The Aluminium Federation (ALFED) has launched a new Reindustrialising UK Aluminium briefing, developed through its Trade Committee, setting out the immediate trade and industrial priorities facing the UK aluminium sector. The briefing comes as aluminium takes on increasing strategic importance within UK Government policy. Aluminium is recognised within the UK’s Critical Minerals framework and as a Growth Mineral, reflecting its importance to future UK manufacturing and economic growth. Government’s Critical Minerals Strategy describes critical minerals as foundational inputs to the Industrial Strategy’s growth-driving sectors. ALFED’s latest economic modelling estimates that the UK aluminium industry supports a wider economic footprint of £8.18 billion (USD 11.03 billion) in GVA and...
European Aluminium and the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) are calling on the European Parliament and the Council to make low-carbon aluminium eligible alongside steel under the proposed material-credit mechanism for vehicle CO2 standards. The joint industry statement focuses on the revision of Regulation (EU) 2019/631, under proposal 2025/0420 (COD). The two organisations want both materials covered by a single, technology-neutral mechanism with harmonised carbon-intensity thresholds and verification rules. They said the approach would give automakers greater flexibility in meeting regulatory requirements while supporting European markets for low-carbon materials. It would also allow vehicle engineers to continue selecting materials based on technical and economic...
Grow with
AL Circle
Ahmedabad International Airport is once again in the news – this time, too, for an unpleasant reason. In the latest case, officers seized 353.8 grams of precious metal worth USD 44,100 and economically important metals, including aluminium, from a passenger of SpiceJet flight SG16 from Dubai. The Ahmedabad Zonal unit of the DRI acted upon specific intelligence and intercepted the passenger, opening a strange trolley bag that contained 82 screws. Image for referential purposes only At first, the screws seemed to be aluminium, but after taking a closer look, the screws were not aluminium and only had a coat of aluminium. When the aluminium was melted, the authorities later captured the metal that was smuggled into the country. As a DRI (Directorate of Revenue Intelligence) official later...
IBAAS-IMMT-IIM 2025 Conference and Exhibition provides a global platform for innovation and witness developments in Indian aluminium industry. From October 8–10, 2025, the 13 th International Bauxite, Alumina & Aluminium Conference & Exhibition (IBAAS-IMMT-IIM 2025) will welcome technology leaders, decision-makers, and pioneers from across the aluminium value chain. At the centre of it all lies the Exhibition, hosted in a state-of-the-art German Hanger Structure . Think elegant interiors, premium layouts, and a fully air-conditioned venue — carefully designed to ensure that business meetings, product showcases, and networking happen seamlessly. But what truly makes this exhibition stand apart is who’s already coming . A powerful line-up of confirmed exhibitors includes global giants and...
Metro Mining, an Australian mining and exploration company, has shown a strong turnaround for the first half of 2025, ending on June 30. The report directly reflects the company's expansion at the Bauxite Hills operation, where the shipment record rose to 1.9 million wet tonnes. The firm's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation totalled AUD 23 million (USD 15.04 million), representing an improvement of 248 per cent if compared with the previous year's same period, which projected a loss of AUD 15.5 million (USD 10.14 million). Concerning the balance sheet, the firm books impairment reversal worth AUD 47.7 million (USD 31.2 million) along with the recognised gross tax loss of AUD 204.5 million (USD 133.7 million). A gain of AUD 33.2 million (USD 21.7 million),...
Rio Tinto, one of the world’s largest mining and metals companies, sets out to strategise its approach to aluminium sales in the United States. The reason behind their new strategy is the imposition of a 50 per cent tariff on Canadian aluminium imports earlier this summer. Traditionally, Canada is the major supplier of aluminium to US industries, thus making new tariffs absolutely disruptive. What Rio Tinto is doing to offset the huge expense While the newly imposed tariff has pushed up the expenses significantly, Rio Tinto’s strategy is to scale back aluminium shipments from Canada. Instead of heavily relying on stockpiles, the company is shifting its focus to the existing inventories. As a result, they can easily continue to honour supply agreements with major industrial customers...
A recent controversy has emerged for thirteen cargo ships of the Aughinish Alumina plant, Europe's largest alumina refinery owned by Rusal, serving the aluminium oxide refinery in Co. Limerick. These thirteen cargo ships have been detained by the Irish authorities in recent years, which is more than any other port in the State. On the grounds of defective rising safety concerns, lack of proper training and poor crew condition, these thirteen cargo ships of the Aughinish Alumina plant have been detained. Moreover, the majority of the cargo detention by the Irish authorities, taking place since 2020, has emerged from the Aughinish port out of 28 total official ports within the State. Cargoes which are docked at the Aughinish Port mainly serve the Aughinish alumina plant, which is deemed to...
Emirates Global Aluminium, the largest industrial company in the United Arab Emirates, today announced that over 180 women have joined the company since Emirati Women’s Day 2024, including 96 UAE nationals. EGA currently employs 714 women in the UAE, including 445 UAE Nationals. More than 330 women work in operational roles at EGA, over 50 per cent of them Emiratis. EGA continues to drive gender diversity progress across UAE industry through the Challenger Programme. Launched in 2023, the programme brings together leading industrial companies to promote gender diversity in industry by addressing shared practical challenges. Together, Challenger Programme member companies are delivering joint initiatives that promote inclusive recruitment, empower female talent, and foster progressive...
Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, the leading independent provider of information, data, analysis, benchmark prices and workflow solutions for the commodities markets and CME Group, the world's leading derivatives marketplace, are collaborating to bring increased transparency to the US spot physical aluminium market through PlattsView, an online, direct-entry communications tool to be used in the Platts Market-On-Close (MOC) price assessment process for the US Aluminium P1020 Midwest Transaction Premium (MWP). The online PlattsView MOC communications and visualisation tool, which is expected to launch in January 2026, will allow participants in the US Aluminium Midwest Premium market to directly enter bids, offers and transaction data into the Platts price assessment process....
The aluminium industry’s sustainability journey in August 2025 has been exciting as ever. From the bustling can recycling networks of Brazil to futuristic waste conversion experiments on the Moon, and from India’s pandal aesthetics to Europe’s policy battles, the past month have shown how recycling and energy transitions are shaping the sector’s long-term narrative. Image for representational purposes only Brazil: still the world’s recycling poster child Brazil has long worn the crown as the world’s aluminium can recycling champion. And even though the country saw a slight dip (2.7 per cent down in 2024), its recovery rate still stayed comfortably above 95 per cent. That’s fifteen years of near-perfect performance, showing how deeply recycling is embedded in Brazilian culture. For most...
Diversified mining and metals giant Vedanta Ltd has unveiled a USD 10 billion three-year capital expenditure plan to vastly increase its aluminium, zinc, and energy business. The investment, intended to take advantage of India's industrial surge, is expected to drive the company's medium-term annual EBITDA to the USD 8-10 billion mark, with aluminium being a major driver of the growth. Image source: https://vedantaaluminium.com/ Aluminium as a key growth driver The lion's portion of this investment is going into its aluminium business, which Vedanta estimates will add about USD 4 billion to its future top line earnings. The expansion strategy, aggressive in scope, calls for doubling the capacity of its alumina refinery to 5 million tonnes a year (MTPA) by FY26 and boosting its aluminium...
Leader of the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) party, Azruddin Mohamed, has pledged to build an aluminium plant and a glass factory in Linden, Guyana, as part of his campaign to revive Region 10’s struggling economy. Speaking at a well-attended rally on Wednesday night, he declared, “This region needs jobs. Young people need opportunities, and rest assured, we want to set up an aluminium plant here.” Image for referential purposes only The initiatives intend to utilise the area’s natural resources, bauxite and silica sand, in value-added industries, providing jobs and assisting in keeping the wealth generated in the area local. Tackling historical neglect Linden boasts huge quantities of bauxite reserves, a primary ore for aluminium, which is again a strategic commodity for Guyana. However,...
Guinea is tightening its grip on the global bauxite trade, shipping record volumes even as its own alumina refining sector lags far behind. According to sources, Guinea mined about 123 million tonnes of bauxite in 2023, up from 103 million tonnes the year before. Exports grew even faster, jumping to 127 million tonnes—a year-on-year rise of nearly 25 per cent. The momentum carried into 2024. Output rose to roughly 141 million tonnes, while exports reached 145 million tonnes, cementing the West African nation’s place as the world’s largest exporter. The surge has continued this year. In just the first half of 2025, Guinea shipped 99.8 million tonnes, almost as much as its entire 2022 total. For a broader view of the global bauxite market click: A Comprehensive Analysis of Bauxite Residue -...
The PMI of various aluminium processing sectors showed significant divergence in August, with the aluminium plate/sheet and strip industry standing out notably. Its composite PMI surged 17.1 percentage points to 60.5 per cent, marking a strong return to expansion territory. Seasonal stockpiling in downstream sectors such as automotive, 3C electronics, can stock, and curtain wall panels drove M-o-M order growth for enterprises. Previously idled cast-rolling lines gradually resumed production, boosting operating rates for consecutive periods. Although the industry remained cautious about the September-October peak season and faced localised logistics constraints, overall production was not significantly impacted. Image for representational purposes only The aluminium foil sector’s PMI...
National Aluminium Company, India's leading aluminium producing company, had announced on August 28, about it joining hands with Coal India, a state-owned company responsible for exploration, mining and supply of coal in India and National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), one of India's leading power generation company, for setting up the proposed INR 12,000 crore (USD 1.44 billion) power plant in Odisha, India. The announcement of the joint venture has led to a positive jump in NALCO's stock. Recently, the aluminium producing company has unveiled its expansion plan to capitalise on the rising demand for aluminium and is focused on adding 1 million tonnes of alumina refinery by June 2026. Alongside this, the firm is also focused on developing a 0.5 million tonnes per annum smelter as...
Canpack Group, a global producer of aluminium beverage cans and packaging solutions, released its financial results for the second quarter and first half of 2025, ended June 30, along with a trading update. For the three months ended June 30, 2025, beverage can body volumes remained flat compared with the same period in 2024. For the six months ended June 30, 2025, volumes increased by 1 per cent year-on-year. The growth was mainly driven by higher can body volumes in the US and India, partly offset by lower volumes in Europe and Brazil. For more information on aluminium packaging read: ALuminium in Packaging: Consumer Trends and Market Dynamics Financial results Net Sales rose by 10 per cent in Q2 2025 versus the same quarter in 2024, and by 9 per cent for the first half of 2025 compared...
The global aluminium industry is still changing on all fronts, including the primary aluminium, bauxite, and alumina markets, driven by shifting trade policies, production hurdles, and creative approaches to production. From India's Chandrayaan-3 mission revealing aluminium on the Moon, China's increasing primary aluminium imports to the strong price movements of the LME and SHFE contracts, opportunities and complexity abound. At the same time, the bauxite and alumina markets were subject to environmental impact assessments, production increases, and export bumps that are shaping global supply chains. Weekly Upstream Recap by AL Circle Pvt Ltd Regional update: Focus on primary aluminium India, with its Chandrayaan-3 mission, has marked a groundbreaking innovation on the Moon by detecting...
With Bonderite M-AD 2000A, Henkel Adhesive Technologies introduces a new additive for the anodizing process that makes the surface treatment of aluminium more efficient and sustainable. The additive enables anodising baths to operate at temperatures of up to 24 °C – significantly higher than the conventional 18–20 °C range. Thereby it reduces the energy required for cooling and extends bath life, all without compromising the quality or performance of the anodised layer. Bonderite M-AD 2000A was specifically developed for companies involved in aluminium anodising, whether as a surface treatment or as part of a pre-anodizing process. The focus lies on improving process and energy efficiency: Operating the anodizing bath at higher temperatures significantly reduces the need for cooling. At...
The chances of recycling garbage, nearly 384,000 kilometres away from Earth, into space can also create a great sustainability approach and is also an unavoidable task. NASA is undergoing preparation to make a long-term presence on the Moon with the support of the Artemis program, an agency that deals with similar challenges, which is managing waste sustainability. LunaRecycle Challenge, created by NASA, aiming to address the challenge of managing waste sustainability, is a USD 3 million initiative with a significant focus on developing systems helping the recycling mission directly on the Moon. Instead of bringing that trash back to Earth's surface, NASA plans to turn it into packaging, leftover experiment materials and worn textiles into beneficial resources. Being at the early stage,...
Ball Corporation, an aluminium manufacturing and packaging company based in the US, announced that it has finalised the sale of 41 per cent of its 51 per cent interest in Ball United Arab Can Manufacturing Company (UAC) in Saudi Arabia to a subsidiary of packaging solutions, ORG Technology Co., Ltd., for approximately USD 70 million, subject to customary closing adjustments. The move reduces Ball’s position to a strategic 10 per cent ownership stake, while deconsolidating UAC from its accounts. Image for representational purposes only “Today’s announcement reflects our continued focus on a disciplined, returns-oriented portfolio,” said Daniel W. Fisher, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ball Corporation. “We are pleased to deepen our relationship with ORG and look forward to...
