Spanish racing driverFernando Alonso has added a one-off Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse to his growing collection of rare cars. Known as chassis 8.100, the car is distinguished by bespoke aluminium bodywork that required more than 20 tonnes of aluminium to produce, along with dedicated CAD programmes developed by Bugatti. Its history is equally distinctive, being produced after an original customer pushed Bugatti to create something it had initially considered too expensive. For Alonso, the automobile fits closely with an approach to luxury he outlined in 2024 about choosing manufacturers that treat individual customers differently rather than simply producing cars in larger numbers. To know the aluminium casting demand forecast in the transportation sector, explore our report "Global...
China Rare Earth Group is in talks to acquire a controlling stake in Shenghe Resources, a move that could bring the Chinese rare earth producer under tighter state control while giving Beijing influence over Shenghe’s overseas holdings, including a stake in US rare earths company MP Materials. Two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that discussions between the companies have been underway since earlier this year. One source said China Rare Earth Group is seeking a controlling stake, although neither source knew when the acquisition could be announced or completed. If the deal goes through, China Rare Earth Group would take control of Shenghe’s interests in foreign companies, including its 3 per cent stake in MP Materials. The US rare earths company counts the US Department of...
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During the World Government Summit 2025 in Dubai, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto met with Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) CEO Abdulnasser Ibrahim Saif Bin Kalban on Wednesday, February 12. The meeting focused on advancing EGA's cooperation plan to boost aluminium production, mainly through developing a smelter that processes bauxite in Indonesia. Image Source: COORDINATING MINISTRY FOR ECONOMIC AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA For this, EGA , the world's largest producer of premium aluminium and the largest industrial company in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) outside the oil and gas sector, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium (INALUM). CEO Abdulnasser emphasised Indonesia's significant potential as a key...
In a major milestone for its electric vehicle (EV) division, Xiaomi Group announced that its electric vehicle segment has cumulatively delivered 160,000 vehicles so far. The news was declared by Xiaomi Founder and Chairman Lei Jun during a live-streaming event for the Chinese Lantern Festival on February 13, 2025. Image Source: https://www.mi.com/ Lei further shared that Xiaomi EV's top three delivery markets are Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Suzhou, with the automaker achieving monthly deliveries exceeding 20,000 units for four consecutive months. Looking ahead, Xiaomi EV provided updates on its upcoming models. The YU7, set to launch in mid-2025, demonstrated impressive range during testing, requiring only two charging stops over a 1,000 km distance. Meanwhile, the high-performance SU7 Ultra...
Futures market: Last Friday's night session saw the most-traded alumina 2505 contract open at RMB 3,346 per tonne, reaching a high of RMB 3,414 per tonne and a low of RMB 3,335 per tonne, before closing at RMB 3,368 per tonne, up 0.66 per cent. Open interest stood at 166,000 lots, down 4,000 lots. Industry Updates: According to SMM statistics on February 14, domestic port alumina inventory totalled 0 tonne, down by 2,300 tonnes from the previous week. According to SMM statistics on February 14, bauxite inventory at nine domestic ports totalled 14.32 million tonnes, down by 390,000 tonnes from the previous week. On February 13, 30,000 tonnes of alumina was traded overseas for March shipment at a transaction price of USD 541 per tonne CIF Kakinada, India. The cargo originated from...
The aluminium industry has been under the radar ever since Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China. However the latest update has sent another shockwave amongst the industry. In a controversial move, U.S. President Donald Trump has announced a 25 per cent tariff on all steel and aluminium imports, pushing major trade partners to seek exemptions. Scheduled to take effect on March 4, 2025, the tariffs have drawn widespread criticism and raised fears of escalating trade tensions. What will happen next is the most common and highly anticipated question. However, other important updates surrounding the upstream aluminium industry includes Nalco setting a new benchmark with 3-fold increase in net profit, Hydro’s 2024 performance, and others have created significant impact...
Starting from mid-December 2024, domestic and international spot alumina prices began to decline successively. Overseas, the transaction frequency of spot alumina has been moderate in the past two months, with a total of 21 transactions recorded since December 10. Transaction prices have shown a significant downward trend overall. As of February 14, the FOB price of Western Australian alumina dropped to USD 538 per tonne, down USD 272 per tonne from the December 2024 peak of USD 810 per tonne, equivalent to approximately RMB 2,000 per tonne. Domestically, as of February 14, the SMM alumina index fell to RMB 3,356 per tonne, down RMB 2,413 per tonne from the December 2024 peak. Overall, in the past two months, the decline in overseas alumina prices was less pronounced than domestically,...
This week, the domestic bauxite market mainly operated steadily. As of today, the self-pick-up transaction price at crushing plants for bauxite in Shanxi with an Al/Si ratio of 5.0 and alumina content of 60 per cent, excluding VAT, was approximately RMB 640-670 per tonne; in Henan, the price for bauxite with an Al/Si ratio of 5.0 and alumina content of 60 per cent, excluding VAT, was around RMB 570-610 per tonne; in Guizhou, the price for bauxite with an Al/Si ratio of 5.5 and alumina content of 58 per cent, excluding VAT, was RMB 510-550 per tonne; in Guangxi, the price for bauxite with an Al/Si ratio of 6.0 and alumina content of 53 per cent, excluding VAT, was RMB 320-335 per tonne. Imported bauxite: According to data from February 7, the weekly port arrivals of bauxite at domestic...
The Science and Technology Department of Henan Province recently released the "Announcement on the Selection Results of Leading Innovative Enterprises in Henan Province," with Luoyang Aluminum Foil earning a place on the prestigious list. The selection process for Henan Province's leading innovative enterprises is known for its rigorous evaluation. Following multiple stages—including enterprise application, city-level recommendations, expert assessments, and conference deliberations—a total of 166 enterprises were ultimately chosen. Luoyang Aluminum Foil distinguished itself through its exceptional innovation capabilities and influential role in the industry, securing its well-deserved recognition. In recent years, Luoyang Aluminum Foil has fully committed to transforming scientific and...
Hindalco Industries, the flagship metal-driven business of the Aditya Birla Group, has reported a strong 60 per cent surge in its consolidated net profit for the December quarter (Q3 FY2025). The company's net profit reached INR 3,735 crore (USD 450 million), up from INR 2,331 crore (USD 279.72 million) in the same period a year earlier. Image Source: Wikipedia The company's operational revenue for Q3 FY2025 grew 11 per cent to INR 58,390 crore (USD 7 billion), compared to INR 52,808 crore (USD 6.34 billion) in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year. However, Hindalco saw a 4.4 per cent sequential decline in profit after tax (PAT), down from INR 3,909 crore (USD 469.08 million) in Q2 FY2025. Revenue, on the other hand, recorded a slight quarter-on-quarter increase of...
The aluminium industry stands at a turning point in its path to sustainability. With mounting regulatory pressures, bold corporate ambitions, and accelerating innovation in clean energy technologies, the industry is keenly engaged in decarbonising its footprint. The shift is not without difficulties, but it also holds tremendous opportunities to align with global climate ambitions. This article discusses the most important factors influencing the decarbonisation roadmap based on the Global Aluminium Industry Outlook 2025 . The transition to renewable energy: The use of renewable energy is one of the most important measures to decrease carbon emissions in the aluminium industry. Renewables will provide 45 to 50 per cent of the world's power supply by 2030 and rise to 60 to 70 per cent by...
From December 11 to 16, 2024, the SMM alumina index price reached a nearly two-year high at RMB 5,769 per tonne. Subsequently, spot alumina transaction prices began to decline. As of February 14, 2025, the SMM alumina index price had dropped to RMB 3,356 per tonne, a cumulative decrease of RMB 2,413 per tonne, falling below the starting point of the alumina price increase that began in August 2024. During the decline in spot alumina prices, the price of its raw material, bauxite, did not experience a YoY decrease. Supported by the rigid demand for alumina production and new projects, the supply and demand fundamentals of bauxite remained in a tight balance. Underpinned by these strong fundamentals, bauxite prices continued an upward trend for some time after spot alumina prices began to...
On February 10 local time, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order announcing a 25 per cent tariff on all aluminium and steel imports to the US. Trump also stated on the same day that the policy would have ‘no exceptions or exemptions’ and that tariffs on automobiles, chips, and pharmaceuticals would be considered in the future. The announcement of this tax policy caused a stir in the market. In addition to concerns about major US importers such as Canada and Mexico (related analysis available at https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/k679JjmWKeE7DZ-Py9XLQA), there was significant attention on its impact on Chinese exports. First, China's direct aluminium semis exports to the US: According to data from the General Administration of Customs, China's aluminium semis exports to the US in...
Well-Hung Windows has been setting the benchmark for high-quality window manufacturing in Townsville for over two decades. With a commitment to craftsmanship, customer satisfaction, and continuous improvement, this locally owned business, established by Colin Smith more than twenty years ago, has built a reputation for excellence that keeps clients returning. At the heart of Well-Hung Windows is a simple philosophy: make quality products, deliver outstanding service, and never say no to a challenge. Rather than turning customers away, the team focuses on finding solutions, making adjustments, and ensuring every request is met with a practical approach. "It's not about saying no," explains Adam Hamilton, Director and one of the key figures behind the company's success. "It's about saying,...
Norsk Hydro’s 2024 was challenging, but the business had an overall growth-hinting year. There have been several superlative financial, environmental, and social achievements during the calendar year. Financial performance While there was a drop in adjusted Return on Average Capital Employed (RoaCE) from 22.2 per cent in 2022 to 8.5 per cent in 2024, with an adjusted EBITDA standing at NOK 26.3 billion. Hydro has overseen the pursuit of its profitability target of over 10 per cent across the cycle. The company reported NOK 10.1 billion (USD 907.98 million) in accumulated improvements through its ongoing programme against the 2018 baseline, edging closer to its target of NOK 9.5 billion by 2024. Commercial ambitions also saw NOK 2.6 billion in accumulated improvements, reinforcing Hydro’s...
RUSAL, one of the world's largest aluminium producers, received an ESG ranking from the Chinese rating agency China Chengxin Green Finance Technology (CCXGF). The agency has assigned RUSAL the highest category ranking of "A—." The expert assessment was based on 17 key indicators of the Company's environmental, social, and corporate governance performance. "China is a high-potential market with a growing demand for low-carbon footprint products. An independent assessment of RUSAL's operational efficiency in matters of sustainable development and ESG risk management is important for local customers. In 2024, three of the Company's aluminium smelters, including the two largest ones, Krasnoyarsk and Bratsk smelters, received the Green Power Aluminum certificates from the China Non-ferrous...
As on February 13, the SMM regional weighted index was RMB 3,391 per tonne, down RMB 411 per tonne W-o-W. Among them, Shan Dong reported RMB 3,250-3,350 per tonne, down RMB 425 per tonne W-o-W; Henan reported RMB 3,350-3,450 per tonne, down RMB 375 per tonne W-o-W; Shanxi reported RMB 3,250-3,450 per tonne, down RMB 350 per tonne W-o-W; Guangxi reported RMB 3,400-3,500 per tonne, down RMB 550 per tonne W-o-W; Guizhou reported RMB 3,450-3,600 per tonne, down RMB 515 per tonne W-o-W; Bayuquan reported RMB 4,610-4,690 per tonne. Overseas market As of February 13, 2025, FOB Western Australia alumina prices were USD 538 per tonne, ocean freight rate was USD 19.70 per tonne, and the US dollar/RMB exchange rate selling price was around 7.31. This price translates to an ex-factory selling price...
Chinalco Ruimin has successfully passed the re-examination for 'National High-Tech Enterprise' status and has been awarded the national high-tech enterprise certificate. The certificate is jointly issued by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Finance, and the State Taxation Administration of the People's Republic of China. The re-evaluation of national high-tech enterprises has reaffirmed that Chinalco Ruimin meets the highest national standards across multiple key areas like: the accumulation of independent intellectual property in core technologies the establishment of strong R&D teams a high proportion of revenue from high-tech products efficient organizational management operational excellence growth potential ability to transform scientific and technological...
On January 8, 2025, LI hosted its inaugural Annual Forum on Climate Change and Carbon Neutrality in Beijing. During the event, LI, Lizhong Group, and other partners officially launched the construction of a circular aluminium supply chain. LI actively advocates for the development and reuse of sustainable materials. By advancing aluminium applications and establishing a recycled aluminium supply chain, LI addresses the growing challenge of increasing aluminium waste year by year. For the past 40 years, Lizhong Group has been dedicated to recycling aluminium resources, continuously advancing its green and sustainable development strategy. As a leader in recycled aluminium processing, the company has built a comprehensive domestic and international recycling network for sourcing and sorting...
Aluminium recycling is not just a process of reusing materials; it is a powerful engine driving economic growth, supply chain resiliency and environmental sustainability. At Novelis , we have long championed the benefits of recycling aluminium, recognising its critical role in shaping a sustainable and prosperous future, writes Chris Cerone, the company’s vice president, public affairs & communications. Creating jobs and boosting the economy The aluminium recycling industry is a significant contributor to job creation and economic activity. According to data from the Aluminum Association , the aluminium recycling sector in the US accounts for 37.5 per cent or 60,000 of the industry’s 164,000 jobs. Novelis alone employs approximately 5,000 people in the US, with another 1,000 people to be...
