in 2017, Mo said. Chinese exports of aluminium foil to...
Aluminium imports by the USA for consumption stood at 4.81 million tonnes during nine months period 2018, down 460,000 tonnes or 9% from 5.27 million tonnes during nine months period 2017, according to the latest Mineral Industry Survey report from US Geological Survey. In September, the USA imported 473,000 tonnes of aluminium for consumption, down 21000 tonnes or 4% from 494,000 tonnes in September 2017. {newsStudioGallery} Imports of crude metal and alloys and scrap dropped by 480,000 tonnes YoY and 4,000 tonnes YoY respectively during nine months period 2018. But imports of semi-fabricated products increased by 30,000 tonnes in comparison to the same period of 2017. Total crude metal and alloys, Semi-fabricated products and scrap imports stood at 3.23 million tonnes, 1 million tonnes...
Freight rates to carry a 59,000 tonnes bauxite cargo from Kamsar, Guinea to San Ciprian, Spain on a Panamax-size vessel recorded a plunge to a 21-week low of US$ 10 per tonne amidst over-tonnage in the West African region, as reported on November 29. According to S&P Global Platts data, the freight rates dropped since hitting an all-time high of US$ 13 per tonne on October 16, by US$ 3 per tonne or 23 per cent. Market participants’ survey concludes that ships opening up in South Africa face difficulty in finding cargoes if they ballast to South America due to the current oversupply of tonnage on the Brazilian coast. Owing to this, owners looked further north to West Africa, resulting in too many ships with not sufficient cargo for owners to find cover. "On top of bunker sliding, Kamsar is...
A new mixed-use development in the heart of a historic part of Leicester in the recent time has reportedly received a modern makeover. Thanks to the range of aluminium fenestration solutions that have been used for the remodelling from Senior Architectural Systems. The building, located in the New Walk area of the city on the site of the former council offices, is designed by Franklin Ellis Architects and features office space, residential apartments, and ground floor retail units. Besides Senior Architectural Systems, John Sisk, with whom Senior has an established supplier agreement, and specialist contractor Elite Aluminium Systems have also worked for the makeover of the building. To maximise the benefits of supply chain collaboration and value engineering, Senior’s experienced team of...
