ASSA ABLOY has agreed to acquire Brazilian aluminium solutions manufacturer Rometal, strengthening its manufacturing presence in Latin America while expanding its portfolio of door systems, furniture fittings and aluminium products. Announced on November 12, 2026, the proposed acquisition would bring an established Brazilian business with approximately 500 employees into the Swedish group's Americas Division. Rometal recorded sales of approximately BRL 332 million (USD 59 million) in 2025, equivalent to approximately SEK 580 million (USD 57.57 million) in ASSA ABLOY's announcement. The purchase price has not been disclosed. ASSA ABLOY described the company's EBIT margin in 2025 as strong and expects the transaction to be accretive to earnings per share from the start. Rometal acquisition...
Finland-based renewable heat technology developer Coolbrook has joined Australia’s Heavy Industry Low-carbon Transition Cooperative Research Centre (HILT CRC) as an affiliate partner, bringing its electrified heating technology into research aimed at decarbonising alumina refining and the wider aluminium industry. The collaboration would explore how high-temperature electric heating can support next-generation alumina refineries, reducing reliance on fossil fuels. Coolbrook would work alongside major alumina and aluminium producers, including Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), Alcoa, Rio Tinto, South32 and Hydro, as well as research organisations of CSIRO and Adelaide University. Initially, it would focus on HILT CRC’s Alumina Refineries’ Next-Generation Transition (AlumiNEXT) project,...
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Guinea, Africa’s top bauxite producer with the production more than doubled last year to about 50 million tonnes, has approved plans of a Netherland-based company to develop a bauxite mine and alumina refinery worth US$1.4 billion in Guinea, said Guinea’s government on Friday, April 27, 2018. According to a government report, a cabinet meeting on Thursday, April 26, 2018, authorised the drafting of a mining contract that would allow Societe des Bauxites de Guinee (SBG), a subsidy of MetalCorp Group to begin production by the close of 2022. Once operational, the new mine is apprehended to take the Guinea’s position to a whole new level as the region’s leading bauxite producer, by producing an estimated 8 million tonnes of bauxite annually, out of which 3 million tonnes would be for the...
Aluminium batteries enhanced with cheap and abundant materials could provide the perfect low-cost storage for renewable energy, researchers have claimed. While lightweight lithium-ion batteries are ideal for electric cars, they are also quite expensive – and therefore unsuitable for large-scale, stationary power storage, claimed scientists from ETH Zurich and Empa in Switzerland. Instead, the team identified two new materials that could improve cheap aluminium batteries. The first was titanium nitride, a corrosion-resistant ceramic material. The electrolyte fluid in aluminium batteries is extremely aggressive and corrosive, even damaging gold and platinum, so the team searched for a hardy replacement. Lead researcher Maksym Kovalenko and colleagues said they found what they were looking...
Metallica Minerals has entered into a secured loan agreement with South West Pacific Bauxite, 75% owner of Wagina bauxite project. The company will provide South West Pacific Bauxite with A$120,000 loan, in exchange for an option to carry out exclusive due diligence on the Wagina bauxite project in the Solomon Islands with a view to ultimately completing a transaction involving the project. Metallica Managing Director, Mr Simon Slesarewich said: “After an extensive and disciplined search in Australia and overseas, we are excited to have identified the Wagina bauxite project as an asset that is potentially the right fit for the Company. This Project has the ability to significantly extend our current Reserve life and lift the production profile beyond what Urquhart will deliver when it...
Temporary exemptions from US imported aluminium and steel tariffs are about to come to an end on Tuesday, May 1, 2018. So, the Trump administration has decided to extend it to some of its allies, but not all, said Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in an interview in Washington on late Saturday, April 28, 2018. However, the names of the countries that would be spared from the tariffs have not been declared yet by the Commerce Secretary. Ross in the interview said, further announcement will be made just before the May 1 deadline for the duties to kick in. He also said nations have been asked to accept import quotas in return for tariff-free access of the metals into the US. As the last date of exemption validity is approaching close, it is fuelling tensions among some of the US’s strongest...
The sanctions against Rusal, world's second-biggest aluminium producer and a major alumina producer have created supply concerns in both the alumina and aluminium market. Before the sanctions, Hydro’s Alunorte refinery in Brazil was forced to cut outputs by half earlier in the year due to leakage in bauxite residue plant. Both these incidents have caused a shortfall in the alumina market sending prices soaring. A mining Weekly report says multiple shipments of alumina are being exported from China, driven by the supply concerns as a side effect of U.S. sanctions on Russian producer Rusal. It is also reported that major suppliers are agreeing deals of up to 500,000 tonnes to various companies. China is the biggest global producer and consumer of alumina, which is refined from bauxite ore...
China’s imports of aluminium alloy increased 9 per cent year-on year in March 2018, reaching 4,893 tonnes last month, according to the import-export data released by General Customs. The country’s total aluminium alloy import for the 3-months period stood at 14,961 tonnes, up1 per cent YoY. Data Source: www.metal.com Taiwan (China) exported the largest amount of aluminium alloy. China’s imports from Taiwan (China) stood at 1,227 tonnes, an increase of 35 per cent YoY in March. The United Arab Emirates exported 764 tonnes of aluminium alloy to China last month. Other top countries which supplied aluminium alloy to China were Malaysia, South Korea, Venezuela, Russia, Malaysia, South Korea and others. China’s aluminium alloy exports continued to decline in March 2018. Total exports of...
Ball Corporation (NYSE: BLL) recently won two 2018 Euro CanTech Awards from CanTech International for its metallic Ball-branded aluminium aerosol deodorant can and beverage cans created for Heineken Serbia's Zaječarsko brand. For the aerosol can, Ball developed a cost-effective, captivating solution for customers who want the look of hot stamping (where a metallic foil is applied to the can). Using state-of-the-art pigments and the company's unique ink application technology, a glossy, reflective sheen can be applied on aluminium cans of all shapes and sizes and is available in a range of metallic shades. For the beverage can, Ball partnered with Heineken Serbia, a long-standing customer, on an exclusive can design. Heineken created four limited edition cans, which showcase Ball's...
According to Shanghai Metal Market on April 27, 2018, Weiqiao Group has reduced the purchasing prices of pre-baked anode. This is the fifth month in a row that the group has lowered the prices. For May, the prices are hovering at RMB 3390 per tonne in cash and RMB 3425 per tonne, which are RMB 200 per tonne lower than the previous month. This indicates that the pre-baked anode prices for May have dwindled even below the average costs. Even for lower-cost producers, these prices are considered to be around the break-even line as they offer other discounts. On the other hand, SMM updated on the same date that the average spot prices of pre-baked anode remained unchanged, all across the major Chinese markets. While in East and Central, the prices were standing at RMB 3625 per tonne and RMB...
Benchmark aluminium price on London Metal Exchange increased to close at US$2249 per tonne on Friday, April 27, up from the previous day’s close at US$ 2204 per tonne on Thursday April 26. LME Aluminium lost about 8.2 per cent over last week, having fallen sharply on Monday and Tuesday with the extension of the sanctions on Rusal. This has initiated the biggest weekly drop since August 2011, although it is still up 13.1 per cent in April due to Rusal issues, the best since September 2010. London aluminium prices started edging lower on Friday after a 1.3 per cent jump in the previous session, as US sanctions on Russian producer Rusal continued to haunt the trader community. Three-month aluminium on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.4 per cent at $2,265 a tonne by 0717 GMT, having risen...
One of the world’s leading semi-fabricated aluminium producer Kaiser Aluminium Corporation announced financial and production results for the first quarter of 2018. The company reported net income of $26 million in Q1 2018, from $36 million in the same period previous year. “First quarter 2018 results were driven by margin compression from escalating metal and freight costs while growing automotive and industrial demand and continued improvement in manufacturing cost efficiency provided some benefit to cushion the impact on adjusted EBITDA margin,” said Jack A. Hockema, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “We initiated and will continue to pursue additional pricing actions to mitigate margin pressure from increasing costs. However, realization of pricing often lags the timing of...
The UAE-based largest industrial company, Emirates Global Aluminium, owned equally by Mubadala Development Company of Abu Dhabi and Investment Corporation of Dubai, has signed a 15-year agreement with LD Ports & Logistics, a subsidiary global marine transport and services group of Louis Dreyfus Armateurs, for the transshipment of bauxite in the Republic of Guinea. Abdualla Kalban, EGA’s managing director and chief executive officer said at the signing ceremony, “EGA has set an ambitious growth agenda to expand upstream and internationally. Transshipment is an important link in the chain that will connect our alumina refinery and aluminium smelters in the UAE with bauxite mines in Guinea, and will also lower shipping costs from GAC to global bauxite markets.” As per the deal, EGA will load...
The ISRI 2018 Convention, held in Las Vegas in mid-April and hosted by the Washington-based Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), was attended by more than 5,100 people, mostly from North America, and the event hosted scrap buyers and sellers from around the world, despite global trade disputes. The event was also attended by many market analysts and experts. Participants agreed that the recent developments in the international trade sector, from the introduction of Section 232 tariffs on finished aluminium imports into the United States from countries excluding Canada, Mexico, Australia, Argentina, South Korea, Brazil and European Union to China’s tariffs on aluminium scrap imports from the U.S., have created ripples in the aluminium sector. “I’ve never seen the kind of...
Kobe Steel announced consolidated financial results for fiscal 2017. The reported profit of 63.19 billion yen for the year ended March 31, from a loss of 23.05 billion yen a year earlier. Net sales increased more than 10 per cent to 1.9 trillion yen in FY2017. “Solid demand in steel, aluminium and copper, as well as construction machineries helped boost our sales,” Senior Managing Executive Officer Yoshihiko Katsukawa told a news conference. Kobe Steel, a supplier of aluminium parts to manufacturers of cars, planes and trains, said that the sale of aluminium rolled products was higher than the previous year.” Although demand for can stock for beverage cans was similar to the previous year, demand in the automotive sector increased.” Aluminium and copper sales increased 8.1 per cent to...
According to Shanghai Metal Market, cargoes transactions with invoices for May dominated the spot aluminium market in East China on April 27, 2018. This was primarily because market participants rushed to take advantage of the last trading day before that value-added tax (VAT) came into effect. The SHFE 1805 contract rose in the morning. While on one hand, Shanghai saw most transactions done at RMB 14410 per tonne to RMB 14420 per tonne with premiums RMB 0 to RMB 10 per tonne against the SHFE contract, on the other hand, Wuxi and Hangzhou witnessed transactions at RMB 14410 per tonne to RMB 14420 per tonne and RMB 14460 per tonne to RMB 14470 per tonne respectively. East China also witnessed stable shipments while traders stockpiled less and downstream consumers purchased on demand for...
The Canadian government announced today new measures to prevent transhipment and metal diversion in Canada, in addition to those announced on March 27, 2018. “This announcement reinforces Canada’s position as a reliable jurisdiction to be counted by other countries” said Jean Simard, President and CEO of the Aluminium Association of Canada (AAC). In the context of the U.S. section 232 investigation and the threat of a 10% tariff on Canadian aluminum exported to the U.S., the alignment with American rules for marking of aluminium products demonstrates Canada’s willingness to collaborate with the United States. According to Jean Simard, “This is another manifestation of our shared interest in managing the continental commercial border for the entire North American aluminum industry”. “We...
As per recent export-import data released by General Customs Administration of China, total aluminium scrap imports by the country dropped by 5.59 per cent YoY reaching 176,814 tonnes in March 2018. In January-March period, China’s import of aluminium scrap fell 7.58 per cent year-on year to 486,512 tonnes. Source: www.metal.com (Unit: tonnes) China’s import of aluminium scrap is expected to decline further because of the newly-imposed tariff on aluminium. The secondary aluminium industry is being hit hard by tight raw material supply and sluggish demand after the US-China trade war. The country has recently stopped sourcing aluminium scrap from the US for its domestic consumption. The US remained the top aluminium scrap exporter to China followed by Hong Kong, Thailand, Australia, the...
Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s largest brewer, is hopeful that the United States will grant permanent exemptions to aluminium imported from allies and wants U.S. Congress to look into price spikes that have already set in. U.S. President Donald Trump last month imposed import tariffs of 25 per cent on steel and 10 per cent on aluminium, but provided temporary exemptions until May 1 for the European Union, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Australia and South Korea. Carlos Brito, chief executive of Budweiser-maker AB InBev, which sells many of its beers in the United States in aluminium cans, said the company had been very disappointed by the introduction of tariffs, which he said had put U.S. manufacturers at a disadvantage. “We are very hopeful on the other hand that the list of...
According to sources, companies including Rio Tinto can resume existing supply deals with Rusal’s Aughinish alumina refinery in Ireland as the U.S. has extended the deadline for US and non-US citizens to wind up business with Rusal to late October. The development happened a day after the US Treasury moved to ease restrictions that threatened the supply of metal in Europe. The move is expected to ease fears of alumina supply crunch which is the key raw material to make aluminium. The Aughinish alumina refinery, near Limerick, is a significant part of Europe’s aluminium supply chain, feeding smelters that produce aluminium and supply to companies like BMW, Volkswagen and Airbus. Rio, which is the largest bauxite supplier to Aughinish and buyer of its alumina, declared force majeure on its...
