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.
Qamco reports net profit of QR 95 million for 2020
The Qatari Public Shareholding Company, Qatar Aluminium Manufacturing Company (Qamco) has reported a net profit of QR 95 million. The aluminium company has proposed a dividend distribution of QR195.3mn, representing a payout ratio of 206% of 2020’s net earnings, equivalent to 3.5% cash dividend or QR0.035 per share. In 2020, Qamco’s revenue amounted to QR2.2 billion. Sales volumes were marginally higher than in 2019, as its joint venture swiftly shifted the production to standard ingots (SI), as the demand for value-added products and alloys used by various industries declined during the peak of pandemic due to lockdowns and lack of industrial activity. The steering of production volumes rapidly from VAP to SI supported in securing the maximum sales volumes. However, plunge in VAP volumes...
EBOLA returns to the land of Bauxite, Guinea
Dr Sakoba Keita, Head of Guinea's National Health Security Agency, said: “Guinea has entered an Ebola ‘epidemic situation’ with seven cases confirmed, including three deaths.” On 14 th February 2021, the health officials confirmed that at least three people have died in Guinea and several others have tested positive for the hemorrhagic fever, prompting authorities to declare an outbreak of the Ebola virus. Buona Yattassaye, Deputy Head of the National Health Security Agency, said: “All patients from N’Zerekore in the southeast of the country were hospitalized, one of them in the capital Conakry.” Guinea, the land of bauxite, world’s largest exporter of the aluminium ore and ranks second in producing bauxite keeping China behind was the epicentre of the 2014-16 Ebola epidemic that killed...
Greece import of Aluminium Stranded Wire during 2018-20 exhibits significant growth
The Greek Economy Outlook for 2021 resembles the continuation of the pandemic is developing a barrier towards predictions, which is almost impossible about the course of the Greek economy. Notwithstanding, the effort of the government to facilitate recovery is being heightened and will significantly be based on European funds. Greece has the opportunity to benefit not only from the standardized National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) but also from the EU Recovery Fund while is also receives sums from instruments such as the Unemployment Risks in an Emergency (SURE). The Southeastern European nation’s import of aluminium stranded wire in 2018-19 records at 3764 tonnes and the expenditure accounted for the import remained at $6.45 million. The import for 2020 stood at 3350 tonnes and...
Guinea: Minister of Mines visits Balaya Bauxite mining site, inaugurates Féréfou Bridge
On 14 th February 2021, Guinea’s Minister of Mines and Geology paid a visit to the Balaya bauxite mining site in the prefecture of Kindia, before proceeding to the inauguration of the new bridge located in the locality of Féréfou, under the sub-prefecture of Friguiagbè. The minister was accompanied by a strong delegation, made up of executives from his department and members of the Local Development Fund (FODEL). Abdoulaye Magassouba, Minister of Mines, during the visit to Balaya bauxite mining site drew the attention of RUSAL-CBK officials towards the issue of environmental protection and requested their technical participation, especially in the agricultural field. Magassouba said: “For example, you can send an expert to the peasants in neighbouring localities which are in the vicinity...
BALCO wins the prestigious “Golden Peacock Award 2020” for sustainability
India’s iconic aluminium producer, Bharat Aluminium Co (BALCO) has won the prestigious ‘Golden Peacock Award 2020’. As per the press release on 14 th February 2021, BALCO’s CEO & Director, Abhijit Pati in a virtual ceremony received the Golden Peacock Awards, instituted by the Institute of Directors (IOD). Mr Abhijit Pati expressed his happiness over the win, by saying: “Vedanta’s ethos of ‘Zero Harm, Zero Waste and Zero Discharge’ continues to guide our environmental and social performance. BALCO has effectively optimized and excelled its overall performance through its focused approach to operational excellence practices, innovation, analytics, resource optimizations, waste utilization and its overall impact on local communities.” "Effective management of resources, safety and...
Dubal Holding acquires 60% stake in Aluminium extrusion firm OSE Industries
According to Dubai Industrial City, Dubal Holding’s decision to acquire 60% stake in Dubai-based aluminium extrusion company OSE Industries is a major vote of confidence in the UAE economy. The deal upgrades emirate’s position as investor-friendly manufacturing and logistics hub. UAE, the largest manufacturing and logistics hub, home to OSE Industries, praised the deal as a reflection of the growth opportunities and underlying strength in Dubai’s industrial sector. In 2015, OSE Industries initiated its manufacturing operations and presently, it exports Multiport Extrusions (MPE), precision tubing and industrial piping across the Middle East and North Africa, Asia, Europe and the US. OSE Industries clientele includes a very well-known US electric carmaker, as well as major players in the...
Dying aircrafts land at Twente Airport, AELS and Riwald together demolish and recycle; aluminium hugely releases
It is said that dying aircraft proudly lands at Twente airport and then they never take off again, but ultimately enter the mouth of the metal shredder of Riwald Recycling in Almelo. Riwald Recycling from Almelo and Aircrafts –End-of-Life solutions provider, AELS have entered into a partnership and together they permanently dismantle old aircraft. After flying for millions of kilometres, they are ready for retirement and out of time, unprofitable and ready for demolition. However, the well-functioning parts go 'onto the market' and are reused, but if the people from AELS (Aircraft End-of-Life Solutions) at Twente airport have removed the usable parts, there will still be tens of tonnes of metals left and that’s the place where metal processor Riwald comes into the picture. Presently,...
Aluminium forging house “Bharat Forge” reports loss of INR 210 crore for Dec’20 quarter
Bharat Forge, one of the leading aluminium forging house has reported a loss of INR 210.44 crore for the December’20 quarter compared to a profit of INR 40.40 crore in the comparable quarter in the previous year. The company stated that it had to deliver INR 274.26 crore during the quarter towards a fine imposed on the company’s German subsidiary in an anti-trust case settlement by Germany’s competition regulator. In December’20, a fine of €32 million was imposed and has to be paid over the next five years. Furthermore, the company also had to spend INR 5.47 crore on VRS for employees at Mundhwa and Satara plants and around INR 19.71 crore for manpower optimisation in overseas subsidiaries, taking the total exceptional cost to INR 299.44 crore. The company’s consolidated revenue was...
NALCO posts INR 240 crore profit for Q3FY21
On 12 th February 2021, the National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) posted a consolidated profit of INR 239.71 crore for the third quarter (Q3FY21) ended 31 st December’20. The Navratna PSU, under Ministry of Mines, Government of India producing alumina and aluminium, had posted a consolidated loss of INR 33.90 crore in the corresponding quarter previous year. Subsequently, the alumina manufacturer has posted a profit of INR 107.27 crore. The company's consolidated revenue from operations rose 13.9% to INR 2,378.79 crore in the quarter under consideration compared to INR 2,088.35 crore in Q3FY20. However, the net sales of alumina hydrate for Q3 of FY21 was 3.44 lakh tonnes compared to 3.33 lakh tonnes achieved in the corresponding period of the previous year. Aluminium export also...
Rusal takes over century old Aluminum Rheinfelden, says law firm Schultze & Braun
On 11 th February 2021, the law firm Schultze & Braun announced, Rusal, the world's leading aluminium producer is taking over the Rheinfelden Aluminium group. This will secure the future of the century-old German aluminium manufacturer. Aluminium Rheinfelden applied for preliminary insolvency proceedings in the autumn of 2020 and laid-off 55 employees out of 256. Following the initial signature last week, an investor had been found for the group and that it is the Russian Aluminium firm Rusal, which is responsible for the restructuring management, has now received official confirmation. On 11 th February 2021, representatives from Aluminium Rheinfelden and Rusal signed an agreement of purchase with which Rusal would like to take over the business operations and assets of Aluminum...
Chile’s export of Aluminium scrap during 2018-20 illustrates rapid growth
In October’20, the Central Bank of Chile stated that its economic activity dipped 1.2% in October from a year ago, as the economy moved closer to growth after months of contraction caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The bank’s IMACEC economic activity index encompasses about 90% of the economy tallied in gross domestic product figures. The October figure was the economy’s best showing since February’20, when the economy grew 3.3%. But economic activity in Chile remained shuffled by the Covid-19 outbreak, the bank said, even though cases of COVID-19 have fallen with the onset the southern hemisphere’s spring. The nation along South America’s western edge has recorded with 28,484 tonnes of aluminium scrap export during 2018-19 and the earnings remained at $42.71 million. The export for 2020...
Booze drinkers home consumption steers Nampak aluminium cans demand to peak
Africa's leading packaging manufacturer, Nampak is grooving a surge in demand for its aluminium beverage cans as booze drinkers take-home consumption of their favourite drinks rises. Nampak the producer of aluminium cans for a range of beverages such as liquor and carbonated soft drinks stated: “Home-consumption demand for the cans has grown sharply in North America and Europe, due to Covid-19 lockdowns. The cans are a particular favourite with beer producers and demand has outstripped supply in those regions.” In 2020, the group secured two substantial renewed contracts for the export of its beverage cans to multinational companies. On 9 th February 2021, Erik Smuts, Nampak’s CEO, told investors at its annual general meeting (AGM): “The contracts resulted from the increase in home...
The coalition of American metal manufacturers seek Biden to end tariffs on aluminium, steel
The coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users asked President Joe Biden to end tariffs on aluminium and steel imports and setting the platform for a debate on protective trade measures. A few days earlier the US President said he would keep tariffs on aluminium imports from the United Arab Emirates, a major supplier, reversing a last-minute directive by Ex-President Donald Trump. But the Group said: “The tariffs hurt family-owned businesses and fractured relationships with trading partners.” A letter from the group stated that Biden to end former President Donald Trump’s tariffs and to ask countries to address the issue of excess aluminium and steel capacity in China. Paul Nathanson, the Executive Director of the group, said in the letter dated 10 th February 2021: “By taking...
Alumobility appoints Mark White as Executive Director
On 10 th February 2021, the non-profit organization focused on providing innovative implementation-ready solutions to advance the adoption of aluminium automotive body sheet, Alumobility announced the appointment of Mark White as Executive Director. Mark White will lead the organization, which was recently founded by Constellium and Novelis, providing strategic guidance to the ecosystem's marketing and technical work streams and he will report to the board of directors. A hard-core professional with more than 30 years of automotive experience, predominately at Jaguar Land Rover, White has held multiple leadership roles in body engineering, design, research, vehicle manufacturing processes and electrification. Throughout his career, He has focused on reducing overall vehicle weight,...
Gabon’s import of Aluminium Foil during 2018-20 shows constant growth
Gabon is an upper-middle-income country, being the fifth-largest oil producer in Africa it has had strong economic growth over the past decade, driven by its production of oil and manganese. The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) during July’20 approved a purchase of about $152.61 million under the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI). This had been the second purchase under the RFI to Gabon since the pandemic started. It aims at helping Gabon in meeting its urgent balance of payments needs. The country along the Atlantic coast of Central Africa recorded 361 tonnes of aluminium foil import during 2018-19 and the expenditure occurred for the import remained at $1.31 million. The import for 2020 stood at 295 tonnes and the expenditure accounted for $1.01 million. However,...
Lawsuits filed against LAlumina LLC by several contractors
LAlumina LLC, which operated the Burnside Alumina until it was shut down in August’20 and laid off hundreds of workers has been charged and filed by lawsuits by several contractors. The contractors filed lawsuits against LAlumina soliciting money after they claim agreements for goods and services were broken. As per the records, they are collectively seeking more than $3.3 million from the company. Gonzales-based TMA Environmental, Baton Rouge-based Environmental Specialties International and Providence Engineering and Design; Albuquerque, New Mexico-based Summit Electrical Supply Co.; Clayton, Mississippi-based Olin Corp. and Dubai-based Mur Shipping BV are the lists of contractors filed lawsuits. In September’20, LAlumina shut down its operations within a year of acquiring the alumina...
Vedanta unveils Aluminium cylinder head alloy for the auto industry at ACMA
India is rapidly moving to become a global hub for automotive manufacturing, but still, some key components which are required in manufacturing processes are imported. Driving towards a change, Vedanta Limited, India’s leading aluminium producer, announced the formal launch of aluminium cylinder head alloy, a vital raw material for manufacturing cylinder heads and other automotive components. In the aluminium product line of the company, it is the latest offering that provisions to various raw material requirements of the automotive industry. The Cylinder Head Alloy delivers advantages to material design which support automakers to increase the efficiency of internal combustion engines for improved performance on emission control, in line with BS-VI and CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel...
RUSAL wins Guinea Best Company Awards for contribution to fight against COVID-19
RUSAL has announced that the management of the Company's Representative office in Guinea has been awarded the Guinea Best Company Awards for its contribution to the fight against COVID-19 and socially responsible policy during the pandemic. The Guinea Best Company Awards event is organised annually by the Think Tank of COPE-Guinée (Coordination of Guinean non-governmental organizations for the promotion of excellence) since 2010 to present 50 enterprises in Guinea and West Africa that have demonstrated significant achievements across various fields such as industry, economics and public life. The COPE-Guinée named Alexander Larionov, RUSAL General Director in Guinea, after assessing the results of 2020 from the list of top 50 managers of commercial enterprises in the region. The results...
