AlCircle News Edited By "Debanjali Sengupta"
Debanjali Sengupta is a passionate content writer with 10 years of experience in Business writing, Web Content writing, Blogging, Editing and Research. She is responsible for generating and editing content for AlCircle Newsletter and other online and offline content for enhancing the brand value and its visibility among global users.
Weiqiao begins the construction of its aluminium smelting and hydropower project in Yunnan
According to a recent report from Shanghai Metals Market, Shandong Weiqiao Pioneering, on Wednesday, December 18, began the construction of 2 million tonnes per year aluminium smelting and hydropower project in Southwest China’s Yunnan province. Ground-breaking ceremony of the integrated project was held in tandem with the opening of the Yunnan Green Aluminium Industrial Park. The primary goal behind Weiqiao's investment in building green industrial park is to take advantage of the province’s clean hydropower resources. “Weiqiao aims to build the Green Aluminium Industrial Park into a low-carbon and environmental-friendly model project in China, as well as a world-class high-end aluminium industry base,” said Zhang Bo, Chairman of Shandong Weiqiao Pioneering at the opening ceremony.
FYI bags $250,000 R&D incentive rebate for developing process design to refine HPA
FYI Resources Limited has reportedly received R&D tax incentive rebate payment of $250,000, which is meant for the expenditure on the development of innovative process design to refine high purity alumina (HPA) from aluminous clay known as kaolin. Kaolin for the proposed high purity alumina (HPA) refinery will be sourced from FYI’s 100 per cent owned Cadoux Kaolin Project in Western Australia. In early October, FYI announced that it received successful results from its recently completed HPA pilot plant trial. As per the firm, the plant operated trial run continued from October 2 to October 9, of which the results averaged 99.995 per cent Al2O3, well above the company’s target grade of 99.99 per cent Al2O3. The results also demonstrated operational improvements in the plant that would be...
Aluminium scrap imports increased in India during April-September despite auto sector slowdown
According to a recent report, the slowdown in the automobile sector in India could not resist the rise in aluminium scrap imports during April-September of the financial year 2019-20. As per the data submitted to the Ministry of Finance, citing figures from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), the imports have risen by 6.5 per cent, while the Indian auto sector’s production tumbled 13 per cent. “In the garb of imports for the auto sector, scrap is being consumed in other sectors like electrical transmission and utensils. But the use of scrap in such sectors is detrimental and only primary aluminium should be used,” said an industry source. The Aluminium Association of India (AAI) feels the benign import duty of 2.5 per cent on scrap is unable to restrict inbound...
A00 aluminium ingot price records the second-highest growth this year of RMB240/t; Alumina price down by RMB4/t
The A00 aluminium ingot price in China has recorded a sweeping growth today, on December 18, of RMB 240 per tonne to stand at RMB 14,360 per tonne, found Shanghai Metals Market. This is the second highest growth this year after the increase of RMB 300 per tonne on August 12, from RMB 13,950 per tonne to RMB 14,250 per tonne and the second consecutive rise after three days of decline during December 11-16 from RMB 14,130 per tonne to RMB 13,970 per tonne. The average prices are expected to range between RMB 14,340 per tonne and RMB 14,380 per tonne, with spot contract to be traded at a premium price of RMB 130-170 per tonne. Gongyi has seen the highest growth today in A00 aluminium ingot price of RMB 270 per tonne to RMB 14,345 per tonne, followed by Tianjin, where the price has increased...
EGA announces the appointment of Abdulla Jassem Kalban as new Managing Director
Abdulla Jassem Kalban and Abdulnasser Ibrahim Saif Bin Kalban is reportedly becoming Emirates Global Aluminium's new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, with effect from January 2020. Such was the announcement made by the Board of EGA on Wednesday, December 18. Abdulla Jassem Kalban, as Managing Director, will be responsible for the achievement of strategic objectives and will remain a Board Member of EGA, while Abdulnasser Ibrahim Saif Bin Kalban, as Chief Executive Officer, will be responsible to look after EGA’s ongoing operations and business and will report to the Managing Director. Abdulla Kalban said: “My new responsibilities allow me to focus fully on EGA’s long-term direction, to further strengthen our position as a global aluminium industry leader. Abdulnasser is a...
Recap 2019: The top trade newsmakers in aluminium, driven by changes in policies, demand and consumption
Like every other year, 2019 has also witnessed some increase and decrease in aluminium upstream as well as downstream trades across the globe, in tandem with the rise and fall in production, demand, consumption. For instance, while the imports of bauxite by China during January-October rose 18.4 per cent year-on-year, the country’s exports of unwrought aluminium and aluminium products fell 0.3 per cent over the year. On the other hand, aluminium scrap imports to India increased by 22 per cent this year between April and October, as a result of China’s curbs on the metal scrap from the US. The international trades are also affected by several other factors such as changes in policies or new trading strategies implemented by one country on the other. In this article, we have listed some of...
US aluminium scrap exports in September dropped 6% MoM; Malaysia remained the leading importer
According to the United States Geological Survey, the country in the first month of Q4 2019 (September) exported 155,000 tonnes, down 6.06 per cent from 165,000 tonnes in August 2019. The export volume in August was, however, higher month-on-month by 8.5 per cent from 152,000 tonnes in July. In June, as the United States’ aluminium scrap export volume was 159,000 tonnes, the export in July saw a drop of 4.4 per cent. The above data represents the fact that since July, the United States’ aluminium scrap exports have been seeing declines in alternate months. Year-on-year, the country’s total exports in September 2019 were up by 9.92 per cent from 141,000 tonnes. Also, the total scrap exports from January to September came in higher this year from 1.25 million tonnes during the same period...
Liberty House Chairman considers buying Alcoa’s Portland aluminium smelter in Victoria
Liberty House Chairman Sanjeev Gupta is reportedly considering buying the Portland aluminium smelter in Victoria, in an attempt to save the Australian facility from likely closure. The fate of one of Alcoa’s worst-performing smelters has been under a cloud for months, as the high cost of electricity threatened its future viability. In October, the company had announced its plans to sell up to $1 billion assets as well as closures of facilities around the world, in a bid to boost its bottom line and cut greenhouse gas emissions. Gupta’s Liberty House Group has been in preliminary discussions with Alcoa and other stakeholders, including the Victorian government, over the last few weeks about the purchase of the plant, as part of a global expansion in the aluminium sector. The Liberty House...
China’s primary aluminium production in November declined 3.2% YoY, but grew 0.69% MoM
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China’s primary aluminium production declined 3.2 per cent from a year ago to 2.9 million tonnes in November, marking the fifth straight month of year-on-year declines. The total production of aluminium in the first 11 months of 2019 totalled at 32.13 million tonnes, down 0.6 per cent from the same period last year. In October 2019, China’s primary aluminium production was 2.88 million tonnes after declining by 1.8 per cent from a year ago and 0.7 per cent from a month. This represents the fact that the world’s top aluminium maker’s production in November saw a marginal growth of 0.69 per cent month-on-month. Output until October was up by 0.7 per cent year-on-year. NBS data also showed China’s production of 10 nonferrous metals, including...
Australian Bauxite Limited to lodge mining lease application for Binjour in early 2020
According to a recent report, Australian Bauxite Limited (ABx) announced today, on December 16, that it would lodge a mining lease application early next year and if approved, it would ship unrefined bauxite produced at Binjour bauxite project from the port of Bundaberg in bulk tonnages. “A mining lease application will be lodged in early 2020, commencing with pre-lodgement discussions with government departments as soon as practicable,” the company said. Australian Bauxite has a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Port of Bundaberg to investigate the opportunity to export bauxite in bulk tonnages through the port. ABL considers its Binjour bauxite project to be the best source of gibbsite-trihydrate (THA) metallurgical grade bauxite in Queensland, which is ideal for...
Rio Tinto extends ASI Certifications to aluminium facilities in Australia and NZ
Rio Tinto has reportedly expanded the ASI Performance Standard and Chain of Custody Standard Certifications to its Amrun and Weipa bauxite mines, Yarwun alumina refinery, and the Bell Bay and NZAS aluminium smelters in Australia and New Zealand. So, the company is now committed to offering more responsibly produced aluminium, using predominantly hydro-powered electricity. To strengthen the company’s offering of aluminium throughout the global supply chain, the certification is extended to Canadian casthouses as well. The ASI Performance Standard defines environmental, social and governance principles and criteria, with the aim to address sustainability issues in the aluminium value chain. In 2018, Rio Tinto had become the first aluminium producer to offer ASI certified aluminium through a...
Primary aluminium inventories continue to fall in China and also the price of A00 aluminium ingot by RMB40/t
The social inventories of primary aluminium in China continued to fall over the weekend, found Shanghai Metals Market. Steady consumption in Guangdong and lower arrival of stocks there contributed to more than half of the decline. According to the data showed, eight consumption areas in China, including SHFE warrants, decreased by 37,000 tonnes from Thursday, December 12, to 611,000 tonnes, as of Monday, December 16. Week-on-week, the inventories are down by 61,000 tonnes, as on last Monday, December 9, the inventories were at 672,000 tonnes. In Wuxi, the inventories over the week have declined by 8,000 tonnes to stand at 198,000 tonnes, while that in Shanghai, Nanhai, and Gongyi have inched down by 11,000 tonnes, 32,000 tonnes and 5,000 tonnes to stand at 116,000 tonnes, 136,000 tonnes...
Secondary aluminium producers operating rates increased in November by more than 1 percentage points
Shanghai Metals Market survey found Chinese secondary aluminium producers operating rates continued to increase in November amidst rising demand from downstream automakers at year-end. According to the data, the operating rates across Chinese secondary aluminium producers rose to 62.57 per cent in November, up 0.05 percentage point month on month and 1.05 percentage points over the year. In October, the operating rates were 61.52 per cent after recording a rise of 0.83 percentage point from September and 4,71 percentage points from October 2018. Large-scale secondary aluminium producers contributed to most of the rise in operating rate. Also, improved orders from carmarkers boosted operating rates at some major producers of secondary aluminium to the highest level this year. However, the...
Aluminium Association demands 2.5-5% import duty hike across all aluminium products
According to a recent report, the Aluminium Association of India has urged the government to raise basic customs duty across all aluminium products in a range of 2.5 per cent to 5 per cent for restricting metal scrap imports. The association suggests the duty to be incorporated in the upcoming Union Budget for the financial year 2020-21. The association has pointed out that despite sufficient domestic capacity of scrap, India imports 60 per cent of its consumption, primarily from China, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and West Asia. “These countries support their aluminium industry and provide concessions/subsidies with low interest rate loans, cheaper power tariffs, preferential gas allocation, raw materials availability, tax benefits and export tax incentives bringing...
Turkey’s bauxite exports to Greece to continue to grow by 16% in 2019
Greece is the third-largest destination for Turkey’s bauxite exports after the United States and China. With the year-on-year growth in Turkey’s total bauxite exports, the country’s exports to Greece have also been found growing over the years. According to the international trade, Turkey’s bauxite exports to Greece in 2019 is likely to come in at 143,378 tonnes, after recording a rise of 16 per cent from 123,427 tonnes in 2018. In 2017, the export amount by Turkey was 85,020 tonnes, which indicates the fact that the country in 2018 had witnessed a significant year-on-year growth of 45 per cent in its bauxite exports to Greece. Along with the growth in the export volume, Turkey’s earnings from bauxite exports to Greece have also been growing, and 2019 is expected to be of no exception....
CAAM estimates China’s automobile sales to remain sluggish in 2020
China Association Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), the country’s top auto industry body, expects automobile sales in China to slip 2 per cent to 25.32 million units in 2020. Xu Haidong, assistant secretary general of CAAM, said at a conference on Thursday, December 12, that China’s auto market, which is the world’s biggest, is unlikely to rebound until 2022. He also said that during 2023-2025, the market is expected to see an annual expansion of about 4 per cent. Earlier this week, data from CAAM showed that China’s auto sales in the first 11 months of the year fell 9.1 per cent year on year to come in at 23.11 million units. For new energy vehicles, production and sales came in at 110,000 and 95,000 units in November, down 36.9% and 43.7% year on year, respectively. Pure electric...
Hindalco reduces aluminium prices by more than 1 per cent this week
Hindalco Industries Limited has reportedly reduced the prices of aluminium ingots, billets and wire rods for the second time this week. With effect from Wednesday, the prices are cut by more than 1 per cent. While the ingot price is reduced from INR143,250 per tonne, as on last Friday, December 6, to INR 141,500 per tonne, the prices of billets and wire rods are down from INR 149850 per tonne to 148100 per tonne and from INR 153850 per tonne to INR 152100 per tonne, respectively. Hindalco generally links its products’ prices with those of the metal in international markets. The three-month futures of aluminium are up nearly 3 per cent on the London Metal Exchange so far in the current quarter. In August and September, the aluminium prices had recorded a fall on LME. The aluminium...
Increasing use of aluminium in US growing scrap availability; Recyclers to expand capacity
Significant growth in the use of aluminium in transport and packaging industries in the US has resulted in the increasing availability of aluminium scrap and thereby, encouraging recyclers to expand their capacity. Those who are already expanding include Novelis, Matalco, and JW Aluminium. Novelis last month had announced its plan to invest $36 million to boost and upgrade recycling capacity at its Greensboro facility in the US. The project is expected to complete during the second half of 2021. Matalco is also planning a new $80 million aluminium recycling facility in Wisconsin, while JW Aluminium is expanding its facility in Goose Creek in South Carolina. The increasing availability of aluminium scrap in the US has lowered the price, on the other hand. A proxy for auto scrap is the...
