Bell Bay Aluminium (BBA), Australia's oldest aluminium smelter, is reviewing its workforce and offering redundancies for a small number of positions, just over a month after receiving an AUD 200 million (USD 137.52 million) government support package aimed at securing the facility's future until at least 2031. Up to 10 roles are understood to have been affected by the review, although the smelter is expected to retain its existing workforce of approximately 550 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees. Some redeployment opportunities will also be available, while the positions identified are not understood to involve frontline services. The changes reportedly include some former participants in Bell Bay Aluminium's graduate programme. Rio Tinto, which operates the smelter near George Town in...
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,...
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LME aluminium prices further shrank this week, with LME aluminium cash bid price and LME aluminium official settlement price starting at US$3,089 per tonne and US$3,090 per tonne on Monday, April 25, and ending at US$3,038 per tonne and US$3,039 per tonne on Friday, April 29. That was a decline of US$51 per tonne through the week. After facing nosedive by US$154.50 per tonne and US$154 per tonne on Monday, LME aluminium cash bid price and LME aluminium official settlement price increased by US$13 per tonne and US$12.50 per tonne on Tuesday, April 26, to come in at US$3,102 per tonne and US$3,102.50 per tonne. But on the next day, the prices slipped by US$3 per tonne and US$2.50 per tonne to stand at US$3,099 per tonne and US$3,100 per tonne. On Thursday, April 28, both the LME aluminium...
The global alumina industry had witnessed limited but significant number of events. To begin with, Alpha HPA (A4N), based in New South Wales, Australia, has been awarded a $15.5 million grant from the Commonwealth Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources. Rio Tinto Plc has agreed to engage into a development agreement with Innord Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Geomega Resources Inc., for a bauxite residues iron phase product. Also, Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, and Kumara Mangalam Birla, Chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, inaugurated the Grasim Industries Limited caustic soda production plant at Balabhadrapuram, East Godavari district, on Thursday, April 21. According to the Indian Industrial Value Chain Council (IIVCC), the group...
Australia-based battery minerals producing company Lava Blue has been granted US$ 5.2 million under the Government’s Critical Minerals Accelerator Initiative to evolve techniques to refine critical minerals used in the lithium-ion battery supply chain. Michael McCann, the managing director of Lava Blue, declared that this grant would help suffice a US$ 12 million Queensland project over the next two and a half years. McCann commented: “This grant will allow Lava Blue processes to be applied to the recovery of several valuable minerals from vanadium pentoxide processing waste, including high purity alumina and potentially magnesium and residual vanadium. “The outcome will be to greatly improve the economics of vanadium recovery and provide new supplies of high-purity minerals into global...
On 29 th April 2022, the Norwegian aluminium company with its headquarters in Oslo, Norsk Hydro has announced a tender offer for the acquisition of 100% of the shares of Alumetal S.A, a company listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange for 68.4 PLN per share in cash (the “offer price”), representing an aggregate equity purchase price of approximately 1.066 PLN million (approx. EUR 232 million). Alumetal is one of the biggest, ultra-modern and constantly developing manufacturers of secondary aluminium casting alloys and primary alloys. However, the transaction oblique an Enterprise Value of approximately 1.332 PLN million (app. EUR 290 million) based on newly reported net debt as of FY2021 and dividends payable of 106 PLN million (app. EUR 23 million) dividend payment date on 27 th July 2022....
AMAG Austria Metall AG, the biggest company in the Austrian Aluminium industry sector, has reported a continued positive performance for the 1st quarter of 2022 ended March 31. By the data revealed, the company has achieved the highest quarterly earnings in its history for 1Q2022, contributed by increased LME aluminium prices throughout the period. Positive growth is seen in shipment volumes and product mix optimisations as well. Revenues of the group rose 60 per cent over the year from EUR 251.2 million to EUR 399 million, thanks to higher shipments and aluminium prices. Shipments improved by 6 per cent to 104,600 tonnes in Q1 2022 versus 98,500 tonnes in Q1 2021. Group’ s EBITDA doubled from EUR 30.3 million in Q1 2021 to EUR 68 million during the same period of this year. Metal...
On Wednesday, April 27, Hon. Samuel Abu Jinapor (MP), Minister of Lands and Natural Resources announced that aluminium has been globally identified by the government as a critical commodity for the energy transition initiative. The announcement was made while he was leading a Ghanaian delegation to this year's Bauxite and Alumina Conference in Miami, Florida, United States of America. Ghana has tremendous prospects for those willing to invest in the downstream. The purpose of the conference was to promote Ghana's Integrated Aluminium Industry and to sell Ghana's strategy to push integration and value addition processes throughout the bauxite to the aluminium value chain. Hon. Jinapor told the investment community that Ghana is ready for business because of its open society, thriving...
Henan Shenhuo Coal & Power Co Ltd declared this week that it is planning to amplify its production to achieve 900,000 tonnes which is the maximum capacity of the unit by the end of this month owing to the steady power supply in Yunnan province. Shenhuo is a renowned aluminium producer from China. The power grid in Yunnan is yielding an ample amount of electricity to fully serve the aluminium smelters in the area after a soaring ratio of rainfall so far this spring; as reported by local news providers. Coal is the most important catalyst in the aluminium smelting industry without which, the melting of alumina to produce aluminium wouldn’t have been possible. But the alternative to coal can be Hydro-power which is a sustainable source of energy with the least carbon footprint. Yunnan...
Vedanta Limited has further reduced its aluminium ingot and products prices, with effect from Friday, April 29, in line with back-to-back LME aluminium price drop. Vedanta has cut its aluminium ingot price by INR 2,500 per tonne or 0.9 per cent to INR 269,500-305,200 per tonne on April 29, while the price on April 26 was at INR 272,000-307,700 per tonne, seeing a steep fall of INR 11,250 per tonne. Vedanta’s aluminium products prices have also seen a cut of INR 2,500 per tonne, which brought the company’s aluminium wire rod price to INR 277,000- 284,500 per tonne on April 29 versus INR 279,500- 287,000 per tonne on April 26. Vedanta’s aluminium billet price has come in at INR 277,500 per tonne compared to INR 280,000 per tonne. Vedanta Limited links its aluminium products and aluminium...
Century Aluminum Company, a US-based primary aluminium producer, has announced its first quarter 2022 operation and financial results, revealing that shipments in the same period ended March 31 increased by 5 per cent quarter-on-quarter from 200,961 tonnes to 211,411 tonnes, bolstered by the resumption of a project at Mt. Holly. Backed on the rise in shipments, net sales in 1Q2022 improved 14 per cent sequentially from US$659.1 million to US$753.6 million. But net income recorded a decrease of US$42.7 million from US$60.4 million to US$17.7 million. First quarter results were negatively impacted by US$42.3 million of net exceptional items, in particular US$39 million of unrealised losses on derivative instruments and US$3.3 million in share-based compensation costs. However, adjusted net...
A total of 75% of aluminium foil is used to package foods, cosmetics, and chemical products, while 25% is used for industrial applications like thermal insulation, electrical cable, and electronics. Aluminium foil is easily recycled and it succeeded tin foil in the mid-20th century. Aluminium foil is tasteless and odourless. Aluminium foil is extremely dimensionally stable even in the soft state. The paper-thin, shiny sheet of aluminium metal is made from aluminium alloy which consists of between 92% and 99% aluminium. In the production of modern foil, aluminium is rolled through continuous mills, resulting in a thin and longer product. This process reduces the thickness of the aluminium product, which is then wound into a coil at the end of the production line. Afterwards, these coils...
Situated in New South Wales, Australia, Alpha HPA (A4N) has received a grant of $15.5 million from the Commonwealth Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources. The grant falls under the jurisdiction of the Critical Minerals Accelerator Initiative (CMAI) and will be utilised to expand and speed up the production capacity of the Precursor Production Facility (PPF). As the primary step towards HPA First Project, the PPF is being constructed at this moment in Gladstone. Managing Director of Alpha HPA Rimas Kairaitis remarked, “These additional funds will allow Alpha to accelerate its response to inbound demand for additional product volumes, in particular, the production of HPA tablets to meet the immediate demand for sapphire glass production, and rapidly establish Alpha HPA in...
On Thursday, April 28, ASI announced the joining of Aludyne as its new industrial users member. Aludyne is a prominent global, vertically integrated manufacturer of cast and machined automotive components made of aluminium, magnesium, and iron, as well as specialized engineering and production solutions for safety-critical goods. The company provide creative solutions to challenging mobility issues with a vertically integrated footprint, extensive experience in lightweight materials and technologies, and a customer-centric approach to service. “Joining ASI is a key milestone on our sustainability journey. Aludyne is committed to making a meaningful impact toward casting a greener future. We strive to continue to be at the forefront of new industry standards and set the bar for responsible...
China’s aluminium billet inventory had fallen by 9.88 per cent W-o-W to settle at105,900 tonnes as of Thursday, April 28. The epidemic hampered transportation and downstream purchases in east China. Overall due to downstream restocking, social inventories are likely to fall more after the vacation. More information on the present situation of aluminium billet inventory in China may be found in the chart below: In Foshan, the inventory had plunged by 1000 tonnes to settle at 45,500 tonnes. For the same day in Wuxi, the had plunged by 10,520 tonnes to peg at 27,780 per tonne. Wuxi's transportation efficiency improved somewhat, and downstream manufacturers replenished as needed in preparation for the approaching Labour Day vacation. In Foshan, downstream consumption was slow, leading local...
Hindalco Industries Limited has continued to reduce its aluminium products and ingot prices, with effect from April 29, albeit slower than the previous day. Hindalco has cut its aluminium billets price by INR 2,500 per tonne or 0.87 per cent to stand at INR 283,600 per tonne. On the last cut on April 26, the company’s aluminium billets price came in at INR 286,100 per tonne after being sharply cut by INR 11,250 per tonne. Hindalco’s aluminium wire rod price has also been trimmed by INR 2,500 per tonne, with effect from April 29, to INR 280,600 per tonne. The last cut had brought the price to INR 283,100 per tonne. As per the revised price list revealed, Hindalco is currently selling its aluminium ingot at INR 269,500 per tonne versus INR 272,000 per tonne on April 26. Hindalco links its...
The 83% stakeholder of Alcore Limited, ABx Group Limited made public that its subsidiary has been granted $7.5 million from the Australian Government’s ‘Modern Manufacturing Initiative’ to support its proposed $16.4 million aluminium smelter bath recycling plant in Bell Bay, Tasmania. The proposed plant is acknowledged to be the world’s elemental commercial plant to recycle aluminium smelter bath into valuable chemicals. The plant is propounded to transform 1,600 tonnes per year of aluminium smelter bath into hydrogen fluoride and other industrial chemicals. However, most of the hydrogen fluoride will be further processed into aluminium fluoride, a vital chemical for aluminium smelting, for which Australia presently imports 100% of its requirements. A remarkable benefit of this project is...
LME aluminium opened at US$3,107 per tonne on Thursday and closed at US$3,040 per tonne, down US$76 per tonne or 2.44 per cent. On 28 th April, LME aluminium cash bid price stood at US$3,065 per tonne, facing a 1.10 per cent or US$34 per tonne decline, while LME aluminium official settlement price halted at US$3,065.50, plunging down 1.11 per cent or US$34.50 per tonne. 3-month bid price stood at US$3,083 per tonne, dropping 1.03 per cent or US$32, and the 3-month offer price came in at US$3,083.50 per tonne, losing US$33.50 per tonne or 1.07 per cent. On the same day, December 23 bid price and December 23 offer price settled at US$2,955 per tonne and US$2,960 per tonne, respectively, both with a 1.43 per cent or US$43 per tonne fall. LME aluminium opening stock continued to decrease by...
In February 2022, domestic primary aluminium production in the United States was at 75,000 tonnes, reflecting a downfall of 7,000 tonnes or 8.54 per cent month-on-month, following an increase in the previous month. In January 2022, the output grew by 3,000 tonnes or 3.8 per cent from 79,000 tonnes in December 2021. However, despite the monthly downfall in production, the daily average output in February grew slightly than the previous month from 2,650 tonnes to 2,670 tonnes. On a year-on-year basis, it stood 8.10 per cent higher than 2,470 tonnes, and so was the monthly production by 6,000 tonnes or 8.7 per cent than 69,000 tonnes. Total aluminium recovered from scrap in February 2022 was 284,000 tonnes, 6.77 per cent more than 266,000 tonnes in January and 14.52 per cent than 248,000...
Crown Holdings has recently declared its plan of constructing a high-speed aluminium line at its Agoncillo beverage-can facility in Spain. In Pennsylvania’s largest city, Philadelphia headquartered Crown Holdings, the producer and supplier of beverage packaging, food packaging, aerosol packaging, metal closures, and speciality packaging products. This auxiliary capacity will enable the company to serve increasing customer demand in Northern Spain. Moreover, the Iberian region has been witnessing ample growth in the alcoholic or non-alcoholic sector. During the first quarter, of next year, commercial production is expected to begin. Having the second-largest beverage-can market in Europe, the Iberian region proudly presents Crown as one of its leading brands. The company also watches over...
