Investor sentiment towards aluminium has turned increasingly bearish, but analysts believe the market may be underestimating the metal's underlying strength. Despite growing pessimism, resilient demand and historically low inventories could support higher prices, with analysts forecasting aluminium to reach USD 3,625 per tonne in 2027. Discussions with market participants have pointed to unusually negative sentiment towards the metal. However, analysts argue that the underlying supply-demand fundamentals paint a more constructive picture, challenging the prevailing pessimism surrounding the aluminium market. Their assessment follows Norsk Hydro's third-quarter financial results, which showed stronger earnings compared with the previous year but fell short of market expectations. The...
Guinea has emerged as a major driver of Africa’s export growth to China, with its bauxite shipments to the Asian market nearly quadrupling between 2018 and 2025. Chinese imports of Guinean aluminium ores and concentrates, consisting almost entirely of bauxite, increased from 38.2 million tonnes to approximately 149.5 million tonnes over the period. The surge has bolstered Guinea’s position in China’s bauxite supply chain, while the country advances its alumina refining capacity expansion plans. Trade figures highlight the importance of Guinea and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to Africa’s bauxite and copper exports to China, respectively. Between 2018 and 2025, the two countries added USD 25.77 billion to Chinese purchases from the continent, exceeding Africa’s overall net...
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Kyocera AVX has recently launched the new AEF Series wet aluminium V-chip electrolytic capacitors for industrial and consumer electronics applications. Designed to meet the demands of high-density PCBs, these capacitors are qualified to industrial endurance levels. The series offers versatility with 11 case sizes ranging from 0608 to 1216. Capacitance values span from 2.2μF to 470μF, and voltage ratings range from 6.3VDC to 400VDC. The new AEF Series wet aluminium electrolytic capacitors from Kyocera AVX feature low DCL and ESR, allowing for higher tolerance of ripple currents. They maintain low impedance across a wide range of temperatures from -40°C or -55°C to +105°C, ensuring reliability. With extended lifetimes of up to 6,000 hours at +105°C and rated voltages, the series currently...
In its 2023 ESG summary overview, PepsiCo, the American multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, revealed that it has projected to fall 2 per cent short of its ambitious target of designing 100 per cent of its packaging for recyclability, compostability, biodegradability, or reusability by 2025. The company attributes this shortfall to a unique set of challenges. Despite the setback, PepsiCo has made some progress in reducing its environmental footprint. Compared to its 2020 baseline, the company reported a 1 per cent reduction in the use of virgin plastic from non-renewable sources per serving across its global beverages and convenience foods portfolio. However, the absolute tonnage of virgin plastic derived from non-renewable resources...
Alupro, the aluminium packaging recycling organisation, has been named the newest sponsor of this year’s LARAC Wales Conference. Throughout the day, delegates will have the chance to explore Alupro’s award-winning consumer engagement campaigns. These include their school-age awareness programs, Masters of Infinity, and B-influencers, with a particular focus on the MetalMatters initiative. Set to take place on July 9th at the Leonardo Hotel in Cardiff, the event will unite hundreds of local authority representatives to discuss crucial topics on waste management and recycling services. Since its inception in 2012, MetalMatters has been a game-changer, adopted by 114 councils across the UK and significantly boosting household metal packaging recycling rates. “Wales currently sits third in...
The world's alumina production once again crossed the 12 million tonnes level in May 2024 (31 calendar days), close to the output in March 2024, reflecting a month-on-month increase of 2.43 per cent. During the same period last year, the world's alumina output was also above 12 million tonnes but slightly less than this year, showing a marginal difference of 0.19 per cent. However, it is to be noted here that although the output in May 2024 nearly matches the production of last year but the overall trend of this year through the five months demonstrated much positive than in the previous year. Thus, the year-to-date world's alumina production of 2024 totalled 58.974 million tonnes, up by 2.52 per cent from 57.522 million tonnes in the earlier year, found the International Aluminium...
Singapore-based Winning International Group, a renowned Chinese Capesize specialist, is set to enhance its seaborne trade from West Africa to China with a significant new order. The company has commissioned six very large ore carriers (VLOCs) at an estimated total cost of nearly $700 million, a substantial investment that underscores their commitment to the industry. This new order follows Winning's previous acquisition of two VLOCs from CSSC's Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding yard last September. The latest sextet has been ordered from Hengli Heavy Industry, with industry insiders indicating that deliveries will commence in the second half of 2027. Each vessel is priced at approximately $116 million. Winning owns and operates one of Singapore's largest bulk carrier fleets, with almost 100...
LME aluminium opened at US$2,547 per tonne in the previous trading day, hitting a high of US$2,552 per tonne and a low of US$2,518 per tonne, and closed at US$2,527 per tonne, down US$22.5 per tonne or 0.88 per cent from the previous closing price. On Thursday, July 4, both LME aluminium cash bid price and LME aluminium official settlement price went up by US$6 per tonne or 0.24 per cent and US$6.5 per tonne or 0.26 per cent to settle at US$2,492.50 per tonne and US$2,493.50 per tonne. As per the LME price graph, 3-month bid price and 3-month offer price increased by US$4 per tonne or 0.15 per cent and US$4.5 per tonne or 0.17 per cent to settle at US$2,540 per tonne and US$2,541 per tonne. December 25 bid price and December 25 offer price also moved up by US$3 per tonne or 0.11 per cent...
According to the latest report, Japanese aluminium buyers have agreed to pay an 8 per cent lower premium for primary aluminium shipments for Q3 2024, ending September 30, than the previous quarter. The news came after five sources directly involved in quarterly pricing talks reported. The last offer by global producers for Q3 was $185 to $190 per tonne, compared to which the current premium is 36-37 per cent lower, standing at $118 to $119 per tonne. As opposed to the previous quarter's premium of $128 per tonne, the third-quarter premium agreed upon is 7.8-7 per cent less, following two quarters of rising premiums. In Q2 2024, Japan's primary aluminium shipment premium was 35 per cent higher sequentially, while that in Q1 was 27 per cent more. "We have settled the deals at $118 and $119...
Nocs Design, the Sweden-based studio renowned for its intricately crafted audio accessories emphasising minimalism, has introduced its latest wireless speaker, succeeding the acclaimed hand-crafted Monolith speaker. The Nocs Monolith Aluminium speaker, a testament to their meticulous craftsmanship, is the outcome of extensive research to eliminate the usage of recycled plastics. Speaker featuring CNC-machined aluminium According to founder Daniel Alm, the result is a speaker made from a single block of CNC-machined aluminium, achieving a sophisticated appearance. Notably, the speaker is fully recyclable, demonstrating Nocs' commitment to sustainability. Daniel Alm mentioned that significant time and effort were invested in achieving perfect symmetry for driver positioning within the...
Aluminium demand in North America, stemming from the automotive, aerospace, construction, and packaging industries, is undergoing an upward movement, fuelled by a concerted move towards sustainability by manufacturers. The aluminium industry in North America is categorised by product type and end-user sectors. Aluminium castings, primarily serving the transportation sector, lead in demand among all product types, followed by flat-rolled products supporting the packaging industry. According to AL Circle’s report “ Global Aluminium Industry Outlook 2024 ,” North America accounted for approximately 21.5 per cent of the global aluminium flat-rolled product use and 8.25 per cent of extrusion use in 2023. Demand analysis In the first quarter of 2024, North America, including the United States...
Since initiating their partnership last year, Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) and RECAPP, Veolia's digital recycling solution, have completed over 14,000 collections from schools and homes. About the collaboration The collaboration, aimed at fostering aluminium recycling among UAE youth, began with 12 schools near EGA's Jebel Ali and Al Taweelah operations. It has since expanded to encompass 20 educational institutions and includes home collections as well. UAE citizens and residents consume approximately 660 million aluminium beverage cans each year. Shockingly, only a third of these cans are currently recycled, starkly contrasting the over 95 per cent recycling rates in leading recycling nations. Shockingly, more than 440 million aluminium cans find their way into UAE landfills...
As a breakthrough achievement, the Talum, InovaIT, and Comland consortium has finished the ambitious two-year project Aluminij 4.0, which aims to revolutionise aluminium production. The project heralds a new era for Talum, integrating cutting-edge technologies such as the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), Robotics, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Automation. This transformative initiative, which aligns closely with our strategic objective of achieving 'zero defect' production standards for castings, has seen the implementation of self-driving forklifts and the automation of production lines. These advancements have significantly enhanced the traceability of material flow, boosted productivity, and elevated product quality. Aluminij 4.0 marks a significant technological leap for...
Speira's substantial industrial investment in Norway's Vestfold province is materialising with the installation of a new furnace, costing over NOK 400 million. The project, set to integrate the furnace into Speira's Holmestrand foundry, is slated for completion by summer 2026, marking a significant expansion effort. Speira's supervisory bodies have so far approved a NOK 414 million investment for a new furnace dedicated to recycled materials at their foundry in Holmestrand. This furnace has been a long-desired addition to the Holmestrand site, enabling it to process an additional 22,000 tonnes of scrap annually. "This investment secures a large number of jobs in Holmestrand for the foreseeable future. The old furnace has been in place for 50 years, and the new one is expected to last at...
Metro Mining Limited has announced a new shipment record for the second quarter of the calendar year, reaching 1.42 million WMT (wet metric tonnes). This represents a 12 per cent increase compared to Q2 2023. Year to date, the total shipments stand at 1.50 million WMT. Additionally, Q2 2024 has marked the successful commissioning phase of the company's new 7 million WMT per annum expansion project. Metro Mining is an independent bauxite producer and explorer. Its 100 per cent-owned Bauxite Hills Mine operates on the Weipa bauxite plateau approximately 95 kilometres north of Weipa, near the coast on the Skardon River. Metro Mining produces high-alumina bauxite and ships it to customers in large ore carriers. The final components of the expansion entered operation during the quarter. OFT...
On Wednesday, July 3, LME aluminum opened at US$2,516 per tonne, reached a high of US$2,561.50 per tonne, a low of US$2,514.50 per tonne, and closed at US$2,549.50 per tonne, up US$33.50 per tonne from the previous close, an increase of 1.33 per cent. LME aluminium cash bid price and LME aluminium official settlement price witnessed a drop for the second day in a row. The LME price graph indicates that both the prices slipped by US$2.50 per tonne on the said day to settle at US$2,486.50 per tonne and US$2,487 per tonne, respectively. However, despite the drop, the price stood week-on-week higher by US$43 per tonne or 1.76 per cent compared to US$2,444 per tonne. But on a month-on-month basis, the price edged a downfall of US$138 per tonne or 5.26 per cent from US$2,625 per tonne. In...
Capesize rates have recently surged past the $30,000 a day mark, largely driven by record-breaking bauxite shipments from West Africa to China. Bauxite, the primary source of aluminium, is a significant minor bulk commodity typically transported on Capesize vessels. According to the US Geological Survey, Guinea holds the largest bauxite reserves in the world. In the second quarter of this year, Greek broker Intermodal reported an "unprecedented surge" in bauxite exports from Guinea, reaching a new record, with the majority of these exports destined for China. China, a key player in the global market, has set a record in primary aluminium production. The significant growth in the first five months of 2024, compared to the same period in 2023, has led to a surge in demand for bauxite and...
TESEM, a leading global manufacturer of aluminium and plastic components catering to diverse sectors, including perfume and cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and spirits, has launched a new technology. The innovative technology, BRI&Va, is designed to enhance the shine of Post-Consumer Recycled (PCR) aluminium. This cutting-edge solution, which is currently patent-pending, is the result of two years of dedicated research and development. The BRI&Va technology ensures that high-percentage PCR aluminium achieves a lustre comparable to virgin anodised aluminium, allowing brands to retain the luxurious appearance of glossy metal packaging. The company emphasises that BRI&Va technology promotes the use of high-content PCR aluminium, supporting clients' sustainability initiatives. TESEM claims that...
Dudley’s Aluminium, a Cardiff-based aluminium fabricator offering services like designing, manufacturing, and installing curtain walls, windows, doors, and facades within the building envelope, has reportedly won a critical project to build a multistorey car park in Central Quay, Cardiff. Dudley has partnered with Goldbeck Construction for the project involving the installation of curtain walling and doors for the Cardiff city center car park building, which also features residential, office, leisure, and retail opportunities. This is not the first time the Welsh fabricator has secured a city centre project. Dudley earlier played a crucial role in remodelling the city centre with its work on many of the landmark buildings in Central Square, such as Buildings One and Two, the BBC, HMRC and...
According to the Shanghai Metals Market, domestic aluminium wire rod producers’ operating rate increased last week to meet backlogged orders. There were adequate inflows of State Grid orders through tenders in Qinghai, Jiangxi, Jiangsu, and Sichuan, leaving producers with ample orders on hand. The bid announcements in Jiangsu and Sichuan also included heat-resistant alloy stranded wire orders worth of total RMB 68.28 million. Thus, to meet these orders, China’s domestic aluminium wire rod producers ramped up their operations, leading their operating rate to 67.2 per cent. Last week, Chinese domestic aluminium wire rod prices remained steady, contributing to transactions improvement driven by destocking inventory accumulation at low prices to obtain cash flow. On Friday, June 28, the...
