Getting a clean, smooth finish while removing material quickly is not always easy when machining high-strength aluminium alloys. A new study on AA7075-T6 aluminium alloy has explored this challenge, identifying two different sets of drilling conditions to improve surface quality and maximise machining productivity. The research examined how cutting speed, feed rate and drill depth influence conventional drilling performance. Using response surface methodology and a central composite design, the researchers developed predictive models to determine how changes in these parameters affect the machining process. The models showed a strong level of accuracy, with coefficients of determination (R²) reaching 0.9731 for surface roughness and 0.9359 for material removal rate. Further confirmation...
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...
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Thailand imports substantial amount of alumina from China to meet the country’s demand. China exported 258 tonnes of alumina during the first nine months of 2017, up 125 per cent year-on year. France and Japan are the top suppliers of alumina to the country. {newsStudioGallery} As shown by the data, Thailand imported about 23067 tonnes of alumina in 2015. The amount slightly fell in 2016 to reach 22798 tonnes. The country is estimated to import about 23960 tonnes of alumina in 2017. The cost of alumina import stood at USD 21 million in 2015. In 2016, the import generated a cost of USD 43 million. The cost of import for alumina in 2017 is estimated to be USD 56 million.
As updated by Shanghai Metals Market, primary aluminium output in China reaches 24.66 million tonnes, rising 5% in the first three quarters of 2017. Since September many aluminium enterprises have raised operative capacity based on optimistic anticipation on upcoming peak season of end consumption. However, purchasing is still slow and inventories are piling up again. Average prices of A00 aluminium ingot have seen some rise today on November 1, across all markets after three consecutive falls. Average A00 aluminium ingot price has increased from RMB 16,080/t to stand at RMB 16,140/t today. Other than south China market, aluminium A00 Aluminum prices have registered a rise from RMB 30/t to RMB 50/t across all markets. In the spot market aluminium is trading at a discount of RMB160-120...
Daniel, a supplier of cold mills plants to the metal industry, has received an order from Logan Aluminum for supply of the world’s most advanced and productive cold mill. The new Danieli DiamondFlex 6-High Cold Rolling Mill (CM4 designation) will be installed at Logan Aluminum, in Western Kentucky, USA. Logan Aluminum Inc. is a joint venture between Tri Arrows Aluminum, Inc. and Novelis Inc. It manufactures aluminium sheet products with capabilities and experience in ingot casting, hot rolling, cold rolling, and finishing operations. “The operation of the new mill will further enhance Logan’s capabilities by rolling 29,500 kg coils with maximum strip width of 2133mm at speeds of up to 2200 m/min. Logan’s new mill will be the fastest Cold Mill in the world, and also the most powerful with...
LME aluminium held fairly steady at its current level sliding marginally from US$2,143 per tonne on Monday, October 30 to US$2,140 per tonne on Tuesday, October 31. The wave pattern of aluminium prices on LME reveals a support at US$2,148 per tonne. A break below this level could cause a loss to US$2,125 per tonne in the near term. As per voting results of the present participants in LME Week, aluminium accounted for 20 per cent of the votes as the most promising metal which will see a price rise in 2018, SMM reported. As on October 31, LME official cash buyer aluminium price (Bid Price) stands at US$2,139.50 per tonne, cash seller & settlement aluminium price (Offer price) is US$2,140 per tonne, 3M Bid Price is US$2,156 per tonne, 3M Offer Price is US$2,157 per tonne, Dec1 Bid Price is...
Aleris, a global leader in the manufacture and sale of aluminium rolled products, announced that the company has signed multi-year agreement with Bombardier to supply aluminium flat rolled products for a variety of Bombardier aircraft program. Sean Stack, Aleris chairman and CEO said, "We are excited to expand our partnership with Bombardier through the supply of a broader range of products from our facilities in both Europe and Asia Pacific.” "This agreement with Bombardier serves as further validation of our strategy to continue to advance our technical capabilities and expand our global footprint to help our aerospace customers meet their goals." The company will supply aluminium flat rolled products from its facilities in Koblenz, Germany and Zhenjiang, China.
European Aluminium, the voice of the entire aluminium value chain, introduced five new member companies during its General Assembly last week, bringing its total membership to over 85 companies and associations representing more than 600 plants in 30 European countries. “I am delighted to welcome the new members and I am certain they will make a tremendous contribution through their participation in our horizontal Committees and Market Groups,” commented Gerd Götz, Director General of European Aluminium. “The addition of new members also means a stronger value chain and industry voice. With EU legislation and global market trends creating both opportunities and challenges, it is now more important than ever to have a collective industry response to address issues in key areas such as...
Anil Agarwal, the founder and Chairman of the mining and metals major Vedanta Resources Plc, said that the company is planning to invest in sectors such as oil and gas, production of aluminium, zinc, copper, silver and steel and mining of bauxite and rock phosphate. Anil Agarwal told Mint in an interview that he will invest $9 billion over the next few years in India. This would meet country’s requirements of these commodities locally. “Directly and indirectly, these investments will create over a million jobs. I am very passionate about our investments in India,” he said. The company will invest $1.5-2 billion in the aluminium sector and $2 billion in bauxite mining. Anil Agarwal said in a recent interview that the company is considering the launch of a one billion dollar venture capital...
ALTEK, a technology based company with expertise and experience in aluminium dross and scrap processing systems, has developed the ALUSALT technology, a “Mini Salt Slag Recycling” technology for aluminium recycling industry. “The net effect of these economic drivers from ALUSALT is that the aluminium recycling companies who currently utilise Rotary Salt Furnaces, and generate salt slag as a consequence, can now achieve significant cost savings,” according to the company’s press release. The company has installed a large capacity salt slag recycling plant, as a demonstration unit, in Northern Europe at an aluminium recycling operation. Full commercialisation of the ALUSALT technology will start next year. “The objective was that this technology could be located at the place where the salt...
The AMAG Group, a leading Austrian premium supplier of high-quality aluminium cast and flat rolled products for highly varied industries continued its successful trend in Q3 2017. The company achieved YoY growth in terms of shipments, revenue and earnings in the January to September 2017 period. The total shipments of AMAG were up 3 % YoY to 318,900 tonnes during the first three quarters of 2017. The organic growth programme at the Ranshofen site was the main driver of this volume expansion. In terms of aluminium rolled products, shipment volumes were up by 6 % compared with the same period of 2016 to reach a new record level of 162,500 tonnes. Helmut Wieser, CEO of AMAG: "We have again successfully translated our increasing specialisation and technological expertise into business...
Rio Tinto is attracting renewed interest in selling its Pacific Aluminium smelting unit by adding two alumina refineries in Australia to the portfolio, according to three sources familiar with the matter. Rio Tinto had tried to sell the division minus the refineries in 2011 and again in 2015 without success. Switzerland-headquartered Glencore, Liberty House of Britain, and Russia’s Rusal have all expressed interest, according to the sources, who declined to be named because they are not authorized to speak to media. By including the refineries, Rio could potentially double the original $1 billion price tag for Pacific Aluminium, the sources said. Pacific Aluminium originally included Rio Tinto’s Bell Bay, Boyne Island and Tomago smelters in Australia, and the Tiwai Point smelter in New...
Taiwan shipped USD 28.90 billion worth of goods in September 2017, up 28.1 per cent year-on-year. The country’s exports of aluminium can have been decreasing over the last two years. The trend is expected to continue in 2017. The largest part of aluminium can is exported to Japan. Indonesia and the USA also import a considerable amount of aluminium cans from Taiwan. According to the recent estimate, in 2015, Taiwan exported 5463 tonnes of aluminium cans globally. The total revenue from can export amounts to about US$ 33 million. Compared to 2015, in 2016, Taiwan exported an estimated 2457 tonnes of aluminium can. The total revenue from the export stood at US$ 16.6 million. Considering the trend in last two years the aluminium can export by Taiwan is estimated to reach 1924 tonnes in 2017...
Australian Bauxite Limited (ABx) has posted quarterly report and activity statement for three months to 30 September 2017. The company registered two sales during the quarter comprising 30,000 tonnes of mixed grade blended cement-grade bauxite and 5,000 tonnes of cement grade. Fertiliser grade bauxite sales mine have been ramped up to satisfy customer demand. The company has announced that it has entered into a research and development venture with technology company Refined Ore Industries Limited. The R&D Venture is a bauxite refining technology to increase the value of company’s bauxite tenfold. “The R&D Venture is called ALCORE which is the next stage in ABx’s development of bauxite beneficiation and refining technology, according to the company. “This technology was patented on 5 June...
SMM statistics showed Aluminum stocks in China’s seven major markets rose again as a result of poor downstream consumption after last week’s big fall. Compared to October 27, on October 30, the inventories in China’s major market have seen a rise: As updated by Shanghai Metals Market, average Prices of A00 aluminium ingot have dropped across all markets for three consecutive days. The price drop is mostly attributed to slow downstream demand. Average A00 aluminium ingot price has dropped from RMB 16,120/t to stand at RMB 16,080/t today on October 31. Other than north China market, aluminium A00 Aluminum prices have dropped from RMB 5/t to RMB 40/t across all markets. In the spot market aluminium is trading at a discount of RMB130-90 /tonne. Base metals are split on Monday’s night trading...
China expressed dissatisfaction following the U.S. decision to impose duties on aluminium foil. The government will take necessary measures to safeguard the legal rights and interests of Chinese companies and reserve rights under the WTO’s dispute settlement mechanism. The U.S. Commerce Department announced on Friday that it would impose duties in the range of 96.81 per cent to 162.24 per cent on Chinese aluminium foil. They found that exporters of aluminium foil sold their product at prices below cost. Wang Hejun, Director of the Trade Remedy and Investigation Bureau, said “The US is not only harming the interests of Chinese companies, it is also damaging the seriousness and authority of multilateral rules and regulations.” “We urge the United States to earnestly fulfil its international...
December U.S. dollar index traded lower on Monday, October 30, lifting LME aluminium from its last weekend low. The light metal contract edged higher to close at US$2,143 per tonne after yesterday’s night trading, up from US$2,119 per tonne on October 27. Reuters’ technical analysis suggests that LME aluminium may retest a resistance at US$2,196 per tonne, which means, there is a wide room for the contract to rise in the near term. The price wave pattern also reveals a support at US$2,148 per tonne. A break below this level could cause a loss to US$2,125 per tonne. As on October 30, LME official cash buyer aluminium price (Bid Price) stands at US$2,142 per tonne, cash seller & settlement aluminium price (Offer price) is US$2,143 per tonne, 3M Bid Price is US$2,160 per tonne, 3M Offer...
Aluminum maker Norsk Hydro may restart a mothballed Norwegian production line as global metals markets tighten following a Chinese clampdown on pollution, the company’s chief executive told Reuters. Hydro is considering boosting output at its Husnes plant by some 95,000 tonnes per year, raising the smelter’s utilization to its full capacity of about 185,000 tonnes of primary metal per year, Chief Executive Svein Richard Brandtzaeg said. In total, Hydro expects China to cut its aluminum output by some 1.4 million tonnes next year due to stricter environmental measures to curb pollution during winter. “This has a big impact on the supply-demand balance. Not only in China, but the rest of the world,” Brandtzaeg said in an interview at Hydro’s headquarters in Oslo. He said the firm was...
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C (Alba) presents its financial results for Q3 and 9 months of 2017. The company’s top-line and bottom-line were driven by higher LME prices and the speed recovery of Line 5 operations. The Company reported a total sale of BD 235.3 million (US$ 625.8 million) IN Q3 2017, up 35% YoY from BD 174.3 million (US$ 463.5 million) in Q3 2016. Total Sales for the nine months of 2017 stood at BD 605 million (US$ 1.609 billion), up by 22% YoY, from BD 496.5 million (US$ 1.32 billion) for the same period in 2016. The Company reported a net income of BD 25.8 million (US$ 68.5 million) in Q3, up 80% YoY from BD 14.3 million (US$ 38.1 million) in Q3 2016. For the 9 months of 2017, net income registered 98% increase YoY to BD 69 million (US$ 183.5 million) from BD 34.8 million (US$...
The London Metal Exchange has laid out the timeline for its plans to reform and reverse declining volumes ahead of an annual gathering of the metals industry in London starting Oct. 30. Discussions during LME Week will range from LME fee cuts to new charges on the use of LME prices for over-the-counter (OTC) transactions and new product launches, including for chemicals used in rechargeable batteries to power electric vehicles. The 140-year-old exchange, the world's oldest and the largest industrial metals market, proposed a sweeping reform programme in September. Its volumes fell 4.3 percent in 2015 and 7.7 percent in 2016. Below is a planned timeline with comments from LME Chief Executive Matt Chamberlain. 2017 FEE CUTS The LME cut fees on short-dated carry trades - trades linking...
