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.
Alumina spot price continues to fall by RMB20/t, but A00 aluminium ingot price extends growth
Shanghai Metals Market found the average spot price of aluminium has dropped further today, on November 20, by RMB 20 per tonne to stand at RMB 2,518 per tonne. This marks the second consecutive fall in the spot price of alumina after remaining restrained for a week at RMB 2,572 per tonne. Prior to that also, the price recorded incessant declines since the month began with intermittent restraints, ranging between RMB 2,596 per tonne and RMB 2,572 per tonne. The markets in south China have seen the highest fall in alumina price today by RMB 30 per tonne to RMB 2,510 per tonne, followed by the markets in the east and central where the price has dwindled by RMB 20 per tonne and RMB 10 per tonne respectively to come in at RMB 2,540 per tonne. But despite the back-to-back fall in the input...
Chinese secondary aluminium producers operating rates extended growth in October
Shanghai Metals Market found operations at Chinese secondary aluminium producers continued to increase in October, as overall demand in the second half of the year improved from the first half. An SMM data showed the Chinese secondary aluminium operating rates in October stood at 60.69 per cent after rising by 0.83 percentage points month-on-month, while over the year they climbed up by 4.71 percentage points. In July and August 2019, the operating rates were at 55.28 per cent after growing by 3.04 percentage points over the month and at 56.46 per cent after climbing up by 1.18 percentage points respectively, indicating that they had been growing incessantly over the months. However, the growth in operating rates in October stood the lowest in the past four months as continued shortage of...
United States aluminium scrap exports to India grew 15% in August after two months of decline
After month-on-month declines in the United States aluminium scrap exports to India in June and July, August this year saw a rise of 15 per cent, found the United States Geological Survey. The data showed the United States exported 24,600 tonnes of aluminium scrap to India in August, compared to 21,400 tonnes in July. In May and June, the export volume was at 24,200 tonnes and 21,900 tonnes, which indicates that June saw a drop of 10 per cent in the US aluminium scrap exports while that in July plunged further by 2.33 per cent month-on-month. {newsStudioGallery} So, as can be seen in the above graph, the United States aluminium scrap export volume to India stood the highest in August during the said time. Compared to May, the export volume in August was higher by almost 2 per cent....
Vedanta’s revenue in Q2 FY20 recorded a drop of 3% over the year as net sales plunged
Vedanta Limited in the late last week reported that its revenue in the second quarter of FY20 dropped by 3 per cent year-on-year to INR 21,739 crore. Net sales and EBITDA also dropped by 3 per cent and 15 per cent year-on-year from INR 22,432 crore to INR 21,739 crore and from INR 5,281 crore to INR 4,497 crore, respectively. Quarter-on-quarter, EBITDA dropped by 13 per cent from INR 5,188 crore, but net sales grew 3 per cent from INR 21,167 crore. This brought the total net sales and EBITDA in the first half of the financial year to INR 42,906 crore and INR 9,685 crore, respectively; down year on year by 3.30 per cent from INR 44,374 crore and 17.42 per cent from INR 11,729 crore. Basic earnings per share, however, rose both quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year by 60 per cent and 61 per...
Vedanta cuts aluminium production cost to $1852 per tonne during September quarter
As the aluminium prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) entered the bearish zone, Vedanta Limited reduced the cost of its production (CoP) during the September quarter of FY20 to $1,852 per tonne. The LME prices (as on November 14) hovered at $1,756 per tonne for the cash buyer. At this price point, 10 per cent of the global aluminium smelters are incurring cash losses. Vedanta’s aluminium CoP during the first half (April-September) of FY20 was even lower at $1,810 per tonne, down 9 per cent from $1,990 in the corresponding period last year. Vedanta’s near term target is to reduce aluminium CoP to $1,500 per tonne. Earlier, Vedanta had planned to cut its CoP to $1,700 per tonne by the end of this financial year. Ajay Dixit, chief executive officer (CEO) of Vedanta’s aluminium and power...
John Nowell collecting used aluminium cans for making hospital helipads
John Nowell’s year-long initiation of making helipads for local hospitals from used aluminium cans has come a long way over the year and a charity is now reportedly appealing for donations of the empty cans. According to the report, the charity has already collected 25 per cent of the aluminium needed to make the first helipad. After being collected, the cans are transported to HMP Stocken where they are crushed to form one cubic metre cubes and stockpiled. They are then smelted to generate aluminium, which is to be used to make sections and then assembled to make helicopter landing pad. To make the deposition and collection of the cans easy and efficient, John Nowell has been busy setting up red collection bins all over the East Midlands, including The King Centre in Barleythorpe and...
China’s unwrought aluminium alloy imports in September recorded highest so far
Shanghai Metals Market found China’s imports of unwrought aluminium alloy marked a record high in September totalling at 18,706 tonnes, as demand from Chinese secondary aluminium producers and die-casting plants increased with Beijing throttling down the inflows of aluminium scrap. The imports were up by 16.9 per cent from a month ago and 140 per cent from a year, the highest since SMM records began in January 2018. By the end of the year, the unwrought aluminium alloy imports to China are expected to reach 40,000 tonnes, buoyed by shrinking aluminium scrap imports and low stocks at domestic secondary aluminium producers. In September, China’s aluminium scrap imports were at 114,000 tonnes, down 19.1 per cent month-on-month but up 17.5 per cent over the year, showed customs data. In the...
Press Metal Aluminium acquires a 25% stake in PT Bintan Alumina
According to a recent report, Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd has bought a 25 per cent stake in PT Bintan Alumina Indonesia for US$80.23 million. The Southeast Asia’s largest smelter has signed a share subscription agreement with PT Mahkota Karya Utama (PT MKU) and PT BAI, and a shareholders’ agreement with PT MKU, Global Aluminium International Pte Ltd (GAI) and PT BAI on the subscription of 25% equity interest in PT BAI. PT BAI is currently building a one million tonnes per annum alumina refinery in Galang Batang, Indonesia. Further expansion will add another one million tonnes. Under the agreement, the acquisition would provide Press Metal with a long term supply of alumina. Press Metal intends to buy at least half of alumina produced before completion of the project and up to 1.5...
Indonesia believes its bauxite downstream to reach US$13 billion by 2020
Indonesia, with the sixth-largest bauxite reserves in the world, reportedly believes that its bauxite downstream can reach US$13 billion next year from the current US$9 billion. Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan pointed out that the country, despite having the sixth-largest bauxite reserves in the world, only exports the ore. President Joko Widodo said he recently directed to enhance processing to increase the value of the processing industry. He added if bauxite was processed into various derivatives, the value could go up to 11 digits, and this potential had not been maximised yet. The Indonesian government will consider accelerating an export ban on bauxite and other mineral items such as tin and alumina, among others, depending on the scale of...
A00 aluminium ingot price rises by RMB20/t on further decline in primary aluminium inventories
The social inventories of primary aluminium have extended decline over the weekend, as stocks in Nanhai continued to fall, according to Shanghai Metals Market. SMM data showed the stocks across eight major consumption areas, including SHFE warrants, decreased by 11,000 tonnes from 834,000 tonnes on last Thursday , November 14, to stand at 823,000 tonnes on Monday, November 18. Week-on-week, the stocks have inched down by 27,000 tonnes from 850,000 tonnes on last Monday, November 11. The chart below indicates the current status of primary aluminium inventories across Chinese markets in more details: So, as can be seen in the above chart, the inventories in Shanghai and Nanhai have declined by 3,000 tonnes and 10,000 tonnes respectively to come in 141,000 tonnes and 253,000 tonnes...
Upstream integration by GCC aluminium smelters to achieve new goal with EGA’s bauxite, alumina project
Amidst the potential primary aluminium production capacity, the GCC aluminium giants are increasingly exploring upstream possibilities as well. For instance, Al Taweelah alumina refinery and the Boke bauxite project in the Republic of Guinea are the key parts of EGA’s strategic expansion in upstream in the aluminium value chain. The Boke bauxite project, the greenfield project in two phases through EGA’s subsidiary Guinea Alumina Corporation (GAC), was started being constructed in 2017, with the expectation of producing 12 million tonnes per annum bauxite ore, which would be entirely exported. In early August 2019, it made the first shipment from its mine, marking the beginning of EGA’s status as integrated aluminium major. The project is the result of a US$1.4 billion greenfield...
Morris Commercial unveils electric JE Van at Design Museum in London
Morris Commercial has reportedly revealed 2.5-tonne electric JE Van at the Design Museum in London. The Worcestershire-based manufacturer says the van will have a 60kWh lithium-ion battery of a range of around 200 miles and 1-tonne payload. Inspired by the original 1948 Morris J-Type van, the new JE, to be produced in the United Kingdom, will feature a similar design to its spiritual predecessor. The production version will be made out of carbon fibre. The battery to be used in the van will be sourced from the UK too. The battery will give the van 90kW of power and can be restored to 80 per cent after a 30 minute fast charge. The company’s founder and CEO Dr Ou Li stated that the reason behind wanting carbon fibre was to make the vehicle “light and spacious”. Buyers of the JE van can...
US aluminium semis imports from Germany stood 38% higher than from Saudi Arabia in August 2019
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) found the US imports of aluminium plates, sheets and bars from Germany in August 2019 rose by 16 per cent month-on-month to come in at 11,700 tonnes. In July, the US imports of aluminium semis from Germany were at 10,100 tonnes, after declining by 13 per cent from 11,600 tonnes in June. This brought Germany’s three months' exports of aluminium plates, sheets and bars to the US to 33,400 tonnes in total. The United States aluminium semis imports from Saudi Arabia in August were also found higher by 43 per cent from July to 8,450 tonnes; whereas in July, the imports were down month-on-month by 2.32 per cent from 6,030 tonnes in June to 5,890 tonnes, according to the USGS. The above data indicates that Germany’s exports of aluminium semis to the US...
Chalco to make first bauxite shipment from Boffa mine by early-December
According to an official from parent and state-owned company Chinalco, Aluminium Corporation of China Limited, popularly known as Chalco, would make the first shipment from its Boffa’s bauxite mine in Guinea by early-December. Last month, a Chinalco official at the China Mining conference in Tianjin had said the Boffa launch postponed to the first quarter of 2020. But now it is expected to be begun by early-December, producing 12 million tonnes of bauxite each year. Chen Qi, deputy general manager of Chinalco said at an industry conference, “The mining operation has already started and the first output to be shipped to China at the beginning of December.” He also said on the sidelines of the conference that Chalco would finish construction on the first phase of a 2 million tonnes per year...
IAI secretary general Ron Knapp to join China Hongqiao Group as an adviser
China Hongqiao Group Limited, the world’s biggest aluminium producer, has reportedly hired outgoing International Aluminium Institute (IAI) secretary general Ron Knapp as its international adviser with effect from January 1, 2019. Knapp became secretary general of the London-based IAI in December 2008 and would be replaced by Miles Prosser from the Australian Aluminium Council at the end of the year. As an adviser to the office of the chairman at Hongqiao, Knapp would be attached to the company’s office in Hong Kong and also to Hongqiao’s production base in Shandong, and London and Australia. "The role is to assist Chairman Zhang Bo in taking the Hongqiao story beyond China and into the world," Knapp told Reuters on the sidelines of the China Aluminum Week forum in Qingdao. However,...
China’s NEVs production declined 9.6% M-o-M in October: NBS
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China’s new energy vehicles production in October stood at 85,000 units, down 9.6 per cent from a month before and 39.7 per cent from the same period last year. In the first ten months, the new energy vehicles output in China amounted to 961,000 units, up 11.5 per cent from the same period last year. NBS data also showed that China’s overall automobiles production in October came in at 2.28 million units, down 2.1 per cent from October 2018. From January to October 2019, China produced 20.29 million automobiles in total, which was also down by 11.1 per cent on a year-over-year basis. According to an update from China Automotive Battery Industry Innovation Alliance on November 11, China saw 4.1 GWh of batteries installed to power cars in...
China’s October aluminium production dropped 0.7% M-o-M, but rose 1.8% over the year: NBS
According to the data from the National Bureau of Statistics, China in October produced 2.88 million tonnes of aluminium, down 0.7 per cent from 2.90 million tonnes in September and 1.8 per cent from the same period last year, as smelter shutdowns continued to weigh on output. Although the month-on-month decline in China’s aluminium output reduced in October, yet the year-on-year fall increased, compared with that in September. The NBS data had shown that China's September aluminium output had dropped 2.36 per cent from 2.9 million tonnes in August and 1.6 per cent from September 2018. The daily average output was at 92,900 tonnes in October, the lowest since March. In September, it was at 96,700 tonnes, meaning 4 per cent down in October. Top producer China Hongqiao Group’s facilities...
Nespresso sponsoring National Recycling Week to dispel aluminium coffee capsules recycling myths
Nespresso is reportedly sponsoring Planet Ark’s National Recycling Week, to be held till Sunday, November 17, to help dispel common myths around recycling as the theme of the event this year is ‘Recycling Mythbusters.’ According to the report, Nespresso will particularly, work on clearing doubts on coffee sustainability from sourcing, production and extraction to recycling of aluminium and coffee grounds at the event. Nespresso sources 94 per cent of its coffee through AAA Sustainable Quality Programme. In Australia, it established a recycling scheme as well centred around a purpose-built facility in Nowra on the NSW south coast to enable its customers to recycle their capsules across 22,000 drop-off locations. The reports states that Nespresso is also teaming with leading waste expert...
