
Atlas Metals Group plc has terminated its proposed acquisition of Universal Pozzolanic Silica Alumina Ltd (UPSA), ending a transaction first announced in June 2025, as the company shifts its acquisition focus towards lithium and graphite assets in Africa and South America. The natural resources and energy company said the decision followed recent due diligence difficulties and actions by UPSA representatives that it believes materially changed the merits and viability of the transaction. Atlas Metals is also seeking to recover material amounts owed to it by UPSA. The proposed acquisition was initially announced on June 17, 2025, with the signing of a conditional share purchase agreement (SPA) disclosed on September 10, 2025. However, the company has now decided to terminate the agreement,...
The third quarter brought a clear improvement in global alumina production. It did not, however, bring production back to the level recorded a year earlier. Global alumina output has reached 114.625 million tonnes in the first nine months of 2026, down 330,000 tonnes or 0.29% (114.955 million tonnes in 2025) year-on-year. China's estimated production increased, but declines across most other reporting regions erased that gain. The quarterly sequence reveals how the production gap has developed. In the July to September 2026 quarter, alumina output reached 39.396 million tonnes, an increase of 5.54% over the preceding quarter. Yet the same quarter in 2025 had delivered 39.675 million tonnes. The latest production total was therefore 279,000 tonnes lower Y-o-Y. The first quarter of 2026...
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British luxury car-maker Rolls-Royce (RR) has proudly showcased the second variant of its hand-built Boat Tail range during the Concorso d’Eleganza event in Italy. The signature Pantheon Grille adorning the front of the car is milled from a single, solid aluminium billet. The bonnet ornament called Spirit of Ecstasy has a rose gold tint. The car's exterior, modelled after the J-class racing yacht from the 1920s and the 30s is chic and elegant. The panels of the 2022 Boat Tail have been forged out of a single piece aluminium sheet to revive the racing yacht feeling. Mostly taking place in the second half of May since 2011, the Concorso d’Eleganza event has provided a platform for curated cars or vintage vehicles since its inception in Italy. The latest Boat Tail is shrouded with a rose...

Rio Tinto and British Petroleum (bp) have agreed to collaborate on a one-year biofuel trial to assist Rio Tinto's marine fleet to reduce carbon emissions. British Petroleum will supply marine biofuel to Rio Tinto as part of the trial for approximately 12 months. The findings from the trial will be used to research strategies to minimise carbon emissions from its marine fleet and shape its future biofuel strategy. The fuel will be tested on Rio Tinto’s RTM Tasman vessel on a mix of Transatlantic and Atlantic-Pacific itineraries. This will be one of the longest-duration marine biofuel trials to date. The project is employing a B30 biofuel blend made by bp that contains 30 per cent fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) and extremely low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO). When compared to regular marine...

Benelli Motorcycles unveiled its upgraded version of TRK 502X around the middle of May 2022 in China. The new Benelli TRK 502X has disposed of the heavy and clumsy steel swingarm, replacing it with aluminium alloy pivoted fork. This alteration has further decreased the average weight of the component by 3.6 kilograms which is equivalent to 8 pounds. The Chinese release undoubtedly has more choices to indulge in, which the European or US release lack. Benelli has carefully discarded the unwanted weight off its vehicle, giving it feather-like agility and swiftness. Moreover, the company claims that the modified buttons and features in the bike might appeal to a generation of technology buffs. The 2022 edition has already witnessed the inclusion of a tire pressure sensor and 'heated grips'...

Hindalco Industries Limited further raised its aluminium products and aluminium ingot prices on Saturday, May 21, for the second time in a week. A previous hike was on May 18 when Hindalco expnded its aluminium billets price by INR 10,500 per tonne to INR 268,100 per tonne. Three days later, Hindalco increased the price by INR 7,750 per tonne or 2.89 per cent to INR 275,850 per tonne. Hindalco’s aluminium wire rod price also witnessed a hike of INR 7,750 per tonne, with effect from May 21, from INR 265,100 per tonne to INR 272,850 per tonne. Aluminium ingot price was no exception but rose by the same amount to INR 261,750 per tonne. On May 18, Hindalco’s ingot price came in at INR 254,000 per tonne, escalating by INR 10,500 per tonne. Hindalco continued to grow its aluminium ingot and...

In April 2022, primary aluminium production in Africa stood at 131,000 tonnes, registering a month-on-month downfall of 6,000 tonnes or 4.38 per cent, showed the International Aluminium Institute data. In March, primary aluminium output was 137,000 tonnes, seeing a hike of 11.38 per cent from 123,000 tonnes in February. On a year-on-year basis, primary aluminium production in Africa during April’22 stood only 1,000 tonnes higher than 130,000 tonnes. In total four months of the year 2022, Africa produced 528,000 tonnes of primary aluminium, up by 2.52 per cent or 13,000 tonnes from 515,000 tonnes of output during the same period last year. World primary aluminium production during January-April 2022 amounted to 22.148 million tonnes, down by 1.06 per cent from 22.385 million tonnes during...

Aluminium is 100% recyclable and does not lose any of its properties or quality when it is recycled. Aluminium has been produced for over a century and is still in production today. Its recyclability plays a critical role in its success. Recovery and recycling have proven to be so valuable - both economically and ecologically - that the industry has grown and prospered. The services sector ranks as the largest in terms of its contribution to Estonia’s GDP. It majorly consists of shipping and transportation, telecommunications, electronics and banking sub-sectors. Other than UBC (Used Beverage Can), the shipping and electronics sector also generates some amount of aluminium scrap. Estonia, a modern market-based economy and one of the higher per capita income levels in Central Europe and...

Headquartered in Chennai, Wheels India, one of the largest steel wheel manufacturers in India, has planned to invest around INR 155 crore in the current fiscal year (2022-2023) to expand its aluminium wheels business and construction equipment. The company has also planned to invest an additional INR 25 crore in its new factory in Thervoy Kandigai, Tiruvallur district. This investment will be used for the machining of huge wind turbines, in addition to the INR 75 crores, which has been already invested. “Early this month, the company also inaugurated a new plant for machining of large wind turbine castings in Thervoy Kandigai,” said Srivats Ram, the managing director of Wheels India. The business claimed in a statement that it exceeded the INR 1,000 crore marks in exports for the fiscal...

The recycling of aluminium has significant positive effects on the economy and the environment. The metal has an infinite recyclable feature, which consumes up to 95% less energy to recycle than to produce primary aluminium rationally and it also limits emissions, including greenhouse gases. Furthermore, the augmented use of secondary aluminium in production reduces the extraction of bauxite. A highly developed industrialized nation, Austria’s service sector has played an important role in its economic contribution. The major industries are aluminium downstream, mechanical engineering and steel construction, chemicals, vehicle manufacturing and food and luxury commodities. Austria generates both fresh aluminium scrap and post-consumer scrap. The country located in the southern part of...

Maan Aluminium, a downstream aluminium producer in India, has announced its net sales of INR 129 crore for the March quarter of 2022, down by 21.55 per cent from INR 164.44 crore in the December quarter and 20.99 per cent lower than INR 163.27 crore during the same period last year. But despite the downfall in net sales, Maan Aluminium has reported a sharp quarterly increase of 108.42 per cent in net profit to INR 8.17 crore in Q4 ended March 31. On a year-on-year basis, the net profit grew 55.32 per cent from INR 5.26 crore. Earnings per share also hiked on the quarter by 108.28 per cent from INR 2.9 to INR 6.04 in 4Q2022. But compared to a year ago, it plunged by 22.37 per cent from INR 7.78. As of May 20, 2022, Maan Aluminium’s shares closed at 137.25. As per a report, the company gave...

On 22 nd May 2022, the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector players of India praised the government’s decision to lessen the duty on raw materials for steel and plastics in a way to reduce the prices. However, the sector owners stated that to ensure Indian exporters are not outbid by rivals on the international market and more efforts need to be made to ensure local supply chains remain competitive. “The government should have cut import duty on aluminium, primary steel, copper and plastics to nil, only then inflation could be contained in a meaningful way”, said Anil Bhardwaj, the Secretary-General of the Federation of Indian Micro and Small & Medium Enterprises (FISME). "The way duties have been reduced on petrol and diesel. There is a need to effect similar duty cuts on...

Three-month LME aluminium price opened at US$2,935 per tonne last Friday and closed at US$2,969.50 per tonne, an increase of US$63 per tonne or 2.17 per cent. On Friday, May 20, both LME aluminium cash bid price and LME aluminium official settlement price skyrocketed by over US$100 per tonne after an intermittent drop on the previous day. While the former came in at US$2,930 per tonne, seeing a surge of US$104.50 per tonne, the latter closed at US$2,931 per tonne, witnessing a jump of US$105 per tonne. 3-month bid price and 3-month offer price augmented by US$93.50 per tonne and US$95 per tonne, respectively, to settle at US$2,933 per tonne and US$2,935 per tonne. December 23 bid price and December 23 offer price totalled at US$2,845 per tonne and US$2,850 per tonne. LME aluminium opening...

The downstream aluminium segment has witnessed some key progress this week. St Louis, a US-based global family of companies focused on aluminium and other nonferrous materials, Metal Exchange Corporation acquires Medalco Metals, the full line distributor of Aluminum Flat-Rolled Products from foil to plate. On the way, Constellium allied with Nikon's subsidiary, Morf3D for additive manufacturing development using aluminium powder solution. Gränges herald a fire incident at under commissioning cold rolling mill in Konin, Poland. The global leader in the purchasing, processing and manufacturing of non-ferrous metals, Metal Exchange Corporation has made public that it has acquired Medalco Metals Inc., a US-based distributor of light gauge aluminium rolled products. To know more:...

On 20th May 2022, the Trade Remedies Authority, the UK body that investigates whether trade remedy measures are needed to counter unfair import practices and unforeseen surges of imports, has proposed new measures for the UK aluminium extrusion industry to be protected from Chinese dumping. According to the TRA, these imports are dumping into the UK at unfair prices and injuring the industry. TRA's interim report, the Statement of Essential Facts, is now open for public comment. Upon considering these comments, the TRA will submit a final recommendation to the Secretary of State for International Trade, who will decide whether new trade remedies are required for these imports. In addition to components for heavy equipment, like mining and oil and gas pipelines, and chemical and refinery...

Aluminium has been the primary material in spaceflight since the first satellite was launched in 1957. In order to explore potential collaboration and use of UAE-made aluminium in space, a delegation from the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre led by Director General Salem Al Marri visited Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA). Salem Al Marri, Director-General of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre, was welcomed by EGA's Chief Executive Officer Abdulnasser Bin Kalban and the company's top technicians at the company's Jebel Ali location in Dubai. The team inspected EGA's cutting-edge research and development facilities, casthouse, and labs during their visit. “We look forward to close cooperation with the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre as the UAE’s aluminium industry contributes to our nation’s...

This week the global primary aluminium sector witnessed a lot of major happenings. Many new projects and agreements were unlocked. To begin with, Hydro announced its plan to invest NOK 320 million in the Karmøy aluminium smelter. The project will start in the fourth quarter of 2022 and terminate in the fourth quarter of 2024. Apart from this, the Odisha government had cleared a budgetary allocation of INR 428.95 crore for the establishment of a giant aluminium park in Angul. Vedanta Aluminium signed a long-term contract with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for the construction of greener roads in Odisha using fly-ash. Furthermore, the benchmark aluminium price for SHFE opened the week on Monday with a surge of US$3,044 per tonne, which went on to decline the next day to...

Arconic Inc., the spun off from the US aluminium giant Alcoa Corporation is seeking to sell its Russian business, as per the statement released by the company. The losses for the American industrial company, Arconic, specializing in lightweight metals engineering and manufacturing anticipated attaining $500 million in the proposal to exit the Russian market. Arconic Inc. said, "The Company undertook a thoughtful review of strategic alternatives given the limitations imposed on our operations by the Russian government and as a result of the ongoing legal dispute with the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service.” After conducting this review, the board of directors has recommended that the company pursue the sale of its Samara, Russia facility under all applicable laws. Tim Myers, the CEO of...

The Andhra Pradesh state government has achieved a major victory against Ras-Al-Khaimah Investment Authority’s (RAKIA) $273 million damage claim by over cancellation of the Bauxite Supply Agreement (BSA) inked by AP Mineral Development Corporation in October 2008. RAKIA, Penna Group and the Andhra Pradesh government signed a memorandum of understanding in 2007 to supply bauxite ore to the alumina refinery at Makavarapalem near Visakhapatnam. However, according to the BSA undertakings, it was to supply 224 million tonnes from Jerrela Group of Mines located in the Chintapalli Reserve Forest. The agreement was discarded when the state government was replaced in April 2016 alleging irregularities in the allotment. A notice calling for arbitration was served citing violations of the UN-UAE...

On May 19, China’s domestic aluminium billet inventory slumped by 2,300 tonnes or 1.66 percent W-o-W to score at 136,400 tonnes. Following the drop in aluminium prices and conversion margins, downstream purchasers were more eager to enter the market. SMM will be watching to see if consumption recovers enough to keep the recent destocking trend going. The figure below provides further information on the current state of aluminium billet inventories in China: The inventory in Foshan had declined by 3,400 tonnes to settle at 76,600 tonnes, followed by a slump of 1,300 tonnes at Wuxi to peg at 18,000 tonnes. In Changzhou, the inventory had hiked by 1,400 tonnes to close at 18,000 tonnes. For the same day in Nanchang, the inventory had surged by 1,000 tonnes to record at 14,000 tonnes. However...