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.
GFG Alliance Chairman Sanjeev Gupta nominated as the keynote speaker for LME’s seminar
The Executive Chairman of aluminium and steel investment company GFG Alliance, Sanjeev Gupta will head the roster at the London Metal Exchange’s virtual seminar for 2020, as declared on 28 th August. The virtual seminar will commence from 19 th October ‘20 and replaces the annual LME week gathering of metal market participants in London, which has been withdrawn due to the COVID-19 epidemic. With over two decades of experience in metals and commodities markets, Sanjeev Gupta founded metal and industrial company Liberty House Group in 1992, when he was a university undergraduate. LME’s declaration of Sanjeev Gupta as keynote speaker is timely given GFG’s developing business interest in green products, a topic currently at the forefront of the industry amid ongoing calls for carbon...
Indonesian Aluminium extrusion producer “Indal Aluminium” to count on the potential export market for this year
PT Indal Aluminum Industry Tbk. (INAI), an aluminium extrusion producer has stated that this year it will expand the supporting product segment and continue to count on a more potential export market. Alim Prakasa, Executive Managing Director, INAI, said: “In running the aluminium industry, the company is managing its business strategy quite carefully because unexpected situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in several countries falling into recession.” On 27 th August’20, he said: "This condition also makes INAI revise its capacity expansion strategy plan, but we will still rejuvenate and add capacity with a period according to market needs.” Previously the Managing Director commented that the company had a premium product with the Homelux brand. According to the plan,...
“Extraction of Alumina from Fly Ash waste”: A research by Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology, India
A team of researchers from the Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology (IMMT), India affirms to have developed a technique for transforming fly ash waste into wealth. As per the research team’s claim, they have extracted commercially-useful minerals like alumina among others containing rare earth elements from the ash. The process also intends to solve the issues related to the disposal of fly ash. According to the researchers, the main achievement was the extraction of alumina, which could be used for manufacturing of aluminium metal, and the rare earth elements. Dr Sanjay Kali, Senior Principal Scientist in Hydro and Electrometallurgy Department of IMMT, said: “The team was researching the institute’s laboratories since 2016 in a phased manner. They had collaborated with National...
Switzerland’s Bauxite importation during 2017-20 remains a flat market
The GDP of Switzerland generated by the service sector stands around 74% and 25% by the industrial sector. The contribution of the agricultural sector is less than 1%. The European Union (EU) is Switzerland's main trading partner. Around 78% of Swiss imports are from the EU, while 43% of Swiss exports are destined for EU countries. Bauxite importation of Switzerland has been recorded at 28,545 tonnes during 2017-19; with expenditures for bauxite, import has remained at $2.66 million during the same phase. The import for 2020 is overall expected to be around 10,369 tonnes and the expenditures to stay at $0.53 million. However, when the export volume and expenditures for Bauxite import for 2020 gets piled up with the existing three years, it denotes 38,914 tonnes and $3.19 million...
Aluminium bodied AHRLAC aircraft from South Africa is all set to fly again
South Africa’s first aircraft since the Apartheid era, AHRLAC, is back in production and ready for deliveries after a separation between the programme’s two shareholders threatened its future last year. Paramount, the South African defence group, which almost a decade ago invested in the light-attack and reconnaissance platform alongside father and son developers Paul Potgieter senior and junior – emerged late last year as the outright owner of manufacturer Aerospace Development Corporation (ADC). The Founder and Executive Chairman of Paramount, Ivor Ichikowitz, said: “The newly branded Paramount Aerospace Industries has taken orders for the AHRLAC – which is branded the Mwarai in a militarised configuration – and is preparing for deliveries.” A new factory in Wonderboom, near Pretoria,...
TBA Firefly enters the cladding market by introducing solid aluminium facade panels
TBA Firefly has entered the cladding market by introducing their solid aluminium facade panels. The new aluminium solid panels (ASP) are reckoned to match up to non-combustible requirements, and certified to AS1530.1 & AS1530.3. The fresh facade cladding panels come from TBA Firefly, a firm that has been specialising in fire protection products for over 130 years. TBA Firefly is a division of TBA Textiles, a manufacturer of fire-resistant textiles and products for more than 130 years in Rochdale, UK and also servicing the Australian market for the past 60 years. TBA Firefly’s non-combustible ancillary products have largely been used behind the facade panels of other manufacturers. The company has now tested and released its panels. TBA Firefly fully DTS facade products: TBA Firefly...
Italy’s import of Aluminium containers for compressed gas during 2017-20 exhibits an unstable market
Common compressed gases are propane, nitrogen, chlorine, helium, oxygen and aluminium containers are considered to be one of the best for its storage. Italy’s import of aluminium containers for compressed gas during 2017-2019 exhibited ups and downs, as the import volume was recorded at 4580 tonnes, with $24.12 million has been accounted for as expenditure. The projected import for 2020 has been counted at 1387 tonnes and expenditure to be occurring stands at $8.85 million. However, when the analysed import volume and expenditure of 2020 gets summed with the previous three years it resembles 5967 tonnes and $32.97million respectively. Aluminium containers for compressed gas import during 2017 stood at 990 tonnes and expenditures remained at $4.47 million, whereas in 2018 the Italian...
GIADEC charged to revamp VALCO within 5 years as new board takes control
The Ghana Integrated Aluminum Development Corporation (GIADEC) took charge for Volta Aluminium Company’s (VALCO) recovery plan within 5 years. The plan incorporates the modernization of the aluminium smelter, which will take between three to five years and it will be done in two phases. This is to enable the aluminium smelter to produce first at its full capacity and a further increase in production will be recorded post the modernization. Michael Ansah, CEO of GIADEC, made public the plan at a swearing-in ceremony of the VALCO Board by the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Kwaku Asomah Kyeremeh. He said: “The first phase will deliver 170,000 tonnes while the second phase will produce 120,000 tonnes.” He also added: “The first phase will begin as soon as strategic partners are...
Aluminium Company of Egypt “Egyptalum” to report $62.5 million net losses in FY 2020, higher production cost remains the cause
Aluminium Company of Egypt “Egyptalum” is expecting to report EGP 993.773 million in net losses during fiscal year (FY) 2019/20, compared to the EGP 870.927million net profit in FY 2018/19. On 25 th August’20, the aluminium company reported in a statement to the Egyptian Exchange (EGX), where the company revealed that its revenues dropped to EGP 7.254 billion in the period from July 2019 to June 2020. This compared to the EGP 12.188 billion from July 2018 to June 2019. The company imputed its losses to the increase in production costs, particularly concerning electricity consumption, during FY 2019/20. Furthermore, the shrink in the US dollar exchange rate against the Egyptian pound has contributed to these losses, alongside the sharp drop in metal prices at the London Metal Exchange....
Bulgari adds a trio of aluminium cased lightweight collection of modern sports watches
Bulgari has established itself as a serious leader over the last few years when it comes to making sleek, lightweight sports watches. The Octo Finissimo is one of the most iconic new watches of the last decade but not light at all. A trio of thin, lightweight sports watches that look to some late-90s pieces for inspiration, but with a bunch of important updates. The Bulgari Aluminium and Aluminium Chronograph are reinterpretations of a watch that Bulgari first launched back in 1998 that combined aluminium cases, rubber straps, and quartz movements to create a different kind of luxury watch. It might seem commonplace today, but presenting a non-precious-metal watch on a rubber strap as a luxury watch was still pretty revolutionary in the late '90s. The new models come in two variations on...
Mexico’s import of Aluminium Tubes and Pipes reveals rapid growth with a steady fall during 2017-20
Despite the changes and uncertainty of NAFTA being renegotiated as the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the major manufacturing industries in Mexico are expected to see continual growth. Although many industries are moving their manufacturing to Mexico, the most prominent industries in Mexico are the automotive, aviation and aerospace, medical device, apparel and textile, and consumer products industries. Mexico’s Aluminium tubes and pipes import during 2017-19 has been recorded with 96,962 tonnes and revenue expenditure reached $518.54 million. The forecasted export for 2020 has been analysed to 30,666 tonnes and expenditure to stand at $154.47 million. When the evaluated export volume and expenditure of 2020 has been assorted with the preceding three years it stands at...
Companhia Brasileira de Aluminio: Brazil's largest aluminium producer commits to set science-based emission reduction targets in line with 1.5° C
Brazil’s largest aluminium producer Companhia Brasileira de Aluminio (CBA) has committed towards a science-based target (SBT) for emission reduction in line with 1.5° C, making it the foremost Brazilian organization to deliver sustainable-certified aluminium. The Latin American manufacturing giant possesses total annual production of around 480,000 tonnes and shoulders the complete aluminium production process, from bauxite mining to producing aluminium sheets and coils. As the aluminium industry is one of the world's biggest sources of industrial emissions with the International Energy Agency ranking the sector as the fourth-largest industrial CO2 emitter, responsible for around 3% of total direct CO2 emissions. However, CBA now joins a growing number of other aluminium producers...
Aluminium du Maroc: A drastic 30% slump in turnover for H1 of 2020
The Casablanca Stock Exchange-listed company; Aluminium du Maroc has achieved a turnover of around 304 million dirhams for the first six months against 437.3 million dirhams in the same phase of the previous year, thus marking a drop of 30%. The slump follows the downward trend in commodity prices and the decline in commercial activities linked to the COVID-19 pandemic which impacted both on domestic and export markets. This is what the company indicates in its recent financial communication published on the Stock Exchange website. Despite this poor performance, Aluminum du Maroc indicates that the pace of orders has accelerated since the beginning of July, entering the last quarter with a reasonably optimistic order booking. The quarterly trend in turnover shows a dip of 42% compared to...
Ghana Govt. will involve 30% of local companies in Sinohydro-Bauxite deal projects: CEO, Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation
Michael Ernest Ansah, CEO, Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC) said: “Government intends involving a substantial percentage of Ghanaian companies in the execution of projects under the Sinohydro deal.” However, there have been concerns that the majority of Sinohydro projects will be executed by Chinese nationals, given the country’s involvement in the deal. The Tamale Interchange Project has been pulled up as a case in point, which was largely executed by Chinese nationals, raising concerns over how the deal will tackle unemployment in Ghana. Mr Ansah said: “Subsequent projects will see more involvement of Ghanaian companies.” “These projects have commenced. We are going to see more local content. The involvement of locals will be more than 30%. More Ghanaians will...
Trimet Aluminium SE brings up Alloy for 3D Printing
TRIMET now offers an aluminium alloy, using the name trimal®-05AM, and that the materials specialist has developed especially for the production of light metal parts in 3D printing. The alloy, which is based on the material trimal®-05 developed by TRIMET, is suitable for additive manufacturing processes that use selective laser melting (SLM) for the production of ultra-high-strength serial parts without subsequent heat treatment. Thomas Reuther, a member of the Executive Board of TRIMET Aluminium SE, says: “With the new alloy, we are expanding the application areas for aluminium. The transport sector alone increasingly relies on additive manufacturing, thereby raising the demand for materials that have been developed for this process.” In 3D printing, the alloy, cast as ingots, is...
“Confederation of All India Traders” appeals Govt. to hike duty on Chinese import of Aluminium utensils and Aluminium goods among others as festival season nears
As the Indian festive season is nearing, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has solicited support from the government to stop China participating in the Indian markets. Particularly, the traders' body has shot a letter to Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, pressuring him to increase customs duty on various articles imported from China, block alternate routes which can be used by China for pushing its exports to India, implement mandatory mentioning of the country of origin with each product sold on e-portal from 1 st September’20. CAIT National President BC Bhartia & Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said: “The upcoming festival season which includes Diwali is unquestionably the largest most celebrated festival of India. Next four months beginning September are...
Latvia’s export of Aluminium scrap exhibits unsteady market during 2017-20
The economy of Latvia is an open economy in Northern Europe and is part of the European Union's single market. The major industries that contribute to the economy of Latvia are railroad cars, electronics, processed metals, etc. Latvia’s export of aluminium scrap during 2017-19 has been recorded at 24,228 tonnes and the earnings remained at $25.16 million. The projected export for 2020 has been analysed at 8728 tonnes and the earnings to reach $9.17 million. However, when the evaluated aluminium scrap export volume and earnings of 2020 get assorted with the previous three years, it reflects 32,956 tonnes and $34.33 million respectively. In 2017, the European nation’s aluminium scrap export stood at 5958 tonnes and earning noted was $5.58 million, whereas in 2018 the aluminium scrap saw a...
Time is over for Lithium-ion battery, Aluminium ion battery is the new ruler: Stanford University Research
The latest type of aluminium ion battery which is flexible and has the same amount of energy as a lead-acid battery or even a nickel-metal hydride battery has been developed by researchers at the Stanford University in California. The key dominance of this latest type of battery is that it can charge itself in a minute. This battery has another advantage; it possesses a much longer life cycle than the existing battery technologies of today. Furthermore, the cost of the battery is low and it is stable. These findings were declared by Professor Hongjie Dai of the Stanford University and he also stated that such properties of this new kind of battery along with its stability make it a contender for grid-scale storage. This battery can also be used to power wearable devices. Aluminium ion...
