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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Yunnan province’s aluminium production data has been released by Yunnan Industry Information Commission. The province aluminium production stood at 108,600 tonnes in July. Yunnan produced 748,200 tonnes of aluminium during January-July. Yunnan has aluminium smelting capacity of about 1.7 million tonnes per year, according to consultancy CRU. Almost all of province’s capacity is held by provincial government-controlled Yunnan Aluminium. Recently, the province announced the commencement of safety inspections from September 11, on aluminium, iron and steel plants as part of a crackdown on outdated capacity. In other news from SMM, Shanxi Chalco Huarun Co., a coal-power-aluminium integrated company will start its aluminium project operations at the end of this month. Aluminium project has an...
UC RUSAL, a leading global aluminium producer, is pleased to announce the completion of the modernization of Befesa-2 line for standard alloyed ingots production at the Irkutsk Aluminium Smelter (IrkAZ). In 2018, RUSAL plans to commission another line, Befesa-1, and the total investment in both lines will amount to USD7.6 million. The purpose of the project is to maintain share in the casting alloys market as well as to improve quality characteristics of the products to meet the demand of the IrkAZ’s customers in Europe and Asia. Within the framework of the Befesa-2 line, the specialists of the Engineering and Technology Center of RUSAL jointly with the experts of the Spanish firm Befesa Aluminio S.L. modernised various aspects including: installing a new casting wheel, a metal...
Crown Holdings Inc., a leading supplier of beverage packaging, food packaging, aerosol packaging, metal closures, and specialty packaging product, announced its plans to build a new plant for the manufacturing of aluminium beverage cans in the Valencia region of Spain. The company’s new facility will meet the growing demand for aluminium beverage cans in the Iberian region. The plant will initially produce approximately 900 million units in multiple sizes and is expected to be operational during the fourth quarter of 2018. “Initially, the capacity will be utilized to facilitate customers' transitions from steel to aluminium beverage cans and subsequently to support the growing demand for both beer and non-alcoholic beverage cans in the region,” it said. Crown Bevcan Europe and Middle East...
After the success of last year’s bezel-less Mi Mix, Xiaomi has taken the wraps off its latest offering the Mi Mix 2 at an event in China. The successor to bezel-less Mi Mix is a thinner handset with ceramic body and 7000 series aluminium frame. Xiaomi claims the smartphone is targeted towards the new-age business professionals. Source: Google According to the company specs, the Mi Mix 2 with aluminium frame comes with the Snapdragon 835 processor, 6GB of RAM, a 3,400mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0 support and 64,128 or 256GB of internal storage depending on the variant. Besides, the smartphone has a 5.99-inch display with an 18:9 aspect ratio. Xiaomi claims the handset is smaller than the iPhone 7 Plus despite having such a large display. Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 is superior at the connectivity...
Aluminium containers are used for packaging of several commercial commodities. Aluminium containers are non-toxic, odourless and moisture resistant. {newsStudioGallery} Germany imports aluminium containers from many countries around the world. Italy is one of the main exporters of these products to the country. The country’s aluminium container import witnessed a drop in volume and value in 2016. The country expects an increase in imports of aluminium containers this year, in contrast to previous years. As mentioned in our data, in the year 2015, imports of aluminium containers stood at about 785 tonnes. The volume decreased to 755 tonnes in 2016. For 2017, the aluminium containers import is estimated to stand at about 766 tonnes. The cost from import was US$ 10.42 million and US$ 8.8...
Spot alumina prices in China moves further up on Sept 11 throughout all the major markets. According to Shanghai Metals Market Statistics, the average spot alumina price has been rising steady from RMB 2885/tonne on September 1. Average alumina price for the month of September till date stands at RMB 3005/tonne. On September 11, Monday, the average alumina price stands at RMB 3106/tonne. Today’s spot alumina prices in the domestic markets are shown in the table below: Alumina price from large scale alumina enterprises too is on upward track through August and September. On September 11, Monday, Chalco alumina price stands at RMB 3190/tonne and is expected to move within a range of RMB 3,170- 3,210/t. In the import market; average alumina price stands at RMB 3050/tonne today, up from RMB...
Nanshan Aluminum Co. announced that the company has decided to construct its new alumina refinery in Indonesia. The company plans to raise no more than 5 billion yuan to build alumina refinery project, according to an SMM report. The alumina project involves an investment of 5.69 billion yuan. The plant will have an annual capacity of one million tonnes. The company products include alumina, electrolytic aluminium, aluminium sheets, aluminium strips, aluminium foils and profiles, alloy castings, and cold and hot rolling products. Nanshan Aluminum has the most complete aluminium industrial chain solely in Longkou throughout the world, covering the upstream and downstream links of the whole aluminum industry including energy and alumina.
Magna, a leading global automotive supplier, is expanding operations to add aluminium casting capabilities at its Kamtek facility in Birmingham, Alabama. The $60 million facility will initially manufacture lightweight aluminium front shock towers for a major global automaker. “High-pressure aluminium casting allows production of full structures in one piece, reducing vehicle mass without compromising performance, structural integrity or safety,” according to company’s press release. John Farrell, president of Cosma International, Magna's body and chassis operating unit said: "We remain focused on lightweighting to help improve fuel economy while decreasing vehicle emissions over time.” “The Kamtek expansion demonstrates our dedication to meeting these challenges head-on through...
In a sign of the prevailing bearishness, LME aluminium dropped marginally from its earlier close of US$2,075 per tonne on Thursday, September 7, to US$2072 per tonne on Friday, September 8. According to the Shanghai Metals Market forecast, the light metal contract will drop further into the range of US$2,080-2,105 per tonne today as the bearish trend is likely to continue over the short term. As on September 8, LME official cash buyer aluminium price (Bid Price) stands at US$2,071 per tonne, cash seller & settlement aluminium price (Offer price) is US$2,072 per tonne, 3M Bid Price is US$2,095 per tonne, 3M Offer Price is US$2,096 per tonne, Dec3 Bid Price is US$2,217 per tonne, and Dec3 Offer Price is US$2,222 per tonne. LME aluminium Opening Stock stands at 1321500 tonnes, total Live...
On the back of tightness in the supply of calcined coke and rising prebaked anode price, Xinjiang Qiya Aluminum & Electricity Co. has announced building of a captive prebaked anode project to feed its own plant. The project involves an investment of 20 million yuan and would have an annual capacity of 200,000 tonnes. The company is also developing a residual heat recycling project, which could save 28,673.16 tonnes of raw coal annually. This is a significant development on the back of strict environmental scrutiny faced by petcoke producers in China. In another update from SMM, Shanxi Chalco Huarun Co., an integrated metal and mining company with coal, power and aluminium production; has announced that they would commission an aluminium project at the end of September. The project, which...
Luiri Gold Limited announced that it has entered into a binding share purchase agreement to acquire Aluminium Metal Recyclers (Proprietary) Limited (AMR). AMR is a South African company which owns and operates a metal processing facility. AMR’s melting facility re‐melts aluminium furnace dross, scrap and off‐cuts primarily generated by aluminium processors or fabricators. At present, the facility is permitted to process 600 tonnes per month.” A new permit application to increase smelting production to 1,150 tonnes per month has been submitted to the relevant authorities and approval for this increase in capacity is expected soon,” the company said. The newly installed capability re‐melts bare scrap into sow format and recovers good quality metal units from furnace dross at competitive...
Yantai Lishin Electronic & Mechanical Co., announced that the company will supply aluminium die casting parts and die cast aluminium enclosures for a variety of industries. The company’s products are used in the electronics and electrical component industry. The aluminium enclosures are waterproof, and are designed according to the IP66 safety guidelines. The high quality aluminium die casting parts supplied by the company meet the ISO9001:2008 standards. The company can supply die casting parts of different aluminium materials which includes the A380, A360, ADC12 etc. Yantai Lishin Electronic & Mechanical Co. Ltd, located in Shandong Province, China, is one of the professional casting suppliers of aluminium casting, including high pressure die casting, gravity die casting and zinc alloy...
Saudi Arabian Mining Co (Ma’aden), the Gulf’s largest mining company, has asked banks to submit proposals for a loan which would refinance some $2.88 billion of existing debt, sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. It sent a request for proposals to banks last week and the banks have until the end of September to respond, the sources said. The facility would be the largest corporate loan out of Saudi Arabia since 2015, according to Thomson Reuters data. The state-controlled miner is raising the financing for Ma‘aden Aluminium, an integrated aluminium facility. France’s BNP Paribas and Saudi Arabia’s National Commercial Bank are coordinating the fundraising, which could be completed by the end of the year, one of the sources said. Ma‘aden and BNP Paribas declined to comment,...
Henan province, China’s major producer of bauxite, has planned to suspend some bauxite, iron ore and coal mines, according to news posted by Shanghai Metals Market and reported by dahe.cn. The construction and expansion of bauxite mines and pyrite mines in the province will be suspended. The mines have an annual capacity of less than 300,000 tonnes annually. The province will also suspend underground mines with depth of more than 1,000 meters and open-pit mines with safety distance of less than 300 meters. All coal mines will be closed with annual capacity of less than 300,000 tonnes. Earlier reports showed that the province suspended approval for underground mines and mining rights for bauxite and pyrite mines. Recently, alumina production in Shanxi province had been affected by...
Pacific Bauxite Limited, an Australian mineral explorer with a focus on bauxite exploration, mining and production, has identified three large high-grade bauxite reserves at the South West New Georgia Bauxite Project in the Solomon Islands for mining, reported by Proactive Investors. For this, Pacific Bauxite is going to raise capital from the market, and the ASX has granted a trading halt to prepare. This halt will be effective till the trading resumes on Tuesday 12th September 2017. The Company has investments in bauxite projects in the Solomon Islands and aims to expand its project portfolio to include Malaysian mining operations. Pacific Bauxite acquires and develops high-value, low-cost bauxite opportunities close to Asian Markets.
The China aluminium market is fluctuating almost every day over the uncertainty regarding the current aluminium capacity cut in the country. Both A00 Aluminium Ingot and aluminium alloys ingot prices in China have dropped on August 8 throughout all markets. All SHFE base metals prices plunged at around 2:00 pm September 8, with the exception of tin. The average price of A00 Aluminium Ingot would range between RMB15,920 – 15,960/t and today’s average price stands at RMB 15,940/t. Average prices in the major Chinese markets for September 8 are given in the table below: A00 Aluminium Ingot in spot China market is trading at discounts of RMB 130 - 90/t. Among the domestic markets, the average price for A00 Aluminium Ingot for South China market remains the highest today. Aluminum...
China posted trade surplus decreased to 286.50 billion yuan in August from 321.2 billion yuan in July. Trade surplus was estimated to be 335.7 billion yuan in August, according to Shanghai Metals Market report. China, one of the foremost producers of aluminium semis apart from being the biggest manufacturer of primary aluminium, witnessed a sharp fall in exports of unwrought aluminium and aluminium semis in August from July’s level. China’s exports of unwrought aluminium and aluminium semis fell 6.8 per cent to 410,000 tonnes in August, according to the latest numbers reported by China Customs. The country exported 440,000 tonnes of unwrought aluminium and aluminium semis in July. During the first eight months of this year, China’s total exports volume of the same reached 3.25 million...
Energy loss, due to the resistance of electrical conductors, in transmission and distribution systems currently costs U.S. economy around $20 billion annually. This amount of energy can power 24 million homes per year, and it provides considerable motivation to improve the transmission and distribution system efficiency. The development of advanced and high performance electrical conductors is critical to improve efficiency, to lower system costs, and to improve robustness of the US electrical grid. NanoAl LLC is awarded a Phase II SBIR grant of more than $1 million from the US Department of Energy to develop a low cost, improved conductor alloy for overhead power. In Phase I, NanoAl developed a new class of low-cost and scalable AA6000-series aluminum wire conductors that has...
