Cleaner aluminium depends on three things going right at once: scrap collection, melting it in a furnace without much carbon, and the electricity behind the whole chain not being coal-powered. Developments across North America, the UK, the European Union (EU), Egypt, Thailand, Malaysia and India depict how unevenly those pieces are falling into place. While some markets are losing recoverable metal at the sorting line, others are redirecting cargoes or writing scrap into industrial policy, and a few are lining up green projects to hold primary aluminium production together. Aluminium scrap trade: North America leads, Thailand bans, EU retains The international aluminium scrap market is facing a combination of changing trade flows and growing pressure to secure cleaner, more consistent...
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...
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LME aluminium opened higher on the first day of trading after Christmas Holidays. The global macroeconomics remaining positive, the light metal contract rose by 2.9 per cent from the previous week’s close at US$2,137 per cent to US$2,199 per cent on Wednesday, December 27. Technical analysis suggests that the rise in LME aluminium will continue and the contract will break above US$2,200 per tonne mark today. Shanghai Metals Market forecasts that LME aluminium will trade at US$2,230-2,260 per tonne range on Thursday, December 28. As on December 27, LME official cash buyer aluminium price (Bid Price) stands at US$2,199 per tonne, cash seller & settlement aluminium price (Offer price) is US$2,199.50 per tonne, 3M Bid Price is US$2,207 per tonne, 3M Offer Price is US$2,209 per tonne, Dec1 Bid...
On 15 December 2017, Bauxite Resources Ltd announced a proposal to make a capital return of 5 cents per share, subject to shareholders approval. The board is currently reviewing its capital management initiatives, a press release from the company says. According to the press brief, the Company currently has around $16.2m in cash and cash equivalents in addition to its other real estate and mining project assets. Even after paying the proposed capital return of 5 cents per Share to it’s to Shareholders with an approximate $10.7m, the company would be left with cash reserves of approximately $5.5m. BRL is hopeful of its silica sand and hard rock quartz projects owned via its wholly owned subsidiary Australian Silica Quartz Pty Ltd during the three quarters of 2017. According to the company,...
Dell has expanded its Inspiron series with the launch of ultra-slims notebooks. The company has launched three notebooks- “Inspiron 13 7000" 2-in-1 (7373), "Inspiron 15 7000" (7570) and "Inspiron 13 5000" (5370) for the Indian market. Alen Joe Jose, Product Marketing Director, Consumer and Small Business, Dell India, said in a statement: "We have brought in durability and long-lasting strength in an encased anodised aluminium body. The new Inspiron family is every bit striking and versatile, all clubbed into a light-weight design." "Inspiron 13 7000" 2-in-1 (7373) gets FHD IPS touch display with SmartByte streaming technology. "Inspiron 15 7000" (7570) comes with 15-inch thin bezel display encased in an aluminium body. Dell "Inspiron 13 5000" (5370) features 13-inch FHD IPS display with...
Identification of new bauxite mining sites is on in Jamaica for licensing to the operators of Noranda Jamaica. The new bauxite mines will replace the now denied sites to the company which lies within the Cockpit Country’s protected boundaries. "We are advised that the commissioner of mines and Jamaica Bauxite Institute are working towards the delivery to Noranda Bauxite of a mining lease that fulfils the GOJ's initial obligation to provide 25 years of economic and proximate bauxite reserves at a production rate of 5.2 million tonnes per year," New Day Aluminium’s chief administrative officer Anthony Laura said to the media. "Those reserves are intended to satisfy our production needs during that 25-year period," Laura said. Noranda Jamaica Bauxite holds Special Mining Lease No. 165, for...
Despite market participant’s expectations that alumina prices would rebound following some production cuts due to shortage of natural gas, alumina continued to move downward after a brief stop. As forecasted by analysts from SMM, natural gas rationing had little influence on alumina output and prices started sloping downward further. As updated by Shanghai Metals Market, average spot alumina price in China stands at RMB 2855 per tonne on December 27, down 1.2% from RMB 2889 per tonne on December 26. Domestic spot alumina prices have also dropped to RMB 2800/t from to RMB 2860/t on December 26. Chalco Alumina and Imported Alumina remain unchanged today. Spot alumina prices in the domestic markets can be seen in the following table: Weak alumina prices have not much affected the primary...
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba), one of the world’s leading aluminium smelters in Safety and Health, is proud to announce the significant safety achievement of 5 million work-hours without Lost Time Injury (LTI) by its Line 6 Smelter on Sunday, December 24, 2017. Commenting on this accomplishment, Alba’s Chief Executive Officer, Tim Murray, said: “We, at Alba, are proud of our Safety Culture. The 5 million work-hours without LTI is a further testament of Alba’s commitment to a zero-injuries work environment. I express my gratitude and appreciation to the Line 6 Owner’s Team and contractors for achieving this milestone together. As we congratulate ourselves on this sound Safety performance, we must remain focussed on maintaining the same momentum as we progress with Line 6 Expansion...
Indian market put up a good show during end-of-the-day trading hours on Tuesday, December 26, after a lacklustre performance throughout the day. Despite the uptrend in the market, aluminium prices on Multi Commodity Exchange fell by 0.5 per cent to INR 138.90 per kg. Speculators were seen limiting their exposure to trading the light metal contract on the bourse as demand was tepid in the spot market. Global cues were weak too to provide adequate support to MCX aluminium. Source: www.moneycontrol.com Aluminium contract for December delivery was down by 0.5 per cent to INR138.9 per kg in a business turnover of 589 lots. Analysts opined that offloading of position by participants owning to weak demand from the end user industries and in the physical market alongside weak trend in the...
Alusynco Hellas Services Ltd, a subsidiary company of Hellas Construction group, has started the construction of a new manufacturing facility at the Appolonia City’s business park in Accra, Ghana. The plant will manufacture aluminium and PVC home finishing products such as doors, windows, wall curtains, balustrades and security doors. Gregory Savvidis, Technical Manager of Alusynco, commented: “Appolonia City’s impressive growth over the last few years made it an obvious choice for our new manufacturing facility. We are excited about the opportunities to expand our reach to the new residents of Appolonia City and to join the growing community of businesses at the business park.” Alusynco Hellas Services Ltd manufactures aluminium products in Greece and has now invested in Ghana. Bright...
Aluminium contract traded on London Metal Exchange is expected to see some corrections in the short term once the bourse resumes trading after the Christmas Holidays toady. LME aluminium increased steadily last week and closed at US$2,137 per tonne on Friday, December 22. Technical analysis suggests that LME aluminium will trade at US$2,155-2,195 per tonne on Wednesday, December 27, raising the benchmark price by 1.77 per cent. A weaker US dollar is set to provide some support to LME aluminium. SME and SHFE Aluminium Price Trend The benchmark aluminium price on Shanghai Metal Exchange has retraced the earlier highs of US$2,174 per tonne today rising from US$2,150 per tonne on December 26. On Shanghai Futures Exchange, SHFE aluminium price movement on December 26, as updated by Shanghai...
“Circular economy” is a sustainability goal being sought by E.U. institutions and member states in regard to end of life recycling of materials. The topic has been in the discussion phase among European institutions and member states for two years as the European Commission presented a revised circular economy package on 3 December 2015. It consists of four waste legislative proposals (waste package) and an Action Plan. Recently, E.U. institutions have agreed on some reforms on the waste legislations. In the early hours of 18 December 2017, the Estonian presidency reached a provisional agreement with representatives of the European Parliament on all four legislative proposals of the waste package. The final analysis and endorsement on behalf of the Council is planned for the first quarter...
China’s import of aluminium scrap increased 13.23 per cent year-on year to 1.96 million tonnes during the first eleven months of 2017. Aluminium scrap imports stood at 196,581 tonnes in November. The US and Hong Kong were the top exporters of aluminium scrap to China. In November, the US and Hong Kong exported 63,983 tonnes and 43,882 tonnes respectively. During January-November, China imported 553,868 tonnes of aluminium scrap from the US, up 8.29 per cent year-on year. Other top countries which supplied aluminium scrap to China were Thailand, Australia, the UK, the Philippines and Malaysia. During January-October, China exported 1.72 million tonnes of aluminium scrap, up 15.03 per cent YoY.
According to a State Government official, Chhattisgarh Mineral Development Corporation Ltd. (CMDC) has sought 99.35 hectares of forest land diversion in Chhattisgarh to develop bauxite mining. CMDC aims to search major and minor minerals and precious stones and seek mining rights for exploration and development of the mines. Chhattisgarh government already has confirmed two limestone blocks and one bauxite block are ready for auction. The Ministry of Mines has been monitoring the process very closely with the state governments to make the process more pragmatic without sacrificing the checks on successful bidders. The Mineral Auction Rules have been amended on November 30, 2017. Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh had stated earlier that minerals extracted in Chhattisgarh should be used for...
In a first, the Railways will soon roll out 15 aluminium-bodied trainsets A– called Train-20 — on its prestigious Rajdhani routes that will run faster and boast of improved passenger comforts. The aluminium trainsets A– or trains like the Metro or EMUs that do not have locomotives hauling them — will not only be lightweight and energy-efficient, they will run at 160 kmph and have an automatic door system. They will have both seating and sleeper berths. The aluminium trainsets, estimated to cost INR 2,500 crore, will start rolling out of the Railways’ Integrated Coach Factory (ICF) near Chennai by 2020. “A global tender has been floated inviting bids from leading international coach manufacturers for design, development, manufacturing, testing and commissioning of aluminium car body...
According to Shanghai Metals Market (SMM) report, China’s unwrought aluminium and aluminium products export increased by 3.7% reaching 4.35 million tonnes during January-November. SMM anticipates exports of these products to rise this month considering current SHFE - LME prices rise and the country’s increasing aluminium production. In the first 10 months of 2017, aluminium rods and sections export by China totalled 691,000, down 30.1% year on year. Anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties have affected the export volume of these products, SMM believes. China exported 1.71 million tonnes of aluminium sheets and strips in the first ten months of this year, up 24.2% on a yearly basis. China’s aluminium foil export grew 8.5% year on year reaching 974,000 tonnes from January to October. The...
Without much support from alumina prices and due to low consumption at the year end, primary aluminium price in China has plunged again to stand at a level slightly above RMB 14,000 per tonne. A00 ingot prices have dropped to RMB14,130 per tonne on December 26 from RMB 14, 420 per tonne yesterday. The price is expected to range within RMB 14,110 – 14,150 per tonne. Spot discounts are expected to be deeper at a range of RMB 320-280 yuan/mt. The fall continues in all the individual markets registering a drop ranging from RMB 245 to 315 per tonne. Currently, the average price of A00 ingot is trending the highest in the South China market at RMB 14,275/t. The below table shows the price drop in the other major Chinese markets: As a ripple effect of lower primary aluminium price, aluminium...
LME has registered some substantial growth last week at the start of the holiday season with the benchmark LME prices rising above US$ 2130/t. LME aluminium closed at US$ 2137 per tonne on Friday December 22 registering a growth of 1.4%. Trading was closed on December 25 due to Christmas holiday. As on December 22, LME official cash buyer aluminium price (Bid Price) stands at US$ 2136 per tonne, cash seller & settlement aluminium price (Offer price) is US$ 2137 per tonne, 3M Bid Price is US$ 2153 per tonne, 3M Offer Price is US$ 2153.50 per tonne, Dec1 Bid Price is US$ 2193per tonne, and Dec1 Offer Price is US$2,198 per tonne. LME aluminium Opening Stock or the LME aluminium inventory level stands at 1104950 tonnes, slightly down from the last closing. Total Live Warrants is 891525...
China’s Zhejiang University announced that they have created a new type of aluminium-graphene battery that can be charged in seconds rather than minutes or hours. The new aluminium-graphene battery was developed by researchers from the Department of Polymer Science and Engineering of Zhejiang University. The team have designed the battery using graphene films as an anode and metallic aluminium as cathode. According to a report published by xinhuanet, it retains 91 per cent of its capacity after 250,000 recharges, surpassing all the previous batteries in terms of rate capability and cycle life. This new battery can be charged in 1.1 seconds.
As a part of the industry and its associates, we all know about the exceptional performance of aluminium as a metal in 2017. LME aluminium has seen one of the most positive years reaching the highest in five years. China has moved the market with its decision to cut coal, alumina and aluminium capacity. But how well do we know that? The series of developments that shaped the entire aluminium value chain over 2017 cannot really be seen independently as they are part of a bigger dynamics that actually shaped the momentum of the industry. Aluminium as an industry cannot be complete without its raw materials and semi-finished and finished products and so are the developments that have taken place in the value chain. AlCircle, being an aluminium ecosystem has been covering the industry...
