AlCircle News Edited By "Pratyusha Chatterjee"
A writer with 5+ years of experience in the communication industry, Pratyusha Chatterjee has indulged in content from the business, lifestyle, travel industries and more. Apart from news and content, Pratyusha is immensely fond of participating in cultural events and managing them.
Geneva to host the world’s most expensive conversation between China and US
Plenty has been ensuing between China and the US since February, as the US President imposed tariffs on China phase by phase. Starting with a 10 per cent tariff on steel and aluminium, the US tariffs for importing goods from China eventually range between 145 per cent and 245 per cent, leading to an unavoidable trade war impacting the entire global economy. Sensing the heat on both sides of the table, the nations have finally decided to talk it out! Image for representational purposes only In what could be a pivotal ice-breaker moment, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and top trade envoy Jamieson Greer are set to meet China’s economic czar, He Lifeng, in Switzerland this weekend. The high-stakes talks come as tensions between the world’s two largest economies spiral into what Bessent...
Can France solve China’s bauxite problem? A high-tech fix for high-stake process
China has been adorned with the title of ‘undisputed heavyweight’ in aluminium production for the past few years. It churns out over 50 per cent of the world’s aluminium and more than half of its alumina. But its towering lead rests on a weak foundation, i.e. imported bauxite. Despite sitting on a billion tonnes of the red rock, China has never truly cracked how to use it owing to its low grade. But it is time that could be about to change. All thanks to an unlikely saviour, a low-profile French tech firm, IB2, says it can turn China’s low-grade ore into high-value alumina, without the environmental or economic pain. For decades, China’s aluminium industry has thrived by importing better-quality bauxite from overseas. Guinea, Australia, and Indonesia have been the backbone of this...
Century Aluminum’s poor Q1 results lead to deflating stock performance
Century Aluminum Company, boasting a potent market capitalisation of USD 1.47 billion, reported its first-quarter 2025 earnings, revealing a substantial miss in earnings per share or EPS (USD 0.29 vs USD 0.44 last year) compared to expectations. The company’s adjusted EPS stood at USD 0.36, falling short of the projected USD 0.61. Revenue surpassed forecasts, coming in at USD 634 million against an anticipated USD 577.2 million, marking a 0.48 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) uptick from USD 630.9 million in Q1 2024. Following the announcement, Century Aluminum’s stock declined 5.18 per cent in after-hours trading, closing at USD 15. With a beta of 2.7, the stock demonstrates higher volatility relative to the broader market. The stock’s movement positions it closer to its 52-week low of USD...
If they do put it in, we will retaliate: Piyush Goyal on India’s potential retaliation on EU’s carbon tax imposition
On Tuesday, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal firmly asserted that India will impose retaliatory tariffs if the European Union proceeds with its plan to implement a carbon tax on Indian products. He highlighted the diminishing importance of climate change discussions and categorised the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) as “extremely irrational regulations.” Image for representational purposes only “If they will put in a carbon tax, and now there is a big if for obvious reasons. If they do put it in, we will retaliate. They will put it on products which really will hurt their own economy, and the retaliation will further hurt their economy,” Goyal conveyed during an event in New Delhi. “I think it will be very silly, particularly to put a tax on friendly...
Metro Mining closes 2024 with 5.7M WMT! Here’s a 15-month sprint report with vision for upcoming 21 months
With an ESG vision of serving the market with low-cost bauxite and delivering long-term benefits to stakeholders, Queensland-based Metro Mining has set its sights higher for its 2025 bauxite shipment target. The confidence to aim higher stems naturally from the company’s strong performance in 2024. Although it narrowly missed its annual shipment target by a few percentage points, the final figure still marked a record-breaking achievement. Financial performance analysis ’24 Despite a prolonged wet season that delayed the start of operations and adverse weather in December that forced the cancellation of the final vessel in the shipping schedule, Metro successfully delivered a record 5.7 million WMT from the Bauxite Hills Mine in 2024. The company continued to benefit from a tight global...
Tesla eyes India venture to tackle global supply-chain turmoil and geopolitical crisis
As geopolitical tensions are on the rise and the subsequent pandemic era disrupts business growth, Tesla is quietly exploring alternative suppliers in India as it diversifies its semiconductor supply chain away from China. Sources report that Tesla has held talks with three major Indian chip ventures – US memory giant Micron’s new Gujarat assembly/testing plant, CG Semi (a Murugappa Group-led OSAT project), and Tata Electronics. Image Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/ Micron’s USD 2.7 billion Gujarat facility is slated for automotive-grade chip assembly and test , CG Semi’s Sanand unit (a JV with Japan’s Renesas and Taiwan’s Stars Microelectronics) will perform outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) for Renesas and others, and Tata Electronics has announced massive investments...
Fact blast: China’s 2024 trade destinations, quantity, value, traits and post-tariff loss forecast
China has topped the aluminium production for the past few years. An aluminium production cap to curtail overcapacity and emissions, a cumulative tariff of 145 per cent on Chinese aluminium articles entering the US imposed phase by phase, or bauxite import restrictions from multiple prime destinations have hit China’s ambitious industrial boom several times. However, the free flow of trade expansion is far from being curbed. This is an AI-generated image Of the total trade of aluminium worldwide in 2024, which was 13.68 million tonnes valued at USD 39.46 billion, 51.46 per cent was occupied for export of plates, sheets and strip exports, accounting for over 7 million tonnes. Meanwhile, foil exports contributed 23.41 per cent (3.2 million tonnes) to the total export number. Bars and rods...
Alumina ranks high in Impact Mineral’s Q3 FY25 performance report
Impact Minerals Limited (ASX: IPT) has entered the final quarter of FY 2025 with Lake Hope firmly established as its flagship high-purity alumina (HPA) asset. A maiden Mineral Resource Estimate of 2.78 million tonnes at 25.1 per cent Al₂O₃ not only confirms the scale and grade of the deposit, but also underpins what the company describes as a “multi-decade HPA operation” in one of Western Australia’s most bedrock-secure jurisdictions. Over the three months to March 31, Impact clinched an AUD 2.87 million CRC-P grant to co-fund the pilot-plant design and construction in partnership with CPC Engineering and Edith Cowan University (ECU). That partnership has now recruited a senior membrane researcher, whose initial focus will be to dial in the first-stage leaching conditions of Lake Hope...
India has a new feather added to its aluminium business crown — Bengaluru is growing faster than imagined!
Bengaluru, an Indian city known as the Silicon Valley of India, has pulled several eyeballs of aluminium manufacturing and supplying businesses. Bengaluru’s transformation from a pure‐play IT powerhouse into a specialised aluminium manufacturing hub is due to its fast rise in infrastructure, accompanied by a deep talent pool and a supportive policy environment. Over the past five years, the Tier I city has seen new extrusion lines, high‐precision CNC machining centres and powder‐coating facilities spring up, catering to sectors ranging from aerospace to renewable energy. Image for referential purposes only India, as an entirety, now produces over 4.2 million tonnes of primary aluminium annually, making it the world’s second‐largest producer. Yet, Bengaluru has shifted its focus from bulk...
Tariffs, tensions and tonnage: Three words primarily influencing US aluminium prices soar in 2025
In a volatile fusion of tariff tensions, supply chain snarls, and shifting trade dynamics, US aluminium import costs have surged to multi-year highs, reshaping the metals market and sending shockwaves through American manufacturing. Image for representational purposes only On April 9, 2025, the United States imposed additional aluminium tariffs — 20 per cent on EU-origin goods and 10 per cent on UK imports, building on the existing 25 per cent base duty introduced under Section 232 in 2018. For EU producers, the effective tariff rate now stands at a crushing 45 per cent, sending shippers and buyers scrambling. The Midwest Premium, the benchmark regional surcharge that includes transport, handling, and tariffs, has reacted dramatically. According to Reuters and CME Group data, the Midwest...
Electrifying the waterways! Record breaking largest electric ship not a concept anymore...
Incat, Australia’s Tasmania based boatbuilder has cut the ribbon to reportedly the world’s largest electric ship. The brand tags the vessel as “a giant leap forward in sustainable shipping” and the “most important” project it has ever accomplished. The craft, called Hull 096, was conjured by the South American ferry operator Buquebus to build a vessel to operate between the Argentinian capital, Buenos Aires, and Uruguay. During the launch of the ship in Hobart on Friday, the manufacturing brand has disclosed that it would operate entirely on battery-electric power, with onboard passenger capacity of 2,100 and 225 vehicles across the River Plate, which forms the border between Argentina and Uruguay. Australia is also the home to the largest aluminium-hulled catamaran in the world. Echo...
UK is gearing up for its own CBAM implementation with technical consultation commencement
The UK government has facilitated a technical consultation on draft legislation for its own Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), clarifying its scope, calculation and administration ahead of a July 3, 2025 deadline. From January 1 2027 (a year after the European Union’s CBAM implementation), the nation-imposed CBAM will place a carbon price on imports of emissions-intensive goods, including aluminium, safeguarding domestic producers against ‘carbon leakage’. It targets UK businesses importing over GBP 50,000 of specified goods in a 12-month period while exempting certain scrap products. The mechanism ensures that imported goods “face a carbon price which is comparable to the carbon price paid by domestic producers”. Image for representational purposes only Consultation, timeline and...
Ryanair warns Boeing with breakup threat as prices hint at heating owed to Trump’s tariff turbulence
Europe’s pluckiest penny-pincher in the skies, Ryanair, has donned its boxing gloves this week and squared up to Boeing. In a letter to a senior US lawmaker, chief executive Michael O’Leary declared that if President Trump’s plan to impose tariffs goes ahead, Ryanair might just give Boeing the cold shoulder on its 330 737 MAX orders, worth over USD 30 billion on sticker price. Image Source: https://centreforaviation.com/ In what might be described as a strongly worded message, Ryanair’s chief executive, Michael O’Leary, penned a letter to a senior US lawmaker that essentially reads like a “it’s not me, it’s your president” note. “If the US government proceeds with its ill-judged plan to impose tariffs, and if these tariffs materially affect the price of Boeing aircraft exports to Europe,...
Russia X Uzbekistan accelerate aluminium collaboration at Innoprom ’25
Uzbekistan and Russia have accelerated their collaboration in the aluminium industry, leveraging the 5th International Industrial Exhibition “Innoprom. Central Asia” in Tashkent as a launchpad for agreements on standards harmonisation, joint projects and cutting-edge materials such as aluminium-zirconium alloys. Image for representational purposes only (Source: https://oren.ru/) The potent partnership builds on over 650 existing joint ventures worth USD 67 billion, aligns with Uzbekistan’s robust 6.5 per cent economic growth in 2024, and taps into Russia’s industrial expertise across energy, transport and construction, promising to modernise infrastructure and boost regional supply chains. Expanding horizons At Innoprom Central Asia, Denis Manturov, First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia,...
Gränges Q1 ’25: Expansion coupled with market challenge resilience steers record 24% Y-o-Y growth
In the first quarter of 2025, Gränges AB demonstrated resilience and foresight despite coming across multiple obstacles, achieving record-breaking results despite facing a complex global market landscape. Gränges reported a significant 24 per cent increase in sales volume, reaching 151.6 thousand tonnes, up from 122 thousand tonnes in the same period the previous year. This surge was accompanied by a 15 per cent rise in adjusted operating profit, totalling SEK 409 million, marking the company’s strongest first-quarter performance to date. The profit for the period climbed to SEK 261 million, with diluted earnings per share increasing to SEK 2.34. Image for representational purposes only (source: https://www.granges.com/) Gränges’ CEO, Jörgen Rosengren, attributed the company’s strong...
Rusal vs Germany: Aluminium giants threaten legal action over VTB Bank liquidation
In April 2025, Russian aluminium producer United Co. RUSAL (Rusal) publicly warned that it would pursue legal action against Germany after a German takeover of a bank disrupted a currency‐hedging deal. The bank in question was VTB Bank (Europe) SE – the Frankfurt-based subsidiary of Russia’s state-owned VTB Bank – which German authorities effectively took over in April 2022 amid EU sanctions on Russia. A German-appointed trustee later liquidated the bank (renamed OWH SE) in 2023, and by August 2024, its licence was revoked. This AI-generated image is used for representational purposes only Rusal says this sequence of events illegally expropriated its subsidiary’s rights under a hedging contract, culminating in a London arbitration award ordering Rusal to pay EUR 213 million to the bank’s...
Power outage paralyses Alcoa’s San Ciprián site, a double blow to 1.5 Mt alumina and 228k aluminium operations
Alcoa’s San Ciprián complex was thrown into turmoil by the massive power outage that swept across Spain on April 28, hitting both the aluminium smelter and alumina refinery hard. “Alcoa’s San Ciprián complex was impacted by the widespread power outage across Spain. As a result of the outage, both the refinery and smelter at the complex were affected. The company is conducting a thorough assessment of the facility to determine the full extent of the operational and financial impact,” the company confirmed in a recent statement. The catastrophic event has shaken businesses, enthusiasts, and investors alike as the impact of what looks like just a power cut can curtail millions of dollars’ worth of business for the company and the nation. Image for representational purposes only The blackout...
Metro Mining potent to rise to key supplier status, meeting China’s peaking bauxite demand
China, the leading alumina and aluminium producer, heavily relies on imported bauxite, which surged to 57 per cent in 2024 , owing to declining domestic ore grades and export restrictions from Indonesia. The country is thus prompted towards an urgent search for nearer-sourced supplies. Australia’s Metro Mining has reportedly seized this moment, with an urge for optimising production at its Bauxite Hills Mine in Queensland, and having ramped capacity up to 7 million tonnes per annum in H2 2024 and shipping 184,000 wet metric tonnes (WMT) in Q1 2025 to satisfy Chinese demand. Backed by long-term supply agreements totalling 6.9 million tonnes in 2025 and 6.1 million tonnes in 2026 with major Chinese partners, the company stands at a sub-USD 30 per dry tonne delivered cost target and a...
