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.
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...
Continued W-o-W fall in primary aluminium inventories lifts A00 aluminium ingot price afters three days of decline
The social inventories of primary aluminium have once again recorded a week-on-week decline, as of Thursday, November 14, found Shanghai Metals Market, as stocks in Nanhai continued to fall sharply. SMM data shows the primary aluminium stocks across eight major consumption areas, including SHFE warrants, have decreased by 19,000 tonnes from a week ago to stand at 834,000 tonnes. On the last Thursday, November 7, the inventories were at 853,000 tonnes after declining by 17,000 tonnes over the week. This indicates that the fall in inventories has grown this week by 2,000 tonnes. The stocks in Nanhai have seen a drop of 16,000 tonnes on November 14 to stand at 263,000 tonnes and that in Gongyi and Chongqing have decreased by 5,000 tonnes to 53,000 tonnes and 21,000 tonnes. In Wuxi, however,...
Economy slowdown in India lowers aluminium demand by 6% in Q2 2019: Satish Pai
In a recent interview with The Economic Times, Satish Pai, the managing director of Hindalco, pointed out that the economy slowdown in India impacted domestic businesses, as a result of which, aluminium demand fell 6 per cent in the second quarter, affecting Hindalco’s business. Mr Pai also said the aluminium demand, which he expected to grow by 2 per cent to 3 per cent, remained low throughout the construction and infrastructure, and the automobile sector. According to him, Hindalco sell about 328,000 tonnes of extrusions in a quarter, of which 5 per cent accounts for the auto sector, 40 per cent for the electrical sector, 10 per cent to 15 per cent for the transportation sector, and another 20 per cent for packaging. What fears him is that despite the downfall in aluminium demand in the...
China approves funding for first lot of Phase One of Sinohydro Projects in Ghana
According to a recent report, China has approved the funding of the first lot of Phase One of the Sinohydro projects in Ghana, as per the agreement signed between China and Ghana in 2018. According to the agreement, China will have access to sites to mine bauxite in Ghana in exchange of development assistance from Ghana. According to Ghana’s Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the projects under the agreement had been grouped in lots, and their review and approval were ongoing. “Major progress had been made, with the governments of China and Ghana determined to ensure the success of the ‘bauxite for development’ barter deal, which would see the leveraging of a fraction of Ghana’s bauxite to undertake a massive overhaul of her infrastructural, industrial and agricultural base,” he said....
Tonstad wind farm to commence operation early 2019 to fuel aluminium production in Norway
The 208MW Tonstad wind farm project on the eastern side of Lake Sirdal, in Sirdal and Flekkefjord municipalities, in Southern Norway, is reportedly under construction. While the installation of the turbines has already started, fourteen are erected so far and six among them are electrified, which are now producing and delivering electricity to the grid as well. The 208MW Tonstad wind farm is comprised of 51 SWT-DD-142 onshore wind turbines from Siemens Gamesa, mounted on 129m-high tubular steel towers. Designed to operate between 50Hz and 60Hz frequencies in low-wind onshore locations, each turbine of the Tonstad wind farm will have a rated capacity to produce up to 4.1MW. The report states Hydro Energy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Norsk Hydro, will offtake the entire electricity output...
Novelis expects Aleris acquisition deal to close by early next year
According to a recent report, Hindalco’s US-based subsidiary Novelis is expected to close the deal of the acquisition of Aleris Corporation by January 21, 2020. But currently the company is facing an anti-trust lawsuit in the US over its proposed $2.58 billion purchase of Aleris. The lawsuit was filed by the US Justice Department because of the concern over higher prices of aluminium sheet used for making cars. In the lawsuit, the justice department had described Aleris as an aggressive competitor and said the deal would give Novelis up to 60 per cent of the projected domestic capacity. However, Novelis argued that the justice department had ignored the competition from steel automotive body sheet. Currently, negotiations between Novelis and the US justice department hinge on the rolling...
China’s primary aluminium production in October declined 3.82% YoY, despite a rise in operation capacity
According to Shanghai Metals Market, the production of primary aluminium in China came in at 2.995 million tonnes in October after declining year-on-year by 3.82 per cent. With this, the total output in the first ten months stood at 29.45 million tonnes, down 2.27 per cent from the same period last year. SMM believes the production cuts due to accidents in August-September affected China’s primary aluminium output and capacity in October. The domestic capacity in operation, however, rose to 35.39 million tonnes by the end of October, up 340,000 tonnes from the previous month. But the actual production it generated remained 119,000 tonnes lower year-on-year. The slower pace of capacity recovery and new capacity commissioning could be one of the reasons for the slowdown in primary aluminium...
“Saudi Arabia is the standout. There is a state-backed vision to diversify from the oil and gas sector into other industries, including the minerals sector,” Dr. Alessio Scarsella – Director, Bauxite and Alumina Technology, Outotec & Antti Koulumies – Vice President, Aluminium Business Line
Outotec develops and delivers industry benchmark technologies and life-cycle services for its customers in the mining, metal, energy, and chemical sector, helping them sustainably improve their profitability. AlCircle spoke to Dr. Alessio Scarsella – Director, Bauxite and Alumina Technology, and Antti Koulumies – Vice President, Aluminium Business Line, Outotec for its new E-magazine on " Aluminium Middle East - Focus 2020 ". Dr. Alessio Scarsella is of the opinion that access to cheap energy and petroleum coke has driven the aluminium business in the Gulf countries, while Antti Koulumies has pointed out that the Middle East countries are increasingly exploring the upstream aluminium market. To know more what they have shared about the Middle East aluminium market and its future...
