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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As per preliminary production data released by Shanghai Metals Market in their latest survey report, China's alumina output in December rose 17.4 per cent year-over-year to total at 5471 thousand tonnes. This was higher by 4.28 per cent from the November output volume of 5246 thousand tonnes. The month-on-month rise in production signifies that demand for the mineral in domestic market has grown at a sustained rate. Alumina production in China during January-December period increased 4.05 per cent from the previous year to reach 58710 thousand tonnes. This proves that though there were announcements of smelter owners curbing their aluminium output in 2016, the effect has been minimal on alumina supply side. In January 2017, China is estimated to produce 5511 thousand tonnes of alumina, up...
LME aluminium is in a fluctuating mode. After having risen for four consecutive days, the contract has fallen marginally by 0.29% to close at US$1,717 per tonne after Monday's night trading. According to Shanghai Metals Market's analysis it will move at lows during Asian trading hours on Tuesday, January 10, with Shanghai aluminium but will edge higher during European trading hours. LME aluminium is expected to move at US$1,710-1,730 per tonne on Tuesday. As on January 9, LME official cash buyer price of aluminium stands at US$1,716.5 per tonne, cash seller & settlement price is US$1,717 per tonne, 3M buyer price is US$1,705.5 per tonne, 3M seller price is US$1,706, Dec1 buyer price is US$1,755 per tonne, and Dec1 seller price is US$1,760 per tonne. The current LME official Opening Stock...
HMD Global, Finnish company that secured Nokia branding rights in late 2016, has announced on Sunday in a press note its first android smartphone Nokia 6 with aluminium body for China market. Nokia 6 gets 5.5-inch full HD display with 2.5D Gorilla Glass coating and powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor with 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage. The smartphone bears 16MP PDAF rear camera while the front camera comes with 8MP. HMD’s first android phone features Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box. The device has Dolby Atmos sound with stereo speakers. According to HMD, “It takes 55 minutes to machine a single Nokia 6 from a solid block of 6000 series aluminium.” He further added the process includes’ two separate anodising processes, taking over ten hours to complete, with each phone...
Skoda has officially installed its new PXL II servo press line at its main plant in Mladá Boleslav, in the presence of Michael Oeljeklaus, Skoda Board Member for Production and Logistics, and Jaroslav Povšík, Chairman of the trade union KOVO MB. Skoda's first press line for aluminium body parts will begin in March, 2017. Skoda is expected to manufacture up to 23,000 press parts for different models. With this project, the company expects to press large aluminium body parts for the first time. The energy required to manufacture parts is generated in the 14 servomotors of the press line. Press line for aluminium body parts can recuperate energy that was discharged during pressing. Skoda’s new press line consumes up to 15% less energy in continuous operation and reduces changeover time to...
Global alumina market witnessed a steady demand growth in 2016, driven by the China factor. New smelter starts and old capacity restarts in China coupled with supply difficulties buoyed prices up both in China and ex-China market. In the U.S. too, integrated producers like erstwhile Alcoa Corp., fared reasonably well in the last quarter of the year due to high alumina prices. Alcoa was the top alumina producer in 2016, with a strong first-quarter cost position on the global cost curve. But then, barring Alcoa, the U.S. primary aluminium industry otherwise experienced a significant slowdown in operations and demand as they were faced by severe Chinese aluminium import onslaughts that kept continuing well through the year. This got reflected in the country's alumina trade as well....
Indonesia’s government revised draft may lift ban on bauxite ore from the country, offering easiness in the export of bauxite and nickel ore. According to spokesperson, fourth revision of The Office of the Coordinating Economic Minister submitted to Government Regulation No. 23/2010 might permit partly-processed bauxite and nickel ore exports. The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry will decide which mineral ore can be exported. As per an official, “It’s like giving the energy and mineral resources minister carte blanche in determining which commodities can and cannot be exported.” On last Wednesday, The Law and Human Rights Ministry received draft in question which is different from previous draft, earlier draft specially prohibited export of nickel and bauxite ore, as per local media....
According to a Kenanga Research report, Press Metal Bhd is expected to see further earnings growth in 2017, driven primarily by the rising US dollar and stronger aluminium prices. This positive move is also supported by strong demand from Asia ex-China. Aluminium prices recovered about 16% over 2016, to settle at around US$1,733 a tonne. After conversion to Malaysian ringgit, aluminium prices recorded a 21% increase to settle at around RM7,775 a tonne. “Looking ahead, we expect 2017 US dollar aluminium prices to stabilise at the US$1,600 to US$1,800 level with an average of US$1,700/MT,” says Kenanga Research, an analytic firm, in a report last Friday. The research house maintained an “outperform” stand on the Press Metal Bhd stock with a higher target price of RM2.15 from RM1.79...
LME Aluminium is likely to be affected by the oil futures that ended slightly higher on Friday, logging a consecutive fourth weekly gain on speculations that major producers would cut output as pledged. The contract ended at US$1,722 per tonne on Friday, marginally higher by 0.73 per cent than the previous day, and on Monday, it is expected to fluctuate during the Asian trading hours, being affected by Shanghai aluminium futures. Shanghai Metals Market (SMM) says LME aluminium will hover in the range of US$1,705-1,725 per tonne on Monday. As on January 6, LME official cash buyer price of aluminium stands at US$1,721.5, cash seller & settlement price is US$1,722 per tonne, 3M buyer price is US$1,711.5 per tonne, 3M seller price is US$,712 per tonne, Dec1 buyer price is US$1,760 per tonne,...
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba), one of the world’s leading aluminium smelters based in the Kingdom of Bahrain, achieved a record metal production of 971,420 metric tonnes per annum (mtpa) in 2016. Alba’s production figures for 2016 is the highest ever recorded, up by 1.1% YoY as compared to 960,643 mt in 2015. Commenting on Alba’s milestone achievement, Chief Executive Officer, Tim Murray said: “We are proud to be celebrating yet another record in production despite the tough market conditions. Alba has succeeded once again due to the hard work of its people, effective teamwork and commitment to operational efficiency. This achievement is significant because it was accomplished on the back of our high Safety performance and without significant additional capital expenditures, only by...
Simon Finnis has been promoted from CEO to Managing Director of Metro Mining Ltd. Metro Chairman Stephen Everett said Finnis had made a significant contribution as CEO and would add increased value as the company transitions from explorer to producer. “Simon has 30 years’ experience in underground and open cut mining operations in Australia and overseas. The Metro Board looks forward to the important contribution he will be making in his new capacity as MD,” Mr Everett said. Under Finnis’ stewardship Metro has achieved many milestones including: • The successful takeover of Gulf Alumina Limited, increasing the Company’s bauxite reserves and paving the way for the combination of the Gulf Alumina and Bauxite Hills bauxite projects; • Establishing mining and metals private equity fund...
Endurance Technologies, India’s leading automotive component manufacturer, announced that it has decided to move its manufacturing operations of aluminium die-casting plant at Takve, Pune to its other plants. The company observed that the customers’ demand has started diminishing in the recent times; hence, the decision. It hopes the location change would take care of the company’s long-term business interest and help improve its operating results in the coming quarters. Endurance Tech opened an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in October 2016 with INR1,161 crore. The IPO was subscribed by 36.37 times on the last day of the public offer. The issue received bids for 62,65,76,340 shares against 1,72,29,118 shares offered by the company, according to the data available with National Stock...
Phil Wright of Decatur, a 54-year-old year gentleman completed a charity walk of more than 26 miles to Dawson pulling a wagon filled with about 40 pounds of pull-tabs from aluminium cans amid freezing cold and sharp wind. He delivered the aluminium pull-tabs at Springfield's Ronald McDonald House for recycling. In addition to the 40 pounds that Phil pulled, there were 38.2 pounds that wouldn't fit in his wagon. As explained by the representatives of the charity fund, they collect the pull-tabs throughout the year and get about 25 cents per pound when they recycle the aluminium. The money is utilized to cover costs at the house, which provides free lodging to patient’s families with loved ones at one of the hospitals in Springfield. Johanna Moll, development and communications coordinator...
The aluminium industry in India is on the verge of witnessing a major leap in consumption over the next five years. Major producers are adding significant capacities and investing in new technologies to add more value to their downstream product portfolios. This, they are doing, in order to cash in on the increasing demand primarily in the building and construction sector followed by transportation (metro and high-speed railway coaches), electricals, electronic consumer durables, packaging (aerosol cans and pharmaceutical foils), and next-gen applications like solar reflectors. Defence is another sector where aluminium is being used for making naval ships and surveillance drones. Experts opine Indian aluminium companies with downstream operations should further consolidate their R&D...
We have just wrapped up 2016 and are preparing ourselves towards a productive 2017. The year has ended with a positive note for the industry as well as AlCircle. Since, we call ourselves the Virtual Aluminium Ecosystem, AlCircle’s growth story coincides with the growth of the industry. The aluminium industry has continued its growth throughout the year despite the challenging commodity market. Upstream sector is booming in Asia and the End user demand scenario is bullish in North America as well as Europe and the continuous shift of focus towards the downstream sector is expected to bring positive results in 2017. Sustainability and cost management would continue to play a significant role in the aluminium industry. LME aluminium prices are showing signs of settling down after a steady...
Chinese smartphone maker Huawei has unveiled its Mate 9 smartphone featuring an all-aluminium unibody chassis at the CES 2017 press event in Las Vegas, US. Huawei’s Mate 9 is the world’s first smartphone that comes with Amazon’s Alexa AI Assistant. Alexa, the voice service platform, that powers Echo, provides capabilities or skills enabling customers to interact with their devices in a more intuitive way. Mate 9 smartphone gets a 5.9-inch full HD display with a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels. The phone is powered by an Octa-core Hisilicon Kirin 960 chip that is paired to a Mali-G71 MP8 GPU. The device housed inside an all-aluminium unibody chassis comprises a 12- megapixel camera and an 8 megapixel front facing camera with auto focus and dual-LED flash. Huawei Mate 9 will be available in...
Alumina prices driven by growing Chinese demand and tight supply climbed significantly to touch US$351 per tonne in 2016- the highest in the last two years. The price graph picked up momentum from August onward with the upturn in all commodity prices. According to the commodities forecast, the alumina price will settle within an average of US$310per tonne in first quarter of FY2017. Aluminium’s value chain starts with bauxite mining and moves to alumina refining before it is processed into raw aluminium. Companies such as Rio Tinto, Norsk Hydro Alcoa and Nalco that have both alumina refining and aluminium smelting operations are going to be benefitted due to high alumina prices. Alcoa was the top alumina producer in 2016, with a strong first-quarter cost position on the global cost curve....
Jindal Aluminium Ltd (JAL), the leading manufacturer of aluminium extruded profiles in India, announced that the company plans to invest upto INR 30 crores in AI focused start-ups for first-rate investment prospects. With the emergence of AI based technology start-ups in the last two years, JAL plans to invest start-ups focussed on developing technology for improving manufacturing operations through automation. JAL is interested to fund AI based start-ups that mostly concentrates on two areas- streamlining the manufacturing operations or in helping to improve B2B customer relations; along with start-ups which can enhance corporate services like HR and auditing/fraud detection. Their intention is to invest into a range of varied technologies that improve on areas that are related to JAL’s...
Despite the decision taken by Pahang's Natural Resources and Environment Ministry to extend the bauxite mining moratorium by three more months, until March 31, uncleaned stockpiles of bauxite ore were traced at abandoned mining sites of the region. This indicates at the fact that fresh mining of the aluminium ore is still continuing in the affected areas of Pahang. While making the moratorium extension announcement on December 22, last year, Minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar had mentioned that it was meant to allow legitimate bauxite miners to clear the remaining ore stockpile at the mining sites of Felda Bukit Kuantan, but it seems that his reminder has fallen to deaf ears. The hazardous nature of bauxite stockpiles were noticed first-hand by a team of journalists who visited...
