Aluminium scrap: This week, China's aluminium scrap market prices followed the decline before partially rebounding, with the centre pulling back alongside primary aluminium. As of September 17, SMM A00 aluminium prices closed at RMB 24,180 per tonne, down RMB 380 per tonne from RMB 24,560 per tonne last Thursday, while domestic aluminium scrap prices followed the decline by a relatively limited margin. In terms of price spreads, on September 17, the price difference between A00 aluminium and mixed aluminium extrusion scrap free of paint in Foshan stood at approximately RMB 2,468 per tonne, and the price difference between A00 aluminium and shredded aluminium tense scrap stood at approximately RMB 1,247 per tonne, with the aluminium tense scrap price spread narrowing further W-o-W. On the...
Impact Minerals Limited has raised approximately AUD 2.2 million (USD 1.56 million) before costs through a renounceable rights issue, providing additional funding to advance its two high-purity alumina projects in Australia. The company issued nearly 69 million new shares and approximately 46 million options under the capital raising, which was launched in August. Impact Minerals said the offer received strong participation from existing shareholders, including full take-up by its major German family office investor. Any remaining shortfall shares may be placed within three months, subject to the allocation policy outlined in the offer. Funding targets pilot and customer qualification work The fresh capital will support development of Impact Minerals’ Lake Hope and Alluminous high-purity...
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Futures Market: Overnight, the most-traded AD2511 cast aluminium alloy futures contract opened at RMB 19,945 per tonne, reaching a high of RMB 20,050 per tonne and a low of RMB 19,915 per tonne, before closing at RMB 20,015 per tonne, up RMB 75 per tonne or 0.38 per cent from the previous trading day. Trading volume stood at 1,480 lots, with open interest at 9,082 lots, primarily driven by an increase in long positions. Spot-Futures Price Spread Daily Report: According to SMM data, on July 10, the SMM ADC12 spot price was at a theoretical premium of RMB 145 per tonne over the closing price of the most-traded cast aluminium alloy futures contract (AD2511) at 10:15 a.m. Aluminium Scrap: On Thursday, the spot price of primary aluminium rose by RMB 160 per tonne from the previous trading day,...
When it comes to aluminium, China is not just in the game — it is the game. As the world’s top producer and consumer, the country has long been the heavyweight champion in the global aluminium industry, gracefully sidestepping every curveball - be it anti-dumping duties, steep tariffs, or even its own annual production cap. Through it all, the country keeps flexing its muscles with jaw-dropping innovation, insatiable demand, and next-level sustainability goals. And guess what? AL Circle is right into the action – with boots on the ground and eyes on the alloy! The team has participated in one of the biggest trade shows and B2B platforms ALUMINIUM China 2025 as a media partner. That’s not all - we have also rolled out an interactive magazine dedicated to the event - titled " Aluminium...
Chinese tycoons are accelerating the growth of Indonesia’s aluminium industry with multibillion-dollar investments that echo the country’s earlier nickel boom and have the potential to disrupt the global aluminium market. Facing tightening production limits at home, giants like billionaire Xiang Guangda’s Tsingshan Holding Group, China Hongqiao Group, and Song Jianbo’s Shandong Nanshan Aluminium are shifting their focus to Southeast Asia’s largest economy, pouring capital into new smelters and refineries. Indonesia’s aluminium industry is on the cusp of dramatic growth, fuelled by both domestic policy shifts and a wave of foreign investment. According to Goldman Sachs, Indonesia’s aluminium output could increase fivefold by the end of the decade. Currently, as reported by Petromindo.com,...
North Coast Brewing Company has officially joined the can revolution! For the first time, two of its iconic brews, Red Seal Ale and PranQster Belgian Style Golden Ale, are now available in sleek 12 oz aluminium cans. Image credit: linkedin.com This milestone marks the launch of the brewery’s brand-new in-house canning line, offering improved packaging flexibility and consistency. But it’s more than just a shiny update. With aluminium tariffs threatening to drive up costs globally, North Coast is doubling down on the metal for one big reason, i.e. sustainability. Aluminium cans aren’t just trendy, they’re eco-powerhouses. They’re infinitely recyclable, meaning every empty can has the potential to become another without ever losing quality. Their lightweight design reduces transport...
Romanian aluminium producer Alro has commissioned a state-of-the-art electric furnace for ageing aluminium alloy plates, following an investment of 11.5 million lei ($2.7 million/2.3 million euro). The newly installed electric furnace replaces three older gas-powered units, streamlining heat treatment operations in Alro’s processed aluminium division. This upgrade is set to boost equipment efficiency while enabling more precise control over temperature and other key parameters, the company announced on Wednesday. Specially designed to age aluminium plates from the 2xxx, 6xxx, and 7xxx series alloys, the advanced system can handle plates measuring up to 13,000 mm in length and 2,200 mm in width. Alro, a subsidiary of global aluminium producer Vimetco, saw its shares rise by 6.83 per cent...
The Brussels-based European Recycling Industries' Confederation (EuRIC) has voiced strong opposition to a proposed ban on recycled aluminium exports from the EU. On the flip side, several other European industry groups are pushing for tighter controls, citing growing concerns over aluminium scrap leakage. What's fueling this split in opinion?. The recycling organisation, amidst the rising demand for safeguard measures urged by the majority of the EU scrap exporters, have enunciated that the low aluminium scrap export volume indicates a restriction to the trade, providing no solution for the trade and energy concerns of the aluminium producers in the EU. Owing to the previous messages of the European aluminium producers and organisations, the association states that it is deceiving, as it...
“Tariff is the most beautiful word in the dictionary,” Donald Trump once declared. That wasn’t a throwaway line, but what seemed to be a transnational battle cry. Six months into his second term, the former and now current US President has turned the word into a policy instrument of unparalleled weight. And as of this week, the tariffs keep coming, swelling in scale, reach, and global consequence. Image for representational purposes only On July 9, Trump expanded his tariff net further , issuing formal notifications to seven new countries — Algeria (30 per cent), Iraq (30 per cent), Libya (30 per cent), the Philippines (20 per cent), Brunei (25 per cent), Moldova (25 per cent), and Sri Lanka (30 per cent) — warning that reciprocal duties on all goods from these nations will take effect...
In April 2025, India’s bauxite production increased by 13.9 per cent year-on-year, rising from 1.87 million tonnes to 2.13 million tonnes. Over the course of FY2024-25, the country produced a total of 24.7 million tonnes of bauxite, solidifying its position as the world’s fifth-largest producer, following Guinea, Australia, China, and Brazil. This growth reflects the country’s expanding role in the global bauxite supply chain and the increasing demand for aluminium and related industries. A significant contributor to this national growth is the Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC), which has been steadily scaling up its bauxite output to meet both domestic and industrial needs. In FY2024-25, OMC successfully achieved a bauxite production milestone of 3 million tonnes. Building on this...
RUSAL, one of the world's largest aluminium producers, has improved its rating in EcoVadis, the authoritative international supplier sustainability assessment. The company received 67 points out of 100 possible (compared to 63 in the 2024 rating). Image for referntial purposes only RUSAL's higher rating was achieved through the improvement of management quality in such areas as social responsibility and business ethics, for which the Company received 7 and 22 points more than last year, respectively. In the areas of business ethics along with environment and climate, the Company was rated advanced, while the assessment for four components of the rating, including sustainable procurement, significantly exceeded the industry average. In addition to the overall rating of the best global...
The Government of the Republic of Guinea has terminated its mining agreement with Guinea Alumina Corporation (GAC), a subsidiary of Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), after suspending the company’s bauxite exports and mining operations. The termination comes amid Guinea’s broader push to extract more economic value from its mineral resources by requiring miners to build local alumina refineries. The military-led government, which seized power in 2021, had demanded that foreign mining companies, including GAC, present plans to process bauxite into alumina domestically. According to EGA, despite GAC’s efforts to cooperate including offering concessions and exploring the feasibility of a refinery project the Guinean authorities escalated the dispute in Autumn 2024 by blocking GAC’s access to...
Futures Market: Overnight, the most-traded AD2511 cast aluminium alloy futures contract opened at RMB 19,820 per tonne, reaching a high of RMB 19,960 per tonne and a low of RMB 19,780 per tonne, before closing at RMB 19,945 per tonne, up RMB 115 per tonne or 0.58 per cent from the previous trading day. Trading volume stood at 1,930 lots, with open interest at 8,658 lots, primarily driven by longs increasing their positions. Spot-Futures Price Spread Daily Report: According to SMM data, on July 9, the theoretical premium of SMM ADC12 spot price over the closing price of the most-traded cast aluminium alloy futures contract (AD2511) at 10:15 a.m. narrowed to RMB 130 per tonne. Industry Updates: (1) As announced by SHFE, as of the close on July 9, the cast aluminium alloy futures had been...
Three major aluminium giants, Capral, Rio Tinto and Sims Metals, have successfully collaborated to have a closed-loop aluminium recycling plant in Queensland, Australia, giving tribute to the "Made in Australia" gesture. Image source: capral.com.au In this collaboration, Capral's Bremer Park facility will provide post-production aluminium scrap, which will be further sorted and processed by Sims Metal and later be delivered to Rio Tinto's Boyne Smelter in Gladstone for remelting. These scraps are estimated to produce more than 1,000 tonnes of aluminium, with the recycled content being at 20 per cent, and then would be supplied back to Capral's Bremer Park manufacturing site located in Southeast Queensland to indulge in extrusion operations, aiding in establishing a recycling solution...
Aluminium ADC12 alloyed ingot prices remained stable m-o-m in June 2025 across both northern and southern India, according to BigMint's benchmark assessments. Steady pricing was supported by ongoing shortages of raw materials used in alloy ingot production. BigMint's monthly assessment for the OEM grade of ADC12 stood at INR 228,000 per tonne (t) in Delhi, and INR 230,000 per tonne in Chennai. The spread between scrap and semi-finished products narrowed to INR 32,000-33,000 per tonne due to increased Tense scrap costs. Meanwhile, three-month London Metal Exchange (LME) aluminium average prices hovered at around $2,460 per tonne in June, largely stable m-o-m from the previous month's $2,450 per tonne. At the time of reporting, LME aluminium prices had increased to $2,517 per tonne. The...
In a noteworthy step towards sustainable utilisation of resources across the country, Odisha Mining Corporation’s (OMC) Daitari iron ore mines and Kodingamali bauxite mines have received a "5 Star Rating" from the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) for 2023–24. This award was presented by Union Minister of Coal and Mines G. Kishan Reddy at a ceremony in Jaipur on July 7. This recognition is not only a testament to OMC’s operational excellence but also a progressive development in the context of the country's mining narrative. Redefining mining beyond extraction Mining, although a crucial economic activity, has always been condemned for causing environmental damage, community displacement, and exploitation. From an economic perspective, OMC's Daitari iron ore and Kodingamali bauxite mines...
In a landmark bilateral summit, India and Brazil signed six Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) spanning renewable energy, counter-terrorism, agricultural research, and digital cooperation. The agreements, finalised during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to Brazil, the first by an Indian PM in 57 years, include a dedicated pact to accelerate clean energy collaboration, with significant implications for both countries’ emissions-intensive aluminum industries. Renewable energy in the spotlight The MoU on renewable energy looks to tap into Brazil's world-class clean electricity grid, already the cleanest among G20 countries at more than 90 percent renewable, and India's enormous solar and wind deployment initiatives. The partnership will see joint research, technology transfer,...
According to SMM statistics, domestic aluminium production in June 2025 (30 days) increased by 1.57 per cent Y-o-Y and decreased by 3.23 per cent M-o-M. The operating capacity of domestic aluminium in June saw a slight M-o-M change. SMM learned that the phase II replacement project of an aluminium smelter in Shandong, which will be relocated to Yunnan, has commended. The plant in Shandong is required to shut down corresponding capacity for the replacement project and pass checks before being allowed to commission pots at its new plant in Yunnan. In June, the proportion of liquid aluminium at domestic aluminium smelters continued to rise, up 0.1 percentage points M-o-M to 75.8 per cent. The increase was smaller than expectations at the start of the month, mainly due to high alloy inventory...
ABx Group is rapidly evolving from a pure-play bauxite explorer into a diversified minerals and technology business with three key growth areas bauxite mining, aluminium fluoride production, and rare earths recovery. Image Source: ABx Group The company’s transformation is being fuelled by global supply chain disruptions and a growing demand for critical minerals, creating new commercial opportunities for the Australian-based company. Bauxite mining: ramping up to meet global shortages With a spike in bauxite prices driven by supply disruptions in Guinea and China, ABx is seizing the opportunity by accelerating development of its projects in Tasmania, Queensland, and New South Wales. The bauxite mine in Tasmania is expected to be operational in 2025, subject to achieving final planning...
A late-night industrial fire lit up the skies over Fort Wayne on Tuesday as firefighters raced against time to contain a blaze at Ward Aluminum Company. The dramatic scene unfolded on Growth Avenue (Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA), where emergency crews faced intense heat, thick smoke, and zero visibility inside the four-story facility. The alarm was raised shortly after 11 p.m., with fire crews reaching the 640 block within minutes. They discovered flames tearing through the second floor of the plant and quickly called for backup to tackle the escalating situation. According to the Fort Wayne Fire Department, firefighters worked in suffocating conditions for more than an hour before bringing the blaze under control by 12:30 a.m. Wednesday. Thankfully, no injuries were reported. The building...
