AlCircle News Edited By "Rupankar Majumder"
A professional with a technical background, specialising in producing insightful content centred around metals, particularly aluminium, passionately engaged in the intricacies of the recycling sector.
Vietnam: Nhan Co Alumina refinery achieves remarkable results after 5 years of commercial operation
Nhan Co alumina refinery owned by Dak Nong Aluminum Company holds one of the two pilot projects in the new industry development – the mining and processing industry of bauxite ore to produce alumina towards the production of aluminium has reported that after 5 years of commercial operation from 2017-2021, with the unremitting efforts and striving of the Dak Nong Aluminium staff, the project has achieved remarkable initial results and gradually contributing to a breakthrough towards the economy in particular to the Central Highlands region. Dak Nong Aluminum Company was established with the direct task of managing and operating Nhan Co Alumina refinery with the goal of profit, effectively using capital and resources assigned by the Coal-Mineral Industry Group (TKV), contributing more and...
The Spanish import of aluminium powder and flakes during 2018-20 demonstrates a steady downfall
According to BBVA Research, the economy of Spain plunged by 10.8% in 2020 and predicted to grow by 5.5% in 2021 and 7.0% in 2022. Following expectations, the economy recorded stagnation, leading to a slowdown during 4Q20 and could have contracted in 1Q21. Moving forward, a significant acceleration is expected, particularly in H2 of 2021. The country on Europe’s Iberian Peninsula, Spain recorded 4276 tonnes of importation of aluminium powder and flakes during 2018-19 and the expenditure that occurred in regards to the import was $9.51 million. The import for 2020 remained at 1258 tonnes and the expenditure stood at $2.41 million. However, when the import volume and expenditure of 2020 gets amalgamated with the existing two years, it resembles 5534 tonnes and $11.92 million respectively. In...
GFG Alliance’s Fort William aluminium smelter pursue operations amid ongoing fraud investigation
The management of the Fort William aluminium smelter in Lochaber has conveyed to the area’s chamber of commerce that the plant operations are continuing as usual amid the commencement of a Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigation into the activities of its owners, GFG Alliance. Frazer Coupland, CEO, Lochaber Chamber of Commerce described the investigation as “unsettling” and said: “The plant and its associated hydropower station were a ‘critical part’ of the community.” While on 14th May 2021, the SFO stated that it was investigating “suspected fraud, fraudulent trading and money laundering” concerning the financing and conduct of business at GFG Alliance companies. The investigation will incorporate GFG Alliance’s multi-billion pound capitalization arrangements with collapsed lender...
Joe Biden’s arrival to White House signals diplomatic breakthrough to EU-US ties; European Aluminium applaud discussions on aluminium excess capacity
The voice of the aluminium industry in Europe with 80+ members, European Aluminium welcomes the news that the EU and US have agreed to enter into discussions on the mutual resolution of aluminium excess capacity and the deployment of effective solutions. The industry association calls on the US and EU to eliminate the trade barriers between the two regions and show leadership in modernising multilateral trade rules. Gerd Götz, Director General of European Aluminium, said: “We welcome the news that the EU and US are entering discussions to chart a path that ends the WTO disputes following the implementation of the Section 232 tariffs. We hope the two parties will eventually eliminate unilateral measures and not introduce new ones that inevitably hinder free and fair trade between our...
International Day of Families: Vedanta Aluminium declares COVID term insurance for business partner employees
India’s largest producer of aluminium and value-added aluminium products, Vedanta Aluminium on 15 th May 2021, observing the occasion of International Day of Families 2021, declared the COVID Kavach (Shield) Term Insurance Policy for employees of business partners across its plants in Jharsuguda and Lanjigarh in Odisha, and BALCO in Korba, Chhattisgarh. Ajay Kapur, CEO – Aluminium & Power and MD – Commercial, Vedanta Ltd., took the call, to announce this to all staff on the occasion of International Day of Families through a video message. Last year, the company had enhanced its term life insurance for all employees, which also covers any unfortunate circumstance due to COVID. Rahul Sharma, Dy. CEO, Vedanta, Aluminium Business, said: “The health and wellbeing of our people is our foremost...
Fortuna new tandem dump truck 'ALU CARGO' made of aluminium heavily required for tough construction site
The company, Fortuna that has been known for decades for its innovative, high-quality products, as well as for its proximity to customers in the automotive industry’s new tandem dump truck made of aluminium with a large loading volume and a heavy three-way dump truck is heavily required for usage at tough construction sites. Fortuna points out the lightweight with the aluminium tipping bridge, Fortuna ALU CARGO for the dump truck series, while farmers have another variant available as a transport solution. According to the manufacturer, it combines a high loading volume, low dead weight, and high stability. The new Fortuna tandem dumps truck type FTM 200 / 7.5 -ALU CARGO is the combination of a solid chassis made of steel and a tipping bridge made of aluminium. These two materials...
Italy’s import of bauxite during 2018-20 reveals constant downfall
The pandemic-hit Italian economy is predicted to grow 4.1% in 2021 and 4.2% in 2022 in an “uncertain ascent from the abyss”, the country’s business lobby Confindustria said in April 2021. The European nation at the Mediterranean coastline, Italy registered bauxite importation of 86,447 tonnes during 2018-19 and the expenditure involved in the import accounted for $22.60 million. The import for 2020 stood at 24,633 tonnes and the expenditure remained at $7.30 million. However, when the import volume and expenditure of 2020 gets assorted with the preceding two years, it denotes 1,11,080 tonnes and $29.90 million respectively. Italy’s import of bauxite in 2018 was recorded at 47,908 tonnes and $10.17 million revenue was expended for the import, whereas, in 2019, the import saw de-growth by...
Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance targeted by UK anti-fraud agency
The non-ministerial government department of the United Kingdom, Serious Fraud Office (SFO), which investigates and prosecutes serious or complex fraud and corruption in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, stated on 14 th May 2021, that it has initiated an investigation suspected of fraudulent trading and money laundering linked to companies within the GFG Alliance, led by metal tycoon Sanjeev Gupta. The investigation mounts pressure on Sanjeev Gupta, the CEO and Chairman of GFG Alliance, who has been struggling to refinance his international business network of aluminium, steel, and energy following the collapse of lending firm Greensill Capital in March 2021. The SFO said: “The investigation covers the company's financial arrangements with Greensill Capital UK Ltd.” "The SFO is...
JDE Peet’s injects €110 million at French facility to increase aluminium coffee capsules production
In a briskly booming market, the world's largest pure-play coffee and Tea Company by revenue, JDE Peet’s is injecting €110 million at its French production site, in Andrézieux Bouthéon, in order to raise 60% of aluminium coffee capsules production. The company while keeping its dynamic activity the same and in order to meet new consumer expectations, its L'Or brand is launching a range of organic aluminium coffee capsules and a series of ephemeral creations, made from rare arabica. In 2020, the consumption of hot drinks in France has grown at a considerable rate. Coffee, which is still the second most-consumed drink in the nation after water, saw its market jump by 7%, driven by the Single Serve 2 category (capsules and pods) which experienced a value increase of 11.2%. At the heart of...
Nalco expands support to fight against Covid-19 second wave in Odisha
On 14 th May 2021, the Indian State-owned integrated mining and metal company, Nalco stated that it is expanding its support towards the 70-bed Covid centre at Saheed Laxman Naik Medical College at Koraput, Odisha to make the facility fully functional. Equally, Nalco has also extended its support for a 66-bed COVID healthcare facility at ESI Hospital in Angul, Odisha by shouldering the cost of the total operation and maintenance of the facility, as said the organisation. The company is extremely concerned about the rise in the number of COVID-19 cases and the sufferings of people. "Moved by the second wave of the COVID pandemic, National Aluminium Company Ltd (Nalco) is leaving no stone unturned to stand in solidarity with the people of Odisha, in the fight against COVID-19," it said. The...
GMG’s Aluminium-ion batteries could be a game-changer for the EV market
The Brisbane-Australia-based Graphene Manufacturing Group has come up with a cutting-edge technology that has the potential to revolutionize the electric car market, and substantially enrich the usage of renewable sources of energy. GMG, the aluminium-ion battery developer has come up with one that can deliver up to three times the range on EVs and charge 60 times faster. This simply signifies a 10-hour charging cycle could be reduced to 10 minutes while matching up with the current generation of lithium-ion batteries. The graphene company has combated this issue with a new genre of batteries that have been developed by nanotech. Ironically, these batteries are also safer as there is no upper ampere limit to cause impulsive combustion and this also makes it more sustainable, simpler to...
Romania’s import of aluminium foil during 2018-20 reveals unstable movement
The economy of Romania will grow by 6% in 2021, as stated by the International Monetary Fund, increasing its forecast for a 4.6% growth made in October’20. In 2022, the IMF expects Romania's economy to grow by 4.8%, as said in the April edition of its World Economic Outlook (WEO) report. The southeastern European nation’s importation of aluminium foil during 2018-19 touch 32,971 tonnes and the revenue expended for the import was $94.69 million. The import for 2020 remained at 16,894 tonnes and the expenditure stood at $50.78 million. However, when the import volume and expenditure of 2020 gets added with the existing two years, it exhibits 49,865 tonnes and $145.47 million respectively. Though the graph representation resembles instability in the import, while the import volume has always...
BMW sets target to avoid over 200 million tonnes of CO2 emission by 2030; Plans solar power for aluminium production in future
The German multinational corporation which produces luxury vehicles and motorcycles, BMW Group is fostering its mission for sustainable mobility with ambitious goals for the reduction of greenhouse gases. On 12 th May 2021, during the Annual General Meeting, the company announced that it will avoid the emission of over 200 million tonnes of CO2 by 2030. BMW said that this is equivalent to more than 20 times the annual CO2 emissions of a city with over a million residents. To attain this target, the automotive company will diminish its carbon footprint throughout their lifecycle – from raw material extraction to production and the use phase to end-of-life recycling. However, the usage of fewer resources and materials will be one of the priorities for the company in this process. At the AGM...
Revenues in 2021 may exceed PLN 2 billion at current product prices, says CEO of Alumetal Group
Europe’s one of the biggest, most modern and constantly developing manufacturers of secondary aluminium casting alloys and primary alloys, Alumetal has confirmed from the beginning of the Q4 2020, the metal company is hopeful about the market situation, which has developed an impact on the level of financial results achieved in the Q1 2021. However, the improvement of financial results is influenced not only by the market situation but also by the permanent changes in the company itself and investments realization, as stated by Agnieszka Drzyżdżyk, CEO of Alumetal. “2021 started very well for us. In the first quarter of this year, we increased the sales volume by approx. 30%, which we informed the market in the current statement on 25 th February 2021. Currently, we estimate the share of...
Quebec aluminium smelter lobby opposed by United Steelworkers union for job abolishment in the region
The United Steelworkers union at the invocation of the Association of the aluminium industry in regards to seeing employment requirements evacuated from government investments reacted by commenting: “The aluminium industry wants the butter, the butter money and the money to sell in the United States, all this, financed by our taxes and duties.” The Quebec aluminium smelter lobby is opposed and criticised by the Steelworkers. Alexandre Fréchette, the person in charge of aluminium at the union said: "It is not true that the money from our taxes will be used to finance robots that will make us lose our jobs and reduce the economic spinoffs for Quebec.” The union also stated that they are aware of the need for technologies like Elysis, which is focusing to displace carbon anodes to reduce...
Tomago Aluminium Innovation and Excellence Awards: Maintenance strategies and recycling emerged as champions
The Tomago Aluminium’s annual awards show that held at the Newcastle Exhibition Centre in Australia recognised the efforts of individuals and teams employed by the company to enhance the smelter’s operations. While presenting awards to individuals and teams by Stacey Sleeman, CFO of Tomago Aluminium, said: “The Company encourages its employees to continually strive for improvement and to look for new, different and better ways of doing things.” A plan designed to decrease equipment failures at Tomago Aluminium, Australia’s biggest aluminium smelter while maximising reliability and reducing routine maintenance costs by more than $485,000 annually, rewarded its innovator the top individual prize in this year’s awards while a plan to recycle used anode pins took out the team prize. Leigh...
Slovakia’s import of aluminium wire during 2018-20 unveils sustained growth
In March 2021, Peter Kazimir, Governor, National Bank of Slovakia (NBS) stated that the economy could return to its pre-pandemic level already in 2021, supported mainly by solid foreign demand. The central bank has lowered its forecast for this year’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth to 5.0%, but that would still outpace most of Slovakia’s peers in the European Union, including the neighbouring Czech Republic where a 2.2% expansion is seen this year. The landlocked central European country, Slovakia imported 14,635 tonnes of aluminium wires during 2018-19 and the revenue expenditure that occurred was $32.56 million. The import for 2020 was noted at 9797 tonnes and the expenditure remained at $16.55 million. However, when the aluminium wire import volume and expenditure of 2020 get...
France: MBF Aluminium takeover offer presented, Dijon commercial court finds it insufficient
The Saint-Claude, France-based MBF Aluminium which is on receivership for the last few months, received an offer for taking over on 11 th May 2021, which was presented but the Dijon commercial court still finds it too insufficient. A new hearing date is scheduled for 25 th May 2021. Earlier, the commercial court allotted time up to 10 th May, for a possible buyer to submit a viable offer for the takeover of MBF Aluminum. However, only one application arrived, that of Mikaël Azoulay, who learned of the case on 9 th April 2021. “It was judged that I did not have enough equity”, said Mikaël. The court would like a candidate with a capital of €1 million. If the State and the Region have granted him loans, the court is first asking for private funds. "I am not in the automotive sector, taking...
