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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One of the world’s promising high purity alumina producer, Altech Chemicals is planning to raise US$20 million in a placement for its proposed capacity expansion plan of the high purity alumina plant from 4000tpa to 4500tpa. The move comes after the company was forced to more than pare down the estimated capital costs for the project. Altech has been granted additional time to finalise the capital raising in the form of a voluntary suspension following a trading halt. It is expected the voluntary suspension will be lifted on or before Friday 27th October 2017. Altech Chemicals had put a price tag of US$80 million on the HPA project, which covers a mine at Meckering, Perth, and an alumina processing plant at Jahor in Malaysia. On Monday, October 23, it revised its estimate of capital...
Arconic Inc. announced the appointment of Charles “Chip” Blankenship as Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Arconic Board of Directors, effective January 15, 2018. Mr. Blankenship is a 24-year veteran of General Electric (GE) with experience in aviation and jet engine businesses, including running its commercial engine operations. Blankenship, 51, brings 20 years of aerospace experience to Arconic, having worked across GE’s aviation businesses, including aero engines, industrial gas turbines and aerospace alloy development. A metallurgist by education, Blankenship began his career with GE in 1992 after earning a B.S. in Materials Engineering from Virginia Tech and a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Virginia. Blankenship is a member of the National...
LME aluminium seems to be neutral within a wide range. The light metal contract which closed at US$2,133.5 per tonne on Monday, October 23, inched higher to close at US$2,144 per tonne on Tuesday, October 24. Reuters’ technical analysis suggests that LME aluminium may break a resistance at US$2,171 per tonne and revisit the high of US$2,199 per tonne. There is a support at US$2,154 per tonne. A break below the level could cause a loss into the current range of US$2,127-US$2,141 per tonne in the near term. But as mentioned in previous analysis, LME aluminium price trend is biased towards an upside. As on October 24, LME official cash buyer aluminium price (Bid Price) stands at US$2,143.50 per tonne, cash seller & settlement aluminium price (Offer price) is US$2,144 per tonne, 3M Bid Price...
According to the latest report from Aluminum Association, U.S. and Canadian producers shipped an estimated 444.3 million pounds of Aluminum Extruded Products including extruded shapes, pipe & tube, and rod & bar during September 2017, up 1.4% over the September 2016 total of 437.9 million pounds. On a month on month comparison, shipments decreased 6.9% from that of August 2017. YTD shipments through September 2017 stood at 4,050.2 million pounds, up 1.8% over the same period of 2016. According to the report, U.S. and Canadian producers shipped an estimated 92.0 million pounds of Aluminum Drawing Stock, Bare Wire and Rod & Bar during September 2017, off 8.2% from the September 2016 total of 100.2 million pounds. Compared to the previous month, shipments dropped 7.1 per cent from the August...
A day after India’s coal ministry rejected Nalco’s claim of fuel shortage related CPP unit closure claiming that the PSU had ample supply of coal to the amount of 4.7 million tonnes per annum (MTPA), the aluminium producer said it has “not” yet cut any production at its aluminium smelter due to coal crisis. "As on date, Nalco has not curtailed any production (aluminium metal) at smelter plant due to coal crisis," Nalco said Tuesday in a Bombay Stock Exchange filing. The Navaratna aluminium company said that there is a coal issue across the nation and that the independent power plants are given priority over the captive power plants when it comes to the supply of coal. Since, Nalco sources power from CPP for its aluminium smelter plant, it has been facing such problems from close quarters....
Ge Honglin, chairman of Aluminum Corp of China or Chinalco, China’s biggest state-run aluminium producer said that consumption of aluminium is set to increase by 9-10 per cent in 2017 on the back of strong downstream demand. Aluminium demand is expected to grow faster than the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2018. The aluminium consumption is expected to be around 26.25 million tonnes in the first three quarters of 2017, up 9% YoY, with peak end-year demand yet to come. This was communicated after he represented his company in China’s 19th Communist Party congress as a delegate. Huge consumer demand, he said will open the door for healthy development of the global aluminium industry. China’s estimated GDP growth for 2017 is around 6.5 per cent this year. The International...
Arconic Inc. reported results for the third quarter of 2017 with a revenue realization of $3.2 billion, up 3% YoY, driven by higher volumes across all business segments as well as higher aluminium prices. The company reported net income of $119 million versus $166 million in Q3 2016. Excluding special items, adjusted income stood at $132 million versus $137 million in in Q3 2016. The reported consolidated adjusted EBITDA stood at $430 million, up 14% YoY. Excluding special items, consolidated adjusted EBITDA stood at $437 million, up 2% YoY. Excluding special items, consolidated adjusted EBITDA margin stood at 13.5%, down 20 basis points year over year. The company reports net cost savings of 1.5% of revenues through its continued focus on cost reduction; in the third quarter. The company...
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan began inspecting Kobe Steel’s Mie aluminium plant in central Japan on Monday amid controversies that the aluminium maker had falsified product data at many plants. The Daian aluminium plant in Mie Prefecture produced aluminium used in passenger planes manufactured by Mitsubishi Regional Jet. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. has confirmed that they have found no safety issues with the aluminium they bought from Kobe Steel for their aircrafts, and that they will continue with their development plans as scheduled. Yet, the transport ministry intends to conduct further investigations across the industries which used Kobe Steel’s aluminium. The industries cover automobiles, shinkansen trains, commercial planes and spacecraft....
UC RUSAL, the leading global aluminium producer from Russia reports QoQ increase in the production of aluminium for the third quarter 2017. Rusal reported total aluminium production of 931 thousand tonnes with an increase of 1.1% QoQ. Production dynamics remained stable with a 95%capаcity utilization rate. Siberian smelters represented 94% of total aluminium output. In Q3 2017 total aluminium sales dropped 3.4% QoQ to stand at 968 thousand tonnes. The fall in aluminium sales is largely explained by increase of goods in transit due to ports/vessels availability and the realization will take place in the next period. In Q3 2017, sales of value added products (VAP) stood at 479 thousand tonnes. The company has increased the share of VAP in total sales as per strategy, which now stands at 50%...
In the midst of the announcement of production limit plan during winter heating season, alumina prices are holding strong. Average spot alumina price has registered a gain of RMB 22/t to stand at RMB 3730/t after a flat run for two days. Spot alumina prices have gained in all other individual markets in China. Chalco alumina and imported alumina prices have remained unchanged. the price movements are shown in the below table: As for other raw materials are concerned, prebaked anode and bauxite prices remain unchanged in all major China markets. Prices of A00 aluminium ingot have registered a slight rise from RMB 16,130/t to stand at RMB 16,150/t today. A00 aluminium ingot prices across all individual markets have also increased consequently. Aluminium alloy ingot prices also remain flat...
India is one of the world’s fastest growing secondary aluminium markets. With vehicle demand growth showing great potential, recycled aluminium consumption is pegged at 8-10 per cent per year. In the recently ended Bureau of International Recycling Non-Ferrous Metals Division convention in New Delhi, the Executive Director of Century Metal Recycling, Akshay Agarwal, noted, “This growing scrap appetite will be met primarily by increased aluminium scrap imports.” Global export-import data shows India’s aluminium scrap imports have been holding at highs over the past three years. Recycled aluminium accounts for 30% of India’s total aluminium consumption which currently stands at 3.3 million tonnes per year. In 2016, around 120,000 tonnes of aluminium scrap was generated in India, with the...
LME aluminium failed to hold ground at/around its recent price gain and fell by 1.18 per cent from its previous close at US$2,159 per tonne on Friday, October 20. The light metal contract closed at US$2,133.50 per tonne on Monday, October 23. Reuters’ technical analysis suggests that LME aluminium will trade neutrally in the range of US$2,127-US$2,154 per tonne, and is likely to escape a direction in the near term. A break above US$2,154 could lead to a gain to US$2,171 per tonne. If the metal manages to rise to $2,171, a bullish wedge could be confirmed and LME aluminium could revisit the high at $2,199 per tonne. The price trend seems to be biased towards the upside. As on October 23, LME official cash buyer aluminium price (Bid Price) stands at US$2,132.50 per tonne, cash seller &...
SAF Perimeter Systems announces the addition of two new collections to their popular Designer Series Commercial Gutter Systems. The new Eclectic and Geometric Collections use the same time-tested two-piece design with new snap on decorative fascia styling to complement the ever-changing design intent of Architects and Owners. All Designer Series Commercial Gutter Systems are fabricated with heavy gage aluminum concealed liner with hidden brackets and straps that help support the weight of heavy snow and ice making them ideal for commercial, industrial and high end residential building projects. “The extension of our Traditional Designer Series Commercial Gutter System has been a long time coming. Using our design experience on custom systems around the country, we developed these new...
UC RUSAL, the leading global aluminium producer has announces operating results for the third quarter 2017. In Q3 2017, consolidated bauxites output of Rusal decreased by 11.3% QoQ to stand at 2,742 thousand tonnes. The Company covered alumina refineries consumption needs using the available inventory at its operations at Achinsk, Bogoslovsk, Urals and Windalco operations. Production volumes at Timan decreased by 5.5% QoQ to stand at 839 thousand tonnes and Kindia production volumes decreased by 11.0% QoQ to 717 thousand tonnes due to scheduled operational maintenance works. Bad weather conditions affected operational performance of Bauxite Company of Guyana and production dropped 41.6% QoQ to 161 thousand tonnes and Windalco production dropped 5.5% QoQ to 476 thousand tonnes. North Urals...
The International Committee for Study of Bauxite, Alumina & Aluminium (ICSOBA) successfully concluded its 35th International Conference and Exhibition of ICSOBA that was held in the Radisson Blu hotel in Hamburg, Germany from 2 to 5 October, 2017 in cooperation with TRIMET and DADCO. ICSOBA is a well-recognized international non-profit association of members with the vision of being the “Technology Conference of the Aluminium Industries, for the Aluminium Industries”. The prime mission of ICSOBA Mission consists of promoting the exchange of ideas and know-how from different fields of research related to bauxite exploration and mining, and alumina and aluminium production. To this objective they organize yearly Technology Conference with a scope of covering upstream Aluminium activities...
Sohar Aluminium, the host and organizers of the 2017 Arab International Aluminium Conference (ARABAL), has unveiled a formidable line-up of industry leaders from around the globe for the international event. Set to be held at the Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah Resort & Spa, Muscat, from 6 – 9 November 2017, ARABAL 2017 will feature a total of 12 sessions, each dedicated to a subject of vital significance to the global industry. A detailed programme agenda set out for the three-day event will include panel discussions, case studies and research papers presented by 66 speakers comprising leading executives and experts to offer insights into the sustainable growth of the region’s aluminium industry. Engineer Said Al Masoudi, CEO of Sohar Aluminium, commented, “The conference’s list of speakers...
According to the latest USGS release on Bauxite and Alumina in the Second Quarter 2017 , imports of crude and dried bauxite by the U.S. in the second quarter of 2017 were 945,000 tonnes, 20% more than those in the first quarter of 2017 that imported 790,000 metric tons of bauxite in the first quarter of 2017. However, on a YoY basis, import of bauxite drops 33% from those in the second quarter of 2016. Imports of crude and dried bauxite in the second quarter of 2016 were 1.42 million metric tons (Mt). Imports of crude and dried bauxite in the first quarter of 2017 were 790,000 tons, 47% less than those in the first quarter of 2016. Imports of crude and dried bauxite in the first quarter of 2016 were 1.51 million tonnes, 45% less than those in the first quarter of 2015. During 2015, Guinea...
Altech Chemicals Limited has announced finalisation of the design for the capacity upgrade of its proposed high purity alumina (HPA) plant in Malaysia. The company had got the German engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor SMS group GmbH (SMS) to do the project work for them. Altech has now completed optimisation of process flow sheet for the plant that will churn out 4,500 tonnes of HPA per annum from the current from 4,000 tpa, the company’s media release confirmed: The majority of the changes compared to the previous flow sheet have impacted the HPA finishing section of the plant. This section now incorporates a flexible finished product line capable of producing HPA for both the synthetic sapphire industry (up to 4,500tpa of high density pellets) and HPA for the...
