Aluminium alloy powder production for additive manufacturing is set to expand through a new technical cooperation agreement between CNPC Powder China Ltd and Xi’an Bright Laser Technologies Co Ltd (BLT). The agreement covers the production and international distribution of BLT-AlAM400, an aluminium alloy powder developed for applications in humanoid robotics, new energy vehicles (NEVs), aerospace and other industrial sectors. Under the agreement, BLT has authorised Shanghai-based CNPC Powder to manufacture BLT-AlAM400 on a contract basis in China and sell the powder internationally. CNPC Powder has also secured exclusive overseas agency rights, excluding BLT’s direct sales network and existing regional agents. With an annual powder production capacity of almost 10,000 tonnes, CNPC Powder...
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...
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The Iran-Guinea bauxite project is finally back on track. The final feasibility report on bauxite mining near Guinea’s capital city Conarky was approved by government officials from both the countries on Tuesday, May 9. Mehdi Karbasian, Chairman of Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) and Abdoulaye Magassouba, Guinea's Minister of Mines and Geology, approved the ore extraction technology and process proposed by German consultants DMT GmBH, at a meeting held in Tehran. The two government authorities also came to terms regarding financing and operational cost reduction of the project. The feasibility study reports that the Guinea government will invite bids from global bauxite mining companies for extraction and opening of the mine at the...
Novelis Inc., the world leader in aluminum rolling and recycling, today reported record results for Q4 2017 recording significant YoY increases in Adjusted EBITDA, net income, free cash flow and automotive sheet shipments. For Q4 2017, Net income increased 46% to $73 million. Excluding special items net income stood at $47 million. Adjusted EBITDA excluding metal price lag was up 5% to $292 million. The results were driven by 26% increase in automotive shipments. Net sales increased 9% to $2.6 billion for Q4 2017, driven by higher aluminum prices and increased automotive shipments and shipments of high value products. Total rolled aluminum products shipments were flat YoY at 789 kilotonnes. Positive factors like higher automotive sheet shipments, operating efficiencies, lower metal cost,...
The recent downfall in LME aluminium prices enters its sixth day. The light metal traded globally has dropped by 2.4 per cent since it last hit US$1,916 per tonne on May 3. On Wednesday, May 10, LME aluminium closed at US$1,870 per tonne, down 0.21 per cent from its previous close of US$1,874 per tonne on Tuesday, May 9. Shanghai Metals Market forecasts that LME aluminium prices will fluctuate within the range of US$1,850-1,880 per tonne on Thursday, May 11. As on May 10, LME official cash buyer price of aluminium stands at US$1,869.50 per tonne, cash seller & settlement price is US$1,870 per tonne, 3M buyer price is US$1,874 per tonne, 3M seller price is US$1,875 per tonne, Dec1 buyer price is US$1,915 per tonne, and Dec1 seller price is US$1,920 per tonne. The current LME official...
India major aluminium scrap commodities prices on the Scrap Register Price Index stayed flat as on Tuesday, while aluminium futures prices at Multi Commodity Exchange settled slightly higher at INR 121.05 per kilogram. India's major aluminium scrap commodities like aluminium accessories scrap, aluminium cable scrap, aluminium ingots, aluminium rod company, aluminium rod local, aluminium scrap 6063 and aluminium scrap taint/tabor showed a flat trend on Tuesday. The most active May aluminium contract on Multi Commodity Exchange edged up by 0.12% INR 121.05 per kilogram on Tuesday from previous close of 120.90 per kilogram. The MCX aluminium prices touched an intra-day high of INR 121.70 per kilogram and an intra-day low of INR 120.65 per kilogram during Tuesday. Aluminium output in China...
Showa Denko KK (SDK) announced that they have planned to increase the output of high-purity aluminium foil in China. High-purity aluminium foil is one of the foremost materials of aluminium electrolytic capacitors, it said on Wednesday. The reason behind the move is to supply high-purity aluminium foil to the growing market of aluminium electrolytic capacitor worldwide. SDK will increase Showa Denko Aluminum (Nantong) Co., Ltd.’s monthly production capacity from 600 tons to 800 tons. The company is expected to begin the operation in November 2017. Showa Denko Aluminum (Nantong) Co., Ltd. (SDAN), a consolidated subsidiary of SDK, carries out final processing of rolled aluminium foil supplied from SDK’s Sakai Plant. The company sells high-purity aluminium foil to customers in China. Showa...
Ghana’s Trade and Industry Minister Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen said during the National Single Window Conference yesterday that the government is planning to diversify the economy towards bauxite and aluminium industry. This would lead to the starting of a new vehicle assembly and automotive industry in the country. Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen commented: “Apart from the one district one factory initiative, we are also embarking on what we call Strategic Anchor Industries.” “So hopefully, within the next 5 years, we will be diversifying our economy away from cocoa and gold and we will be looking at the Petrochemical industry and integrated iron and steel industry, aluminium and Bauxite industry which then leads us on to a new vehicle assembly and automotive industry.” He added: “We are...
The Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden) released its consolidated financial and operating results for the first quarter ended 31 March 2017. The Company reported strong profit growth driven by increased production volumes across all segments, improved commodity prices and a cost advantages. The Q1 2017 recorded stronger prices for aluminium, gold and copper in comparison to Q1 2016. Total sales increased by 20% YoY driven by increased volumes in all business segments and higher prices for aluminium by 17%. Net income rose 70% YoY to reach SAR 341 million. “Ma’aden continues to deliver on all fronts, achieving both outstanding operational performance as well as a strong financial performance in the first quarter of the year. We ramped-up production as planned in all our businesses and...
According to the first-hand production data released by Shanghai Metals Market, April aluminium output (preliminary) rose 21.5 per cent year-on-year to stand at 5695 thousand tonnes, March aluminium output (final data) was estimated at 3112 thousand tonnes, and the first three month cumulative production reached 12 million tonnes, up 22 per cent year-on-year. Henan, one of the five major aluminium producing regions in China, produced 728,7000 tonnes of aluminium during the first three months of 2017. The Q1 production fell 3.34 per cent year-on-year; yet accounted for 8.89 per cent of the country’s total aluminium output for the period. China’s total aluminium output increased 10.9 per cent year-on-year during the period under review. Henan’s alumina production surged to reach 3.27...
China’s import of alumina totalled 420,834 tonnes in March 2017, up 17 per cent from the same period in last year. January-March (quarter one) imports were up at 921,123 tonnes, revealed data released by China’s General Administration of Customs. {newsStudioGallery} Alumina exports, as expected, were down by 4.73 per cent at 5,526 tonnes in March. Q1 cumulative exports totalled 12,950 tonnes, showed China Customs data. Source: Klaveness Research China imported maximum volume of alumina from Australia during both the periods under review. In March, imports from the island country were up 1.08 per cent at 154,797 tonnes, while for the entire of the first quarter imports totalled 401,116 tonnes. Indonesia, Vietnam, India, and Jamaica were the other top countries which supplied alumina to...
Temotu province of Solomon Islands is facing growing community unrest over bauxite mining licence and operations. The Australian mining company, AU Capital Mining, co-owned by Pacific Bauxite, recently won a license to explore bauxite mining at Nende in Temotu. According to media reports, bauxite interests are linked with recent political turmoil in the province. Temotu's former provincial premier, Nelson Omar claims that his recent removal from post was because he rejected licenses for mining and logging interests. He had rejected Pacific Bauxite for a business license. "The consent from the resource owners, the land owners, how it was conducted was not done in accordance with existing legislations which govern the mining and logging acts." Pacific Bauxite has insisted it has consulted...
Alumina Partners of Jamaica (Alpart) is setting up a new facility in Jamaica. Jamaican Finance Minister Audley Shaw made the disclosure at a town hall that the company is expected to build second alumina refinery soon. The new alumina plant is expected to produce 2,000 tonnes of alumina every year. He further added that this new facility would add company’s total alumina production of 3,600 tonnes per annum. Apart from alumina refinery, Audley Shaw stated that Alpart is also planning to construct a plant that would produce aluminium foil. This project would create thousands more employment opportunities to the Jamaicans. Around seven hundred people have already got jobs with the reopening of Alpart. Alpart’s capacity, prior to its shut down in 2009, was 1.65 million tonnes of alumina and...
Novelis Inc., the world leader in aluminium rolling and recycling, announced today that it has entered into a joint venture agreement with Kobe Steel, Ltd., a producer of aluminium rolled products in Japan. The joint venture, to be named Ulsan Aluminium, Ltd., will be formed by Novelis, selling Kobe Steel 50% of its ownership interest in its Ulsan, South Korea facility for US $315 million. Through the venture, Novelis and Kobe Steel will jointly own and operate the Ulsan facility, with each company remaining responsible for its metal supply and commercial relationships. The joint venture transaction is expected to close in September 2017, subject to customary closing conditions. By entering into this joint venture, Novelis will better utilize its rolling capacity at Ulsan, which will...
The Aluminium Federation (‘ALFED’), the trade body of the UK’s aluminium sector, has announced the appointment of a new President. Giles Ashmead, managing director of Powdertech (Corby) Ltd, was previously Vice-President of the Aluminium Federation, and succeeds Adrian Platt. Powdertech is one of the UK’s leading metal finishing companies, focusing on the construction, automotive and rail sectors. The company has been involved in many headline construction projects such as the Shard, the ‘Cheesegrater’ and St Pancras Station, and coats components for JLR and train projects such as Hitachi IEP and Eurostar. Giles has been a member of the Aluminium Federation’s Board since 2009, and has chaired both the Aluminium Finishing Association and its successor, the ALFED Finishing Cluster. “I am...
The global surplus of aluminium and the recent bottoming out of global crude oil prices have already dragged LME aluminium prices down below the US$1,900 per tonne level. The light metal contract traded globally closed at US$1,874 per tonne on Tuesday, May 9, down 0.26 per cent from its previous close of US$1,879 per tonne on Monday. It is understood from the technical indicator that LME aluminium will fall further to the US$1,860-1,880 per tonne range on Wednesday, May 10. An early next week bounce-back is likely if the commodity manages to draw support from the crude oil prices that edged higher in Asia on expectation of supply cut in Saudi Aramco. As on May 9, LME official cash buyer price of aluminium stands at US$1,873.50 per tonne, cash seller & settlement price is US$1,874 per...
Elliott Management, which is now fighting for ownership of Arconic, alleges that Alcoa is paying a huge price for its contract to supply aluminium for Ford Motor Company’s F-150 pickup. According to a petition filed by New York hedge fund Elliott Management, Ford asked Alcoa Inc. to share its patented aluminium bonding process for F-150 pickup with its competitors. As Alcoa agreed to share its patented process with its competitors, its closest rival Novelis gained a competitive edge in the business. That is one of the pitches that Elliott is putting forward to push for management change at Aronic, the aluminium value added business that spun off from Alcoa in 2016. Elliott owns a 13.2% stake in Arconic is now trying to get more company representative on Board of Directors after making...
Hindalco Industries has entrusted power solutions provider GE with the task of modernising two steam turbines at the company’s Renusagar captive power plant in Uttar Pradesh. GE has made an announcement on Tuesday that it entered into an agreement with Hindalco to upgrade company’s generation equipment. For this modernisation, GE will be using its Powering Efficiency Center of Excellence. Hindalco's Chief Operating Officer SN Jajoo commented: "our collaboration with GE on this project will demonstrate the feasibility of upgrading our existing steam turbines, which will allow us to increase the output, efficiency and performance of our existing fleet of plants." GE targets to increase turbine output of up to 4 MW each. The modernisation by GE would increase the plant’s efficiency by up to...
The Aluminum Association has recently released the 2017 edition of the North America Aluminum Industry Plant Directory and the North America Aluminum Industry Extrusion Press Directory. The Plant Directory covers 485 plants while the Extrusion Press Directory covers 204 plants, operating 538 extrusion presses, in North America as of April 2017. This is an update on the previous directories last published in 2014. The directories provide plant location, types of products produced, contact information and affiliated websites. The Press Directory includes information on extrusion presses by size (tonnage), as well as finishing and fabrication services offered by extruders. “The 2017 plant and extrusion directories are an invaluable resource for any organization that follows domestic aluminum...
The Marine Gateway mixed-use development officially opened in spring 2017 in south Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The Marine Gateway is the first major transit-oriented development integrated into with Canada Line rapid transit rail system. The project involved approximately $372 million. The Marine Gateway residential towers get 50 per cent Alucobond cladding and 50 per cent glazing. They features more than 200,000 square feet of recyclable 4mm Alucobond Plus aluminium composite material (ACM) by 3A Composites USA. Photo Courtesy: Mark Kempf The four custom shades of green Alucobond Plus in the Spectra colour finishing system were developed by Perkins+Will with Alucobond fabricator/installer Keith Panel Systems Co. Ltd.(KPS), of North Vancouver, British Columbia, and 3A Composites...
