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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The state-owned National Aluminium Company (Nalco) announced its plan for Brownfield expansion by five lakh tonnes and Greenfield by six lakh tonnes per annum in the next few years. The navaratna company, which at present produces 4.6 lakh tonnes of primary aluminium, eyes to establish a Greenfield refinery with a production capacity of 1.4 million tonnes or 2 million tonnes in Visakhapatnam. The investment, according to the company, required would be INR 7000 crore to INR 12000 crore. The smelter plant and the captive plant would reportedly involve additional investment. Mentioning about the clearance for investment in the Visakhapatnam project, Nalco Chairman and Managing Director T.K. Chand told The Hindu on Wednesday, November 21, that for the five-lakh tonne Brownfield expansion, the...
The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) has urged the Government to include drink cans and bottles in deposit return scheme (DRS). CPRE said its volunteers in the Green Clean collected a total of 11,212 cans and bottles of all shapes, sizes and materials. Of these, 35% were plastic, 50% were aluminium, 14% glass and 1% Tetra Pak. “The data resulting from the Green Clean events will help the Government as it designs England’s ‘deposit return system’, which – if properly set up to collect every drinks can and bottle – will provide a simple solution to recycling confusion and boost recycling rates for drinks container waste to more than 90%, CPRE said. source: www.cpre.org.uk Samantha Harding, Litter Programme Director at the Campaign to Protect Rural England, said:‘By introducing a...
According to the latest data released by China’s National Bureau of Statistics, China’s production of alumina in October dropped by 2.7% month on month to 5.65 million tonnes. The total alumina output in the first ten months of 2018 now stands at 56.58 million tonnes. However, YTD alumina output still up 3.9% year on year. Shanghai Metals Market updated in the beginning of November that alumina production in China increased 0.3 per cent year on year to about 6 million tonnes in October 2018. The average daily production stood at 195,000 tonnes, down 1.7 per cent from September. However, NBS confirmed that the actual production rate dropped in the month of October. The fall in output is attributed to the on-month decline to feeble demand from aluminium smelters. This was further affected...
According to an update from Shanghai Metals Market, Dazhou town in Henan province required all secondary aluminium producers to suspend their operations for installing environmental equipment. There are about 50 secondary aluminium producers in the town and most produce nonstandard products with a capacity below 2,000 mt/year. The current installation progress suggests that plants can resume output as early as December. However, fortunately, this round of output suspension is expected to have minimal impact on the overall aluminium market amid the current quiet trading liquidity as most local plants have adequate stocks of finished goods. On the other hand, another update came to our way from the provincial ministry of ecology and environment that 10 cities in China’s northern province of...
The UAE’s Minister of Economy Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri said on Tuesday, November 20, that his country would resolve aluminium and steel tariffs with U.S. as the balance of trade is in favour of the United States. “I hope next year we will resolve it. We will continue to explain our case," Al Mansouri said on the sidelines of an event in Abu Dhabi. Earlier this year, US President Donald Trump imposed import tariffs of 10 per cent on aluminium and 10 per cent on steel, and negotiations have been going on between the two countries to exempt UAE from the import tariffs. Al Mansouri said that Willbur Ross, Secretary of Commerce in the US, promised to look into the issue of aluminium and staff tariffs. The UAE is the United States’ third-most-prolific source of aluminium, after Canada and...
Tesla Inc. has started booking orders for its Model 3 sedan in China for a deposit of RMB 8,000 ($1,153), as confirmed by the electric carmaker's China website. Tesla’s less expensive electric car Model 3 is built with a mix of steel and aluminium in the body structure to keep the weight as well as the cost low. "Probably some deliveries in March, but April is more certain," CEO Elon Musk said in a Twitter post. The company has been banking strong on its Model 3 sedan as its market performance will drive the carmaker's future. Currently, China is the largest market for electric vehicles the sales of EV is expected to pick up further because of the government’s regulation drives towards shifting to 100-percent electric vehicles on road by 2030. Tesla had signed a deal with Shanghai...
Austal’s USA has reportedly delivered the tenth Expeditionary Fast Transport ship USNS Burlington (EPF 10) to the US Navy (USN), as part of a US$ 1.9 billion contract for 12 vessels. It is also Austal’s fourth ship delivered to the USN in 2018. On this note, the company’s CEO David Singleton said, “Austal takes great pride in sending another EPF to join the Military Sealift Command (MSC) fleet. The success of this milestone achievement is a result of the dedication and hard work of the Austal team." The USNS Burlington (EPF 10) is a 103-metre long Spearhead-class aluminium catamaran capable of transporting 600 tonnes over 1,200 nautical miles at an average speed of 35 knots. It is designed in a way enabling to operate in austere ports and waterways that are too shallow and narrow for the...
Global primary aluminium output rose 4% year-on-year in October 2018 to stand at 5.414 million tonnes. Primary aluminium production was 5.205 million tonnes in October 2017, according to the latest data showed by International Aluminium Institute (IAI). Month-on-month, primary aluminium production rose 2.13% from 5.301 million tonnes in September 2018, data showed on Tuesday, November 20. The total primary aluminium production stood at 53.437 million tonnes during January to October 2018 as against 53.067 million tonnes in January to October 2017.The figure was up by 0.7% year-on-year. In China, estimated aluminium production rose to 3.05 million tonnes in October 2018 from 3.01 million tonnes in September 2018. The country produced 30.22 million tonnes of white metal in the period...
In 2014 the Taiwanese Government had listed the metal related industry as one of Taiwan's pillar industries. It said going forward it would focus on assisting the sector to upgrade technology and develop high-end products. The country ranks second in per capita aluminium consumption with a rate of about 33.3 kg. The island country has reportedly seen a significant demand growth for aluminium alloy. One of Taiwan’s biggest flat-rolled aluminium products mill C.S. Aluminium has about 400,000 tonnes of aluminium product output capacity per year. However, Taiwan imports both primary aluminium and aluminium alloys. Primary aluminium is used for making aluminium alloys and aluminium alloys for supplementing domestic production and make value-added products. According to the global export-import...
According to a press release from European Aluminium Foil Association (EAFA), demand for Europe’s aluminium foil surge to record levels in the third quarter of 2018 compared to the same period of 2017. This was driven primarily by a solid performance in overseas markets. Aluminium foil deliveries in Q3 increased 6.4% YoY to reach 237,700 tonnes. Domestic demand also remained bullish throughout 2018 and continued to reflect a steady recovery in consumption with a growth rate of about 0.5%. YTD figures show impressive growth in comparison with 2017. In contrast to the first nine months of 2017 the exports increased 28.8%. Deliveries for thinner gauges, used mainly for flexible packaging and household foils, rose by 4.8%. Thicker foils, used typically for semi-rigid containers and technical...
Shanghai Metals Market research found purchasing enthusiasm among downstream consumers of spot aluminium across east China waned as prices of futures declined in late morning trading. The SHFE 1812 contract declined in late morning trade after it moved in a tight range in earlier trading hours. Spot discounts in Shanghai stood at RMB40-30 per tonne. Most transactions were done at RMB 13,720-13,730 per tonne in Shanghai and Wuxi and RMB 13,730-13,750 per tonne in Hangzhou. Sellers across eastern markets remained keen to offload their cargoes and transactions between traders were brisk. Downstream consumers purchased on demand when futures prices held relatively stable. In another update from SMM, the A00 aluminium ingot price today, on November 21, plunged by RMB 20 per tonne to stand at...
The US dollar rallied from a two-week low and settled at 96.79 as a sell-off in global stock markets spurred safe-haven bids and investors grew concerned about slowing global growth. Base metals, except for LME aluminium, fell across the board with LME zinc leading the losses and closing 2.48% lower. LME aluminium continued to trade weakly in absence of strong fundamentals but recovering slowly showing an uptrend. The contract however closed Tuesday’s trading slightly higher than Monday at US$ 1927 per tonne. It is expected to trade weak a trading range of US$1,920-1,960 per tonne today. As on November 20, Tuesday, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1926 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$ 1927 per tonne; 3-months bid price stands at US$ 1940 per tonne,...
On Monday, November 19, more than 30 American business and agriculture groups urged the United States Trade Representatives Robert Lighthizer to exempt aluminium and steel import tariffs on Mexico and Canada, arguing that such tariffs were hurting exporters and putting jobs at risk. In a letter addressed to Lighthizer, those business and agriculture groups wrote that Section 232 tariffs, since the time came into effect on June 1, affected their relationships with most important trading partners, and thus, strongly recommended to remove the metal tariffs from Canada and Mexico. The groups claimed that Section 232 tariffs on aluminium and steel caused immense harm to American manufacturers, consumers, and workers by raising costs for a wide array of industries. “This endangers the jobs of...
The Mexican Ambassador to the United States, Gerónimo Gutiérrez, said on Monday that he expects the Trump administration to lift the U.S. steel and aluminium tariffs imposed upon Mexico before the signing of the new trade agreement (USMCA) with Mexico and Canada by the end of this month. Even if it is not solved, they are expected to get a clear indication of a solution before the signing. The three presidents are meeting in Argentina, at the G-20 summit to be held between Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. President Donald Trump, his Mexican counterpart Enrique Peña Nieton and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are expected to meet in Buenos Aires and sign the new United States Mexico Canada Agreement on the sidelines of the summit, which will host representatives from 20 major economies. It is not...
An official reported to Business Standard India has taken forward the trade dispute with America in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and asked the Geneva-based multilateral body to set up a panel against the US for imposing high import duties on certain aluminium and steel products. According to the report, India took this move after it failed to resolve the issue through a bilateral consultation process with the US under the dispute settlement mechanism of the WTO. Per the rule, consultation was the first step of the dispute settlement process but if that failed to reach a mutually agreed solution, then the country could request for a WTO dispute settlement panel to review the matter. "So, now, India has asked the WTO for the establishment of the dispute panel on the matter," the...
Unique Window Systems (UWS), a reputed and award-winning designer, fabricator, supplier and installer of uPVC and aluminium fenestration building products, has reportedly secured two major design, supply, and installation contracts for the redevelopments of the University of Leicester. The Brookfield Campus and the Percy Gee Building will both undergo a dramatic renovation as part of the University’s new estate master plan, and UWS, teaming up with a trusted supplier Senior Architectural Systems, will design, supply and install windows, doors, and curtain walling across the projects. While the Brookfield Campus redevelopment will include a full suite of aluminium fenestration products from UWS, including doors, windows, and curtain walling, the Percy Gee Building will include the...
The Aluminum Association reports that shipments of can stock by domestic producers increased 4.3 per cent YoY to stand at 158,757 tonnes during October 2018. Compared to the previous month, shipments increased 11.4 per cent over September. Year-to-date shipments through October 2018 dropped 1 per cent to 1.5 million tonnes from the same period of 2017. Compared to October 2017, producer shipments of can stock to U.S. markets increased 9.6 per cent to 141,974 tonnes, while exports decreased 25.6 per cent to 16,782 tonnes. Estimated net shipments of Aluminum Sheet and Plate by U.S. and Canadian producers increased 10.6 per cent YoY to stand at 361,513 tonnes during October 2018. Compared to the previous month, shipments rose 8 per cent over September 2018. YTD shipments through October 2018...
Finance and Public Service Minister of Jamaica, Dr Nigel Clarke said during a parliamentary sitting that Jamaica Bauxite Institute (JBI) has received nearly US$1 billion in budgetary support from the Capital Development Fund (CDF) over the last five years. The House approved the withdrawal of US$223 million from the CDF to provide budgetary support to the JBI for the rest of FY2018-19. Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton said he intends to meet with the various stakeholders in the sector mining, including representatives of the mining companies as he anticipates that mining will soon get underway in his constituency in a serious way. Dr Clarke confirmed that the US$223 million of fund will represent about 87 per cent of the total finance required by the JBI for operating expenses and...
