BorgWarner has won its first commercial order for an electric motor developed with aluminium-wire hairpin winding technology. The US automotive supplier will provide the new eMotor to a major Chinese automaker for use in hybrid vehicles, bringing the technology into its first production application. The motor uses aluminium-wire hairpin winding technology and is designed for hybrid vehicles. Its applications include generator motors and traction motors for auxiliary drive systems, with production scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2026. Explore AL Circle’s report ALuminium Wires & Cables - Insights & Forecast to 2030 for insights into aluminium applications, industry developments and opportunities across the electrical sector . Compared with conventional copper-wire motors with...
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...
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LME aluminium after registering the biggest one-day increase in last three months dropped 0.36 per cent on Friday, July 14. The light metal closed at US$1,904 per tonne on the last trading day of the week, down from US$1,911 per tonne on Thursday, July 13. The market continued to digest the news on output cut in China domestic market thereby leading to the aluminium price drop. Shanghai Metals Market thinks that opening of new capacity and restarting of old capacity, combined with weakening consumption, will further cap the gains in aluminium price. As per Reuters’ technical analysis, LME aluminium may break a major resistance at US$1,939 per tonne and advance further to US$1,953-1,962 range. The lower support, on the other hand, is at US$1,917; a break below this level could cause a loss...
Aluminium Bahrain (Alba), one of the largest aluminium smelters in the world, announced the promotion of Faeq Abdulrahim for the position of manager for strategic supply and planning. Alba’s chief executive officer Tim Murray, said: “Alba takes great pride in promoting talented Bahraini professionals to decision-making roles. Faeq has excellent skills in procurement and contract management and has been delivering exceptional results. “I am confident that he will play a key role in Alba’s global strategic expansion initiatives and build strong relationships with our growing supplier base.” He joined the company in July 2011 as a Business Unit Controller with the Financial Accounting and Controlling Department. Faeq Abdulrahim was appointed as Head of Supply of Major Raw Materials in June...
The exports of bauxite in Brazil rose in June following 1.6 per cent year-on-year drop in the fourth quarter of the last financial year ending 31st March 2017. Bauxite export in June totalled 906,881 tonnes, up 9.3 per cent from the same period previous year . Bauxite industry has seen considerable progress last week. Here is a round-up of the most important news stories on the bauxite sector from the week gone by: ABx’s Binjour bauxite resources review poised to progress to the next step Australian Bauxite Limited (ABx) recently updated its investors on the review of bauxite resources at Binjour saying that the project is soon to step into its next logical level. According to the company, Rawmin Mining and Industries Pvt. Ltd, the marketing partner of ABx, has requested to make...
A drop in global bauxite price has slowed down bauxite shipment of XINFA Aurum Exploration in Fiji. However, the company says it will continue with its mining operation in Bua despite the price drop in order to accumulate its stock. Ministry of Lands and Mineral Resources Permanent Secretary Malakai Finau confirmed this saying that the company will continue mining and export the stock later when the commodity price improves. He added that bauxite shipment last year declined due to low commodity price in China who is the primary buyer of the Fijian bauxite. Fijian bauxite which is not of premium quality has to compete with good quality bauxite from countries like as Australia, Mongolia and Indonesia. According to the data from Bauxite Index, the Chinese domestic alumina prices have fallen...
Downstream aluminium sector is where the real buzz is right now. The once mighty primary aluminium industries in many regions are currently shifting their focus to downstream manufacturing, and the last week stood a witness of many such changes. Norsk Hydro entered into an agreement with Orkla to purchase Orkla's 50% interest in Sapa for a value of NOK 27 billion. The agreement will give Hydro the full ownership in the global leader in extruded aluminium solutions making Hydro a leading global integrated aluminium company. The acquisition will increase earnings and cash generation from Sapa from the very first day and it would generate synergies of NOK 200 million per year, mainly related to remelt and recycling, reports said. In India, Angul Aluminium Park , a joint venture between...
Thrust Aircraft Private Limited is a unique venture was started by a self-motivated entrepreneur Capt. Amol Shivaji Yadav. He is a Deputy Chief Pilot by profession and has been working on building indigenous aircraft for past 17 years. Amol Yadav assembled his first aircraft by himself on the rooftop of his Mumbai house in 2003. After six years and two trials he could procure the right materials and machinery to build a six-seater plane named TAC003. He sourced aluminium alloy from a domestic supplier to make his aircraft and also another fabricator to make the parts. The plane has a 350 horse-power engine, can reach heights of up to 13,000 feet at 1500 feet per hour. It can cover a distance of 2000 kilometres at a top speed of 185 nautical miles (342.6 km) per hour. The plane can carry a...
Sapa, a joint venture of Norsk Hydro, yesterday announced result for the second quarter of 2017. The company’ EBIT for the second quarter stood at NOK 914 million, a significant improvement over the same period last year. Underlying EBIT for the first half of 2017 also improved compared to the same period in 2016. The company said, “The increase was driven by a higher share of value-add business and internal improvements for all business areas.” Net interest-bearing debt stood at NOK 3.1 billion at the end of the quarter. The increase was “mainly reflecting dividend payments of NOK 3 billion to the owners.” The total demand for extruded products in North America increased in the second quarter as compared to the first quarter of 2017 by 3.4 per cent. The increase for this quarter was...
Vedanta Ltd plans to increase its volumes by 50% across all business operations over the next two-three years as a part of its capital expenditure (capex) plans. Chairman Navin Agarwal said this during the annual general meeting (AGM) on Friday. This was the first AGM convened by Vedanta after its merger with Cairn India in April. "We cannot give you an exact capex figure but in the next two-three years, you will see the company grow 50 per cent larger than what it is now in terms of its volumes across all businesses," said the Chairman. According to the company CFO, the major capital investments will be in zinc, oil and gas and aluminium businesses. The management further added that Vedanta expects to continue rewarding its shareholders with support from a strong balance sheet and...
Aluminium extrusion is a process of shaping aluminium alloy by forcing it through a die of the desired cross- section. It is the most popular aluminium shaping process that offers endless possibilities in product design. Aluminium extrusions find it uses in a number of end user sectors such as construction, electrical transportation to name a few. The consumption of aluminium extrusion has increased significantly in the last two decades, aluminium’s malleability and light weight being few of the main reasons. Recently, the Australia Anti-Dumping Commission (ADC), which is under the Australian Department of Industry, Innovation and Science, concluded the investigation into the alleged dumping of aluminium extrusions exported to Australia from Malaysia. Malaysia witnessed a noticeable surge...
The global aluminium powder market is estimated to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 3.51per cent to be valued at US$3453 million by 2021 up from US$2,808 million in 2015. As per documented statistics generated till 2015 end, total aluminium powder production volume reached 363,724 tonnes in 2015. In 2016, the volume was estimated at 589,012 tonnes. According to a market research report, Asia-Pacific region accounted for 44 per cent of the global aluminium powder market share during 2014. In 2015, it grew significantly with only China attributing close to 40 per cent of the world production. Europe’s contribution in 2015 stood at 20.4 per cent and that of North America was estimated at 10.05 per cent. Application-wise, aluminium pigment accounted for 39 per cent of the total powder...
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has received an order from Hiroshima Rapid Transit Co., Ltd. for 66 all-aluminium-alloy carriages (11 trains) that will be used on the Hiroshima New Transit Line 1. Known as the "Astram Line," this Automated Guideway Transit (AGT) system connects different parts of the Hiroshima City. The newly ordered AGT vehicles will replace carriages that have been in service since the Astram Line was inaugurated in 1994. Deliveries are expected to commence in the 2019 fiscal year and will be completed by FY 2025. The new-type carriages incorporate a series of state-of-the-art technologies to achieve benefits for operator as well as passenger. MHI will continue to promote its Automated Guideway Transit (AGT) offerings for new urban transit systems and airports...
The Automotive Monthly Metals Index for European market rebounded from a dip in May to move up in June this year, revealed a recent analysis by MetalMiner analyst Fouad Egbaria. This is in contrast with the total car sales number that witnessed a drop in some European markets, including in the UK. Due to negative sentiment after Dieselgate, sales of diesel vehicles have dived in some parts of Europe in the past few months over concerns that “authorities will raise costs or otherwise make living with diesel engines a less attractive proposition for owners,” MetalMiner noted. Aluminium remains a significant material for car body and parts manufacturing. According to an earlier directive, the amount of light, recyclable aluminium in European cars will have to be raised to 180 kg on average...
Secondary aluminium prices stabilized this week in Europe, appearing to reach a floor after slipping for several weeks. The key grade of recycled aluminium, ingot 226, reached a peak of Eur1,820-1,880/mt delivered plus credit at the start of April and has fallen week by week over the past three months to a low of Eur1,650-1,700/mt delivered at the end of June. Business is beginning to slow down ahead of the summer turnarounds and holidays, sources said. Sales to larger consumers this week were heard at around Eur1,650-1,670/mt delivered plus credit, while smaller buyers in some areas were paying over Eur1,700/mt delivered. A monthly buyer seeking September quantities was understood to be looking to achieve under Eur1,650/mt delivered, but sellers were reluctant to move much below this...
Rusal, the leading global aluminium producer, and the Russian Aluminium Association, a union of producers, suppliers and consumers of aluminium, announce the completion of the pedestrian bridge using aluminium alloys in its construction. This is the second bridge of this kind in Russia. The second bridge is based in the Afonino village of the Kstovski district in the region of Nizhny Novgorod and the construction works completed overnight on July 13-14, 2017. In June, earlier this year , the first bridge built of aluminum alloys was built in the same location. Each (of the two bridges) are 38 meters in length and have a width of 6.5 meters. The construction weight is 22 tonnes and this is three times lighter than steel-made equivalents. Partners of the project are the ‘GS-Reserve’...
McMullen Facades, part of the Lakesmere Group, secured a contract for the delivery of bespoke unitised façade system to the New District residential development in London’s Isle of Dogs. The multimillion pound contract has been given by Canary Wharf Contractors. The company is the UK's leading specialist facade contractor offering full design, fabrication and installation of aluminium curtain wall and window systems for medium and large scale building projects. The contract includes the supply of the scheme’s cladding package, aluminium swing doors, lift and slide doors, window systems, structural glass balustrades, aluminium soffits and aluminium privacy screens between apartments. Also, the company has been awarded to design, manufacture and installation of the facades for buildings....
The global demand of alumina, the key electrolyte for aluminium production through Hall Heroult method, though rising significantly is lending little support to Australia’s exports. The largest exporter of alumina in 2016 is nearing a drop in the mineral commodity export, if quarterly estimates are to be believed. For the entire year of 2016, Australia’s estimated alumina export totalled at 8.4 million tonnes. In the first quarter of the current financial, that is, during May-June 2017, total alumina export from the country is estimated to reach 2.3 million tonnes, down from 4.93 million tonnes in the corresponding period previous year. The estimates are bleak for the next quarter as well. In Q2 FY 2017-18, alumina exports by Australia will reach 2.5 million tonnes, down from 4.98 million...
Alumina and electricity are the two key inputs that go into aluminium production which also play a very significant role in determining the price of aluminium. Integrated aluminium producers like Alcoa, Norsk Hydro and Rio Tinto (RIO) have both alumina refining as well as aluminium smelting operations. Alumina prices were strong last year driven by capacity curtailments in China and higher thermal coal prices and high demand in China. Alcoa’s alumina segment posted a sharp increase in profitability due to higher alumina prices. However, API prices (alumina price index) have fallen drastically in 2017. This could be a concern for Alcoa as lower alumina prices would have a negative impact on the profitability of its alumina operations. Secondly, low alumina prices could also bring down...
Dr. Ashok Nandi, the Convener for IBAAS Conference, recently told Mining Weekly that Guinea hosts largest bauxite deposits, and the fastest-developing bauxite mining and export centres, and hence, it was selected as the venue for IBAAS this year. He said that the registration for the conference and the submission of presentations and abstracts in English and/or French has opened. International Bauxite, Alumina & Aluminium Society (IBAAS) in association with Camen Resources, is organizing 6th International Bauxite – Alumina symposium (IBAAS-2017) on 21st – 22nd September, 2017 at Conakry, Guinea. The title of the IBAAS-2017 symposium is “Sustainable Development of Bauxite & Alumina Industry in Guinea”. He said: “The conference will provide an excellent opportunity to explore the...
