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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Shanghai Metal Market research found a further drop in social inventories of primary aluminium across eight major consumption areas in China. The stock, including SHFE warrants, came in at 1.438 million tonnes over the weekend ended on Monday, November 19, down some 15,000 tonnes from last Thursday, November 15. The reason for this incessant week-on-week fall in primary aluminium inventories could be the production cuts across smelters due to increased losses. Compared to last Thursday, inventories in Wuxi and Jiangsu plunged by some 15,000 tonnes to stand at 613,000 tonnes while that in Nanhai and Guangdong, and Gongyi and Henan dropped by some 2,000 tonnes and 1,000 tonnes to clock at 207,000 tonnes and 75,000 tonnes, respectively. On the other hand, inventories in Shanghai and...
Anrak Aluminium has got another relief from High Court in its way to restart operation at its alumina/aluminium plant. The Hyderabad High Court on Thursday, November 16 refused to stay an RBI circular that directed Anrak aluminium company to be put on the anvil of insolvency process at the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). A writ appeal was filed by RBI expressing grievance over the order of a single judge on their circular. The said judge found fault with the RBI circular and with the SBI for initiating the insolvency process even after agreeing to the company's one-time settlement offer of INR 1,275 crore. Chief Justice TB Radhakrishnan and Justice S V Bhatt heard the writ appeal filed by RBI and refused to put a stay order on the circular. Anrak was a joint venture firm formed by...
National Aluminium Company Limited ’s (NALCO) hi-tech pavilion at the Make in Odisha Conclave 2018 used the latest technologies including 3d holographic display, virtual reality (VR), touch screen, gesture driven interactive wall etc to showcase its production units, products, CSR activities, achievements etc. Hi-tech pavilion was held in Bhubaneswar from November 11 to 15. According to Nalco press release, the VR technology was an instant crowd puller that gave the visitors a unique and engrossing experience of virtually visiting the picturesque NALCO’s Panchpatmali Bauxite mines and other operating units at Angul and Damanjodi. NALCO CMD Dr. Tapan Kumar Chand said that the emergence of the 4th Industrial Revolution, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Robotics, Augmented...
The state-run National Aluminium Company Limited has reportedly decided to bid at the auctions of 21 bauxite blocks to be put up for allocation by the governments of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh. According to the report, Nalco will put in bids for captive consumption and start merchant mining of the raw material. Per the Nalco’s statement, the company eyes to step into commercial merchant mining as part of its diversification plans and thus, wish to leverage its expertise in the captive mining of bauxite in eastern state of Odisha. Company officials said: “Some of the prime bauxite reserves would be developed for its own consumption, while production from other blocks would be up for free sale for other aluminium refiners in the country.” The foray into domestic merchant...
On November 8, around 10,000 Spanish workers reportedly marched in Aviles, Spain, protesting the US-based aluminium giant Alcoa’s proposal to close down two of its smelters. They even sought for the intervention of the government regarding the said matter but received a hostile response. According to the report, the shutdown of Alcoa’s two smelters could threaten up to 700 jobs. Rejecting the demand from the workers, Magdalena Valerio, minister of labour, migration and social security, categorically stated on November 11, “We are not in a state-run economy, how [do we] intervene in the company. We are not in a communist regime.” It was on October 17 when Alcoa announced its decision to close two of its smelters in Aviles and La Coruna. The two smelters together have the potential to...
Researchers in Victoria University of Wellington under the guidance of Professor Thomas Nann created a new electrolyte for making safer and more environmentally friendly aluminium batteries. They created this the electrolyte as part of its work on aluminium batteries and researchers from Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Clermont-Ferrand in France joined the team. The electrolyte is a battery part acting as a conductor for electricity. "This electrolyte will make aluminium batteries cheaper and easier to produce," says Professor Nann, from the School of Chemical and Physical Sciences and the MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology at Victoria University of Wellington. "It is more affordable than the ionic liquids currently used in aluminium batteries, and it...
Aluminum Association President & CEO Heidi Brock, on Friday November 16, gave a testimony at the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC), highlighting the urgent need for full, quota-free tariff exemptions for Canada and Mexico as part of the final U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The comments were made as part of the USITC’s hearing titled “United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement: Likely Impact on the U.S. Economy and Specific Industry Sectors”. Brock said: “The [USMCA] simply cannot work as intended for the aluminium industry and our customers with tariffs – or quotas to limit access to supply – in place. Full, quota-free exemptions for Canada and Mexico from aluminium tariffs as part of this agreement will benefit the U.S. aluminium industry and the hundreds of thousands of...
The US dollar held steady against a currency basket while the pound dipped amid uncertainty over Brexit issues. LME aluminium continued to trade weakly over the weak. The contract saw a trading range of US$1,914-1,934 per tonne. The LME aluminium contract started the week at US$1,934 per tonne and continued its downward trend with the US dollar holding steady against a currency basket and in absence of strong market fundamentals. The contract tried to regain some losses but failed to break resistance at the 60-day moving average. LME aluminium wrapped up Friday’s trading at US$ 1917 per tonne. The contract is trading at a level last seen in August 2017. As on November 16, Friday, LME aluminium cash (bid) price stood at US$ 1913.50 per tonne, LME official settlement price stands at US$...
On Wednesday, November 14, the state-owned National Aluminium Company Limited (Nalco) announced share buyback offer worth INR 505 crore. “The date of opening of the buyback is Tuesday, 13 November, and the date of closing of the buyback offer is Wednesday, 28 November,” National Aluminium Company (Nalco) said in a filing to BSE. The company added about its extensive plans for brown field and green field expansion that also include the ongoing fifth stream refinery of 1 million tonne per annum capacity in its existing alumina refinery at Damanjodi, and 60,000 million tonne per annum capacity of aluminium alloy wire rod plant at existing smelter and development of Pottangi bauxite mines. Last month, the company said that its board approved a proposal to buy back shares worth INR 504.8...
ALRO, one of the largest vertically integrated aluminium producers, by capacity, in Europe, published its consolidated financial results for the first nine months of 2018. ALRO Group turnover stood at RON 2.3 billion during January-September 2018, as compared to RON 2 billion during January-September 2017, on the background of favourable market conditions, yet challenging. Net profit dropped 12.8% YoY to RON 224 million in the first nine-month period of 2018, from RON 257 million in in the same period of previous year. Marian Năstase, Chairman of the Board of Directors of ALRO said: "We remained focussed on quality and overall efficiency of our operations, strategy that helped us report good results over the years and during these first nine months of 2018, as well, even though the market...
Leveraging on the potential growth of electric vehicles, Mahindra Electric, part of Mahindra & Mahindra group has announced an investment of INR 1000 crore for the development of new products, technology and capacity expansion, a senior company executive said while inaugurating its new technology and manufacturing hub in Bangalore. Mahindra Electric Mobility Limited, formerly known as the Reva Electric Car Company, is an automobile company based in Bangalore, involved in designing and manufacturing of compact electric vehicles. The new facility will manufacture battery systems, power train, control units and power electronics for electric vehicles. The company plans to expand its total production capacity to 70,000 units by 2020 from current 24,000 units. A senior company official said...
Shanghai Metals Market research found brisk transactions between traders widened spot aluminium premiums in Shanghai on Friday, 16 November 2018. The SHFE 1812 contract rose in the second session of morning after trading rangebound in the first session. Spot premiums in Shanghai stood at RMB30-40 per tonne over the SHFE 1812 contract, compared to RMB20-30 per tonne in the previous day. Most transactions were done at RMB13,660-13,670 per tonne in Shanghai and Wuxi and RMB13,670-13,690 per tonne in Hangzhou. Most transactions in Guangdong were heard at RMB13,740-13,760 per tonne , with Guangdong – Shanghai spread at RMB90 per tonne. In Guangdong, billet processing fees were heard at RMB460-500 per tonne for 90mm and RMB440-480 per tonne for 110/120 mm and 150/178 mm. Trades among traders in...
U.S. automakers and parts suppliers urged the Trump administration to end steel and aluminium tariffs on Mexico and Canada and warned against the potential U.S. national security tariffs on automotive imports on Thursday November 15. They said such tariffs would lead to widespread job losses. They expressed disappointment at not lifting the tariffs before the signing of new USMCA, which would replace the North American Free Trade Agreement. Speaking at a public comment hearing , Jennifer Thomas, vice president of federal government affairs for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers said that the success of both the new USMCA and US auto sector continue to be undermined by these tariffs. She highlighted the rising production cost for all U.S. automakers that is threatening the industry’s...
Poland imported US$230.5 billion worth of goods from all over the world in 2017, out which aluminium accounted for 5.7 per cent of the total imports of the country. However, aluminium scrap imports by Poland in terms of volume decreased year-on-year in 2017, although the cost stood higher. Nevertheless, in 2018, Poland’s aluminium scrap import is estimated to increase from the two former years and stand at 257,202 tonnes. In 2017, the import volume was at 233,258 tonnes, in contrast, while in 2016, it was at 246,862 tonnes. Hence, this shows that the import volume of the country is likely to grow 4.18 per cent from 2016 and 10.26 per cent from 2017. Consequently, import cost is estimated to rise as well from US$ 250 million in 2017 to US$ 272 million in 2018, up 9 per cent. The cost is...
Vedanta Resources Limited on Monday, November 12, announced interim results for the six months ended 30 September 2018.Vedanta reported revenue of US$7.1 billion in H1 FY2019, up 4% from US$6.8 billion in H1 FY2018. The increase in revenue was attributable to higher volumes at aluminium, acquisition of Electrosteel, and higher commodity prices, offset by lower volumes and ongoing closure of Tuticorin operations. EBITDA increased 1% year on year to US$1.71 billion in H1 FY2019, from US$1.69 billion in H1 FY2018. Adjusted EBITDA margin in the mentioned period was at 29% compared to 34% in the same period previous year. Free cash flow (FCF) post-capex of US$(174) million (H1 FY2018: US$232 million) due to higher net interest and higher capex investments into growth projects. Vedanta said its...
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is indicating emerging fiscal risks for Jamaica, especially in the bauxite and energy sectors. The organization suggests careful handling of the risks as they might affect the undergoing economic programme in the country. IMF’s latest review of Jamaica's standby arrangement with the fund for Windalco, whose owner, UC, Rusal is under sanction by the United States generated concern. WINDALCO is a joint bauxite/alumina venture between the UC Rusal and the Government of Jamaica. UC Rusal is the majority shareholder (93% stake) and the Government of Jamaica owns the remaining 7% share.The bauxite/alumina operation, which has plants in St Catherine and Manchester, was granted a temporary relief from the sanctions which ended on Monday, November 12. The...
Canyon Resources Ltd. discovered a cluster of high-grade, low-containment bauxite trend within its existing resource at Minim Martap Project in Cameroon, said the company’s chief geologist Alexander Shaw. The company reportedly identified this bauxite trend through detailed analysis of remote sensing imagery and previous drilling and field mapping. “We have identified three high-grade bauxite plateaux within the corridor and there is significant potential to identify additional high-grade plateaux along this highly-prospective trend,” said Mr. Shaw. The previous drilling across the high-grade bauxite trend’s three identified plateaux containing resources of 14.51 million tonnes with 49.09% bauxite and 2.35% silica. This month, the company is planning to begin drilling again along with the...
Social inventories of primary aluminium across eight consumption areas in China, including SHFE warrants, dropped by some 32,000 tonnes from Thursday November 8 to stand at 1.453 million tonnes as of Thursday November 15, Shanghai Metals Market data showed. Downstream buyers stockpiled as spot prices dipped on the week, and this accounted for decline in inventories. The week-on-week drop stood 8,000 tonnes lower from the decline last Thursday. In some of the Chinese cities like Wuxi, and Nanhai, Gongyi the inventories declined over the week. In Wuxi and Nanhai, the inventory stood at 669,000 tonnes and 209,000 tonnes. The current inventory status in the major Chinese cities is as follow: In another update from SMM, the A00 aluminium ingot price witnessed a hike today, on November 16,...
