Vietnam-based custom motorcycle studio Bandit9 has unveiled the Bandit9 (RED) 800, a limited-edition Ducati-based motorcycle that combines sculptural aluminium bodywork with a charitable commitment to healthcare programmes. Its defining feature is a hand-painted finish that fades from deep Racing Red at the front into exposed, hand-brushed aluminium towards the rear, making the metal itself a central part of the design. Limited to just nine units worldwide, the motorcycle is priced at USD 49,900, with Bandit9 pledging a fixed USD 14,000 from each bike to (RED), the organisation that raises funds to fight AIDS and other preventable diseases. If all nine examples are sold, the commitment would total USD 126,000. Red paint gives way to sculpted aluminium The Bandit9 (RED) 800 builds on the...
COROS has introduced the DURA 2 SOLAR, a second-generation GPS cycling computer featuring an anodised aluminium alloy frame and a braided carbon fibre back. The new model combines aluminium construction with a larger touchscreen, updated navigation functions and extended battery life. The device features an aluminium upper frame with a profile measuring just 5.7 mm at its thinnest point. Its construction combines the metal with carbon fibre to keep the overall weight at 99 grams without a mount, increasing to 138 grams with a compatible mount. The use of aluminium is part of a broader redesign that gives the cycling computer a slimmer profile. COROS has also expanded the screen size from 2.7 inches in the original DURA to 3.5 inches in the new model, improving the available display area...
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Although BALCO, owned by Vedanta, doesn’t get a lot of attention for its aluminium wire rods, they are an important part of the supply chain for power transmission and distribution projects across India. BALCO manufactures the wire rods at its Korba plant in Chhattisgarh and sells them to cable and conductor manufacturers who use the rods to make products used in power lines, electrical infrastructure and industrial applications. The rods are made from electrical grade aluminium and engineered to ensure high conductivity and consistent quality. Usually they are in large coils, which are then drawn out into thinner wires for various uses. The products are available in electrical conductor grades and speciality alloys for applications ranging from building cables to high-voltage...
Mecwin Technologies India Pvt. Ltd. has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Germany-based Fraunhofer IWKS to support development and production of sintered neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) permanent magnets in India. The partnership is meant to augment India’s capabilities in manufacturing rare earth magnets, a segment gaining strategic importance in view of growing demand from electric vehicles, renewable energy systems, industrial equipment and defence applications. Under the terms of the deal, Mecwin will set up a manufacturing facility in India for sintered NdFeB permanent magnets. The facility is anticipated to cater for a range of sectors including electric mobility, aerospace, industrial motors, renewable energy and advanced manufacturing. The partnership will concentrate...
As we look more closely into the aluminium industry of China, the leading exporter in the global aluminium supply chain, it appears to fall short in the aluminium scrap market. How do we know? China’s import data accumulated from the International Trade Administration offer evident pointers. In Q1 2026, China sourced 526,380 tonnes of aluminium scrap from the world , which reflects a notable year-on-year surge of 3.92 per cent from the import volume of 506,546 tonnes in Q1 2025. The spike in imports prompts an in-depth tracking of the nation's aluminium scrap sources. Annually, the import volume has shot up to 2.02 million tonnes in 2025 from 1.78 million tonnes in 2024, up Y-o-Y by 13.48 per cent. Since 2025, China’s top three suppliers of aluminium scrap have been: Thailand,...
If you wanted to understand where aluminium demand is heading in 2026, you could spend hours tracking smelter output, warehouse stocks and trade flows. Or you could simply look at the products shaping everyday life. A smartphone. A motorcycle. A truck engine. A beverage can. A roll of aluminium foil. At first glance, these products have little in common. Yet each has emerged as a piece of aluminium's downstream story this year, offering clues about where demand is accelerating, where manufacturers are placing their bets and where governments are drawing protective lines around domestic industries. For an industry often consumed by discussions about bauxite, alumina, tariffs and energy costs, some of the most revealing developments of 2026 have occurred much further down the value chain....
China’s bauxite inventories continued to increase last week despite higher prices and ongoing concerns over supply from Guinea. Stocks held at Chinese ports reached 32.4 million tonnes, up 24 per cent year-on-year and the highest level recorded since 2022. However, inventories remain around 20 per cent below the five-year peak of 39 million tonnes. At the same time, the price of Guinea’s 45 per cent grade bauxite rose by USD 1 per tonne week-on-week to USD 69.5 per tonne CFR China. Despite the price increase, the rise in inventories indicates that the Chinese market remains well supplied. The growing stockpiles may also point to longer-term changes in China’s aluminium supply chain. The country’s domestic bauxite mining is getting more expensive and less competitive as its workforce ages....
How has the momentum in UK aluminium scrap exports to the US been in the opening quarter (Q1) of 2026? According to the data recorded in the International Trade Administration (ITA), a slight cooling can be noticed, with shipments and export revenues both slipping from the levels recorded a year ago. In Q1 2026, the UK exported about 3,785 tonnes of aluminium scrap to the US, which is about 9.8 per cent short of the 4,196 tonnes exported during the same period in Q1 2025. Gather insights on the aluminium recycling market from LME-Certified Risk Management Consultant’s exclusive session on Hedging for recyclers - Become an expert in 6 hours . Year-to-date (YTD) import volume of aluminium scrap by the US till March 2026 totalled 265,983 tonnes. Here, the UK ranks in the fifth position,...
Bridgnorth Aluminium (BAL), the UK’s last remaining aluminium rolling mill, has strengthened its position in the growing battery materials market after signing a five-year supply agreement with Lotte Aluminium Materials USA. The agreement was signed at Lotte’s facility in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, and will see BAL supply battery-grade aluminium for use in battery foil production. The material will support the manufacture of next-generation batteries used in electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage systems (ESS) across North America. The deal follows joint development work, qualification programmes and product testing aimed at meeting the requirements of the rapidly expanding battery sector. Bridgnorth Aluminium employs 368 people at its production facility in Shropshire and has...
Norton Motorcycles has revealed full details of its new Atlas and Atlas GT models, two middleweight motorcycles that combine modern technology with extensive use of aluminium components aimed at reducing weight and improving performance. The launch marks another step in Norton’s revival under TVS ownership, with the company looking to expand its presence in the global motorcycle market. The Atlas is positioned as an adventure-touring motorcycle with light off-road capability, while the Atlas GT is designed primarily for road use. Although both models share the same platform, they differ in their suspension, wheels and tyre setup. Aluminium plays an important role in both motorcycles, particularly in the wheel and chassis components. The Atlas is equipped with a 19-inch front wheel and a...
The aluminium industry's supply chain story increasingly begins long before metal reaches a smelter. Across several regions, governments and companies are moving to secure access to bauxite, the industry's most important raw material. India's engagement with Venezuela reflects a broader effort to secure long-term access to raw materials essential for industrial growth. During recent discussions between the two countries, Venezuela's vast bauxite reserves emerged as a key area of interest, particularly the Los Pijiguaos region, which is estimated to hold billions of tonnes of the ore. The development highlights how resource security is becoming increasingly important as countries seek reliable supplies of materials that support aluminium production and manufacturing growth. At the producer...
Hindalco Industries has said that recycling electronic waste and printed circuit boards could play an important role in recovering critical minerals and rare earth elements needed for India's future growth. Speaking on the sidelines of the CII GreenCo 15th National Summit, Vaishali Surawar, Chief Sustainability Officer at Hindalco, said the company has commissioned an e-waste recycling facility at Pakhajan near Dahej to process electronic waste and recover valuable materials. According to Surawar, the facility will focus on printed circuit boards and use a seven-stage process to extract metals from discarded electronics. The recovered materials will include copper, rare earth elements and other specialty metals, which are increasingly important for sectors such as clean energy,...
Within the aluminium recycling industry, recyclers have a robust demand and running efficient operations does not always mean they will enjoy healthy profit margins. A sudden shift in metal prices, from buying scrap to selling finished products, can swiftly eat away profits, putting businesses at risk even when they are doing everything else right. Moreover, the metal markets are always in flux and for aluminium recyclers, even the smallest price change can have a big impact on procurement decision-making, inventory valuation, customer agreements and overall profit margins. Although the recyclers would not be able to completely eliminate volatility, they can enhance their responsiveness by implementing effective risk management strategies. To help recyclers build this capability, AL...
Om Metallogic Ltd. has recently secured a fresh supply contract valued at INR 18.81 CR (USD from Oswal Castings Pvt. Ltd. According to the agreement, Om Metallogic will deliver 476.35 tonnes of ADC-12 aluminium alloy ingots to the buyer, Oswal Castings, which adds a sizeable commercial order to the former’s account. The company disclosure says the contract is awarded as an open work order. Revenue from the deal will not be recognised upfront but will progressively accrue as supplies are executed under a performance-linked billing arrangement. Most importantly, Om Metallogic clarified that the transaction has been entered into on an arm’s-length basis and does not involve a related party. Such disclosures are closely watched by the investors as they provide reassurance that commercial...
The US Court of International Trade has ruled in favour of the Commerce Department in a dispute involving Turkish aluminium sheet producer Assan, confirming that the company was not eligible for a duty drawback adjustment under an anti-dumping order. The case relates to imports of common alloy aluminium sheet from Turkey and Commerce's review of whether Assan qualified for a reduction in its dumping margin through the duty drawback programme. A duty drawback allows companies to recover duties paid on imported materials that are later exported or used in exported products. According to the court, Assan submitted documents intended to support its eligibility claim after the deadline set by Commerce. As a result, the agency declined to include the information in its review. Explore: The most...
Statkraft and Alcoa have signed two long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) to support the continued operation of Alcoa’s aluminium plant at Lista, Norway. The agreements will see Statkraft deliver around 4.8 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity between 2028 and 2031, giving the plant more certainty over its future power costs. The deal follows the successful restart of Electrolysis Hall 3 at the Lista facility, which increased annual production capacity by 31,000 tonnes and brought the total capacity of the plant to 95,000 tonnes per year. Alcoa said the restart is an important step for its Norwegian operations, strengthening the company’s industrial footprint and restoring production capacity at the site. Explore: The most comprehensive and forward-looking industry-focused report –...
Egypt Aluminium Company (Egyptalum) is said to be looking for a USD 100 million loan to help fund the development of Egypt's first aluminium foil plant, which is deemed to play an important part in Egypt's strategy to strengthen its downstream aluminium industry, thereby decreasing the need for imports. According to a report by a renowned news media, the financing will be arranged through a consortium of Egyptian and Gulf-based banks. The National Bank of Egypt is leading the process and managing the dollar-denominated loan, with the final financing agreement expected to be signed during the fourth quarter of 2026. The report cited unnamed sources familiar with the matter. The initial step of the project will require about USD 90 million in investment and will produce 25,000 tonnes of...
Rare earth elements were formed billions of years ago through cosmic processes, but their importance has never been more immediate. Once treated as a niche mineral group, rare earths now sit at the centre of the global contest for its strategic value in developing technology, clean energy, defence capability, and industrial security. And in this contest, the winner is not who owns the maximum reserves, but who is efficient in processing, refining, and turning into usable industrial inputs. And this is where China holds its strongest advantage China has the world’s highest identified rare earth reserves, estimated at around 44 million tonnes. But there are also the countries like Vietnam, Brazil, Canada, Russia, India, Australia, and the United States who have notable reserves of 22...
LME aluminium prices edged lower on June 18 compared with June 17, while warehouse stocks continued to fall. However, longer-dated contracts posted modest gains. The LME cash bid price slipped to USD 3,401.50 per tonne on June 18 from USD 3,405 per tonne a day earlier, representing a decline of 0.10 per cent. The cash offer price also eased by 0.10 per cent to USD 3,402 per tonne from USD 3,405.50 per tonne. Three-month aluminium prices also moved lower. The three-month bid fell from USD 3,408 per tonne to USD 3,400 per tonne, a decrease of 0.23 per cent. The three-month offer price declined by 0.26 per cent, dropping from USD 3,410 per tonne to USD 3,401 per tonne. In contrast, December 2027 contracts recorded gains. The December 2027 bid rose from USD 3,178 per tonne to USD 3,190 per...
Vedanta Aluminium shares were in focus on Thursday after brokerage firms Citi and Kotak Institutional Equities initiated coverage on the stock with ‘Buy’ ratings. The stock was trading 0.56 per cent higher at 9:40 am and had earlier risen as much as 2.93 per cent to INR 479 (USD 5.08) per share. Despite the gain, Vedanta Aluminium remains more than 10 per cent below its listing price of INR 522 (USD 5.53). Vedanta Aluminium was listed on the stock exchanges on June 15 and was the only one of Vedanta’s four demerged businesses to debut at a premium. Both Citi and Kotak highlighted favourable aluminium market fundamentals, planned capacity expansions and ongoing cost-reduction initiatives as key positives for the company. They also pointed to growing aluminium demand from sectors such as...
