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.
Aludium’s mothballed casthouse at Alicante to come online early 2019
Aludium, an integrated, midstream aluminium manufacturer with casting, hot mill, cold mill and finishing capabilities, has recently announced to resume its casthouse at Alicante mill in Spain, which was mothballed for past 10 years. It is now going through an update and expected to come online from the first quarter of 2019. This new facility will increase the company’s ability to recycle aluminium thereby, reducing its dependence on external sources of aluminium, minimise the company’s environmental footprint at the same time, and also create new jobs for community people. “We expect to reduce our energy consumption by 150 kWh annually, which will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by around 150,000 tonnes per year,” said Alberto Ruiz, Plant Manager at Aludium Alicante. He further added,...
India’s aluminium scrap import sees Y-o-Y growth and knocks the fear of primary aluminium sector
According to the data found by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, India’s aluminium scrap import grew year on year, while the country’s scrap export, although smaller in volume, stood the same over the past four financial years. In FY2014-15, a total amount of aluminium scrap imported by India was 870,000 tonnes, which however, decreased a little in the next financial year 2015-16 to 867,000 tonnes, but turned around in the two successive financial years. In FY2016-17, the total volume of India’s aluminium scrap import stood at 931,000 tonnes, 7 per cent up from FY2014-15 and 7.38 per cent up from FY2015-16; while in FY 2017-2018, it grew massively to 1,121,000, 16 per cent higher from its previous financial year. The research found India’s import of aluminium scrap jumped 11 per cent...
Rio rejoices over achieving Chain of Custody Certification from Aluminium Stewardship Initiative
Another feather of glory adds to the hat of Rio Tinto as it stands as the first company in the entire aluminium value chain to receive the Chain of Custody Certification from Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI). This means Rio is now the only officially qualified company to sell aluminium with certification of assurance for highest environmental, social, and governance standards. Besides, this certification takes Rio a step ahead in commitment to responsible mining and metals production as the company to provide independent verification to customers that would allow them to trace the material through a ‘chain of custody’ spanning Rio Tinto’s Gove bauxite mine in Australia, its alumina refinery, aluminium smelters and casthouses in Quebec, Canada. Rio chief executive Alf Barrios said,...
Weiqiao to cut its pre-baked anode purchasing price further: average spot price remains unaffected
Shanghai Metals Market found Weiqiao Group planned to cut its pre-baked anode purchasing price by RMB 150 per tonne for August. But domestic producers on Wednesday, July 25, opposed the decision because of the industry’s loss since the past two months. SMM expects company to adjust its cut to RMB 0-50 per tonne from July level, which is why the final purchasing price is still under negotiations. As of July 2, Weiqiao Group lowered the prices for seven straight months on the face of oversupply in the market. The price for this month now stands at RMB 3100 per tonne in cash and RMB 3135 on acceptance, RMB 100 per tonne down from June. As far as the pre-baked anode average spot price is concerned, it has been hovering at RMB 3135 per tonne since 3 rd of July, after dropping from RMB 3235 per...
New Tabular Alumina Plant by Almatis to come online in Falta, West Bengal
Almatis, a global leader in production and supply of premium alumina and alumina-based products, announced to set up a new Tabular Alumina plant in Falta, West Bengal, with the aim to expand its business across Asia. Almatis was previously a part of global aluminium major Alcoa but now owned by one of the largest private pension funds in Turkey OYAK since September 2015. Almatis’ India business is based in Falta with a processing plant that has been seeing steady growth since 1995. The company is now extending its production facility with an expectation to meet its Indian customers’ demands, providing supply security in the growing market, an official statement issued on July 25. The company is aiming big on India’s market given the rising demand for Tabular Alumina, driven by growing...
Japan's aluminium industry fears the impact of possible US import car tariffs
On Wednesday, July 25, the head of a Japan trade body said that the country’s aluminium industry seems to be more concerned over the possible US tariffs on automobiles and automobile parts than the duties on aluminium. That’s because Japanese firms are confident that the kind of high-end semi-finished aluminium products they export to the US are not easily replaceable by domestic products due to unavailability and therefore, the tariffs are less likely to create impact on Japan’s export or its economy, so to say. According to global export-import data, Japan is estimated to export 27,989 tonnes of aluminium plates, sheets and strips to the US in 2018 and earn revenue of US$ 93 million. In 2017, the export volume higher at 35,268 tonnes and yielded revenue of around US$ 136 million, after...
Trump agrees to ease car tariffs on EU to calm trade war fears
After a meeting at the White House on July 25, US President Donald Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker appeared to reach a deal to quell all the trade barriers between the two countries. Trump agreed to ease sweeping tariffs on the EU-assembled cars, while Jean-Claude intended to remove heavy retaliatory duties on the US exports. “We had a big day, very big,” said the US President standing alongside Jean-Claude in the White House rose garden, adding that they also discussed to resolve US tariffs on steel and aluminium – marking a step back from Trump’s signature import protections for American metal producers. Trump told reporters, “We agree today, first of all, to work together toward zero tariffs, zero, non-tariff barriers, and zero subsidies on non-auto...
Sluggish consumption drives billet inventory hike in China four weeks in a row, while alloy price remains same
According to the latest data by Shanghai Metals Market, aluminium billet inventory in China has extended growth over the week ended on July 26, amid low season and sluggish consumption. It has increased by 8,600 tonnes from 70,800 tonnes on last Thursday, July 19, and hovering at 79,400 tonnes across five major consumption areas. This marks a surge for the fourth consecutive week. The inventory in Foshan and Guangdong has increased from 42,000 tonnes, as on July 19, to 47,400 tonnes on July 26, while in Wuxi and Jiangsu, the inventory has registered a hike from 5,600 tonnes to 11,000 tonnes. Other Chinese cities have recorded a slight tumble, compared to the previous inventory status on July 19. For more details, refer the chart below: The average aluminium alloy (ADC 12) spot price,...
Australian Bauxite’s Alcore project receives funding for Stage 1
Australian Bauxite on Tuesday, July 24, reported that its subsidiary ALCORE received the minimum funding to start Stage 1 of the project. Site construction works started in July at the pre-approved pilot plant site in New South Wales, as per the plan, for the production of aluminium fluoride samples by refining raw bauxite. The budget set for the Stage 1 operation is A$ 2.5 million. “This is the beginning of a powerful new bauxite refining technology which will commence as an important supplier of key aluminium fluoride products for the Australasian aluminium smelters and producing silica fume for the cement industry, then develop Corethane pure hydrocarbons for energy and fuel security,” said Australian Bauxite CEO Ian Levy. It will initially start with the production of aluminium...
Sweeping tariffs & restrictions brought Y-o-Y decline to China’s aluminium scrap import in June
China’s aluminium scrap import in June remained at a lower level given the sweeping tariffs and restrictions Chinese aluminium scrap imports. Shanghai Metals Market believes that this downtrend is likely to stay even in the month of July on continued trade disputes between China and the United States. The latest data from China Customs show that the country imported 110,000 tonnes of aluminium scrap in June, without registering much change from May but 41.1 per cent lower from 155,000 tonnes in the same period of 2017. This brought the import volume in the first half of CY2018 to 840,000 tonnes, 21.7 per cent down from 10, 24, 800 tonnes in the corresponding period of 2017. The below graph shows China’s scrap import volume in June 2017 and 2018 The below graph shows China’s scrap import...
No timeline yet on resuming full production at Alunorte refinery: Says Hydro CEO
Norsk Hydro CEO Svein Richard Brandtzaeg said on Tuesday, July 24, that despite talks between the company and Brazilian regulators about full production recommencement at Alunorte alumina refinery, no timeline has been set yet on the final ramp-up. "We do not know exactly what it will take for the authorities to lift the embargo, and the timing to get back to 100% is still uncertain," he said during the company's quarterly earnings call. Since February 2018, Norsk Hydro, the major owner of Alunorte, is following Brazilian regulators’ order to operate at 50 per cent cut production rate, as authorities suspected potential leaks from bauxite residue deposits during heavy rainfall. Due to this, the company has also reduced the production capacity at its Paragominas bauxite mine and Albras...
Primary aluminium price sees a further surge despite narrow trading activities in the east China
According to the latest update by Shanghai Metals Market, larger aluminium spot discounts have resulted in narrow trading activities in the east China spot aluminium market as sellers there showed slight reluctance in offloading cargoes on Tuesday, July 24. Yesterday, spot discounts in the east were mostly seen at RMB 90 per tonne to RMB 80 per tonne against the SHFE August contract, compared to the spot discounts of RMB 80 per tonne to RMB 60 per tonne in the previous day. Trading in the east remained thin as traders and downstream consumers adopted a wait-and-watch stance. Most transactions in Shanghai and Wuxi were done at RMB 14110 per tonne to RMB 14230 per tonne; while in Hangzhou, transactions were at RMB 14120 per tonne to RMB 14140 per tonne. Traders in the south were also...
Hydro’s Q2 2018 EBIT for primary aluminium sees 49% Q-o-Q decline on lower production growth
Hydro in its latest report has unveiled results of the second quarter of 2018, covering each product like bauxite, alumina, primary aluminium, and downstream exclusively. In one of our previous news, we have already discussed the results of bauxite and alumina production. Now, coming to primary aluminium, Hydro’s underlying EBIT shrank from NOK 823 in Q1 2018 to NOK 755 in Q2 2018, registering a decline of 8 per cent and 49 per cent from NOK 1486 in Q2 2017. The EBIT for H1 of the present calendar year also dropped to NOK 1578, compared to NOK 2386 in the contemporary period last year. The drop in EBIT was primarily due to higher raw material and fixed costs and negative currency effects, partly offset by higher all-in metal prices. According to Hydro President and CEO Svein Richard...
China’s alumina export in June beats 16-year record, up 24% than previous month
According to China customs data, alumina export from China stood at 118,000 tonnes in June, up 24 per cent from May’s export of 89,999 tonnes. This marks the highest level since the year 2002. The exports during May and June, at 208,000 tonnes were in line with SMM’s expectation. Moreover, with the reopening of export windows, new export orders for alumina were heard to be signed this month, which is likely to create an impact in the export data for July and August. Separate, China imported 50,000 tonnes of alumina in June, bringing the net export to 68,000 tonnes last month. As logistics source with operations in China confirmed, Chinese traders were stockpiling alumina to increase the export volume and reap profits from record prices for spot cargoes, attributed to US sanctions of UC...
GIBADA in Ghana is ready to add value to country’s mineral resources: says Bawumia
Ghana Vice President Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia has declared that the establishment of Ghana Integrated Bauxite and Aluminium Development Authority is about to complete and almost ready to add value to country’s mineral resources. He explicitly said, "We are almost at the end of establishing a government holding company by name Ghana Integrated Bauxite and Aluminum Development Authority (GIBADA). The bill establishing GIBADA is already laid in parliament awaiting passage." He further explained that Ghana being one of the richest sources of bauxite can yield substantial benefits for the country’s citizens if developed further and help curb the unemployment situation. "With production rate of about 10 million tonnes metric tonnes of alumina annually, production could last well over 50 years,"...
Aluminium ingot price registers hike two days in a row backed on increasing alumina spot price: SMM
After a fall on last Friday, April 20, A00 aluminium ingot price recorded a rise in two consecutive days this week. On April 23, the price increased right from RMB 13910 per tonne to RMB 14070 per tonne, followed by a further hike to RMB 14120 per tonne today, April 24, Shanghai Metals Market found. The average price is expected to range between RMB 14100 per tonne and RMB 14140 per tonne, with spot discounts to settle at RMB 100 per tonne to RMB 60 per tonne. In the east China, the ingot price today also recorded at RMB 14120 per tonne, after rising from RMB 14070 per tonne as on April 23. In South and North, on the other hand, the ingot price grew from RMB 14205 per tonne to RMB 14245 per tonne and from RMB 14050 per tonne to RMB 14110 per tonne, respectively. This rise in primary...
US business giants lobby to discourage Trump from levying further tariffs on imported steel, aluminium and vehicles
Right from Amazon to Toyota to Alcoa, big companies in the United States are striving hard to discourage the US President Donald Trump from tearing up trade agreements or introducing additional imported tariffs on aluminium and steel and foreign vehicles, but without getting involved into any kind of confrontation. Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer and cloud-computing company is planning industry-wide advertising campaigns or more extensive government lobbying to dissuade Trump from tariff plans, fearing that they could hurt their items sold through website and components for data centres. A person familiar with the matter reported this news to Reuters on condition of anonymity. Amazon, however, refuses to decline anything on this report. Toyto Motor North America has sent...
Domestic auto industry pleads Trump to drop his tariff plans on imported vehicles
The US automotive industry pleaded President Donald Trump on Thursday, July 19, to reject higher tariffs on vehicle imports, saying that these additional tariffs could cripple domestic manufacturing and cause job loss. The pleas came followed by the European Union’s announcement of preparing a list of retaliatory measures in response to possible US tariffs on foreign vehicles. In May, the Trump administration called for an investigation into auto imports that could lead to tariffs of up to 25 per cent on foreign vehicles and parts. Economists warn these automobile tariffs, on top of aluminium and steel tariffs along with heavy retaliation from US trading partners could harm the global economy. Former Missouri governor Matt Blunt, head of the American Automotive Policy Council that...
