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.
“COVID-19” impact: USA facing shortage of aluminium cans
The Americans are facing a different type of dearth amid the COVID-19 breakout. It is the shortage of aluminium cans and the consequence can lead to pause of peoples preferred alcoholic and non-alcoholic canned beverages. Ann Moore, Spokesperson, Coca-Cola said: “Aluminium cans are in very tight supply with so many people buying more multi-pack products to consume at home.” Presently, companies selling products in aluminium cans have to adjust. As per our sources, brewers like Molson Coors, Brooklyn Brewery, and Karl Strauss are reducing on the brands they sell. Adam Collins, Spokesperson, Molson Coors said: “Everyone who makes anything that goes into a 12-ounce can is being challenged to some respect.” During the ongoing coin deficit, consumers’ changing habits during the COVID-19...
Thailand to build 140 Km of railway track to strengthen bilateral trade with Cambodia; aluminium trade to go high
Cambodia will gracefully welcome another 140km of the northern railway to connect the Thai border to better facilitate the transportation of goods between the two countries. Both the countries officially floated rail network link in late 2018. On 22 nd July’20, Vasim Sorya, undersecretary of state at the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, said: “Thailand promised to provide the new rail after the launch that year.” “The Thai side will hand over the around 140km rail in August or September. It will strengthen our railways and improve the quality of goods transportation between the two countries,” he said. Sorya added: “After the northern railway is upgraded, it will be able to carry 20 tonnes and increase the speed to up to 70km/h from the current 30km/h.” Connecting Phnom Penh to...
Impol 2000 of Slovenia to distribute a reduced dividend for 2019
Impol 2000 of Slovenia, the management company controlling local aluminium products manufacturer Impol Group has announced it will distribute a dividend of € 3.00 per share for 2019, down from the previous year's pay-out of € 3.75. On 17 th July’20, the decision was approved by the company shareholders during their meeting. Impol 2000 declared this statement at the Ljubljana stock exchange on 22 nd July’20. Accordingly, a total of €3.2 million from its €39.8 million distributable profit booked at end-2019 will go to the shareholders, while the remaining will stay undistributed. In April’20, the company was still pondering to skip the dividend distribution this year in regards to the continuing COVID-19 epidemic and the menacing economic recession. The essential activity of Slovenska...
Argentina’s import of Aluminium cans during 2017-20 reveals an uneven movement
Argentina benefits from rich natural resources, a highly literate population, an export-oriented agricultural sector, and a diversified industrial base. Argentina's economic performance has historically been very uneven, with high economic growth alternating with severe recessions. The major industries of the South American nation are food processing and beverages motor vehicles and auto parts appliances and electronics machinery and equipment chemicals pharmaceuticals glass steel and aluminium cement textiles tobacco products publishing furniture leather. The aluminium cans import of Argentina during 2017-19 displays highly uneven, as the import volume during the phase recorded, was 26,614 tonnes and the expenditures stood at $221.66 million. The estimated import for 2020 was evaluated...
Lagune Exploitation Bongouanou SA secures powers from Govt of Ivory Coast to develop Bénéné Bauxite project
On 21 st July’20, the Ivory Coast Government relinquished all powers to Lagune Exploitation Bongouanou SA, to develop the Bénéné bauxite project. This is the only mining company owned by Ivorian private capital. This concession is the outcome of the signing of addendum n ° 1 to the mining agreement concluded on 3 rd November 2017. The signature comes after the transfer to the signatory company of the valid mining license for bauxite, previously granted in the department of Bongouanou to the company Lagune Exploitation Afrique SA. It is the result of negotiations between Côte d'Ivoire and the signatory company, within the negotiation committee which met on 10 th and 24 th June’20. The approved document comes with an important section on the obligations of the company in terms of...
Romanian Alumina producer ALUM stands as one of the grantees for € 8.8 million by European Commission to ReActiv project
The Industrial Residue activation for continual cement production, project 'ReActiv' will create an ultra-modern and feasible value chain, clamping bauxite residue, the offshoot of the alumina production with the cement industry. The only calcined alumina producer of Romania, ALUM takes part as a stakeholder in ReActiv project. The alumina company will deliver appropriate samples of bauxite residue to be processed in the project and business plan development, mainly in regards to prospective technology deployment at cement plants. ALUM is member of a 21-company consortium which will implement the ReActiv project, under the coordination of LafargeHolcim, through its Research and Development Centre. Gheorghe Dobra, CEO of ALUM said: 'Through ReActiv project, altogether with several industry...
Aluminium insulated “Cool Dolly” introduced at Hyderabad International airport in India
Hyderabad International Airport has been introduced with a multi-ULD (unit load device) Cool Dolly to maintain the cold chain for time and temperature-sensitive shipments such as pharmaceuticals and perishables. Vandana Aggarwal, Senior Economic Advisor, Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), Govt of India, virtually inaugurated Cool Dolly during a webinar. Aluminium insulated container, the Cool Dolly acts as a storage unit from air cargo terminal to the aircraft. They provide an unbroken cold chain to perishable shipments of temperatures of +2C to +8C and +15C to +25C and can handle around 7 tons of cargo in a single trip. Pradeep Panicker, CEO, GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd, said, “Cool Dolly is a valuable addition to the unbroken cold chain at Hyderabad International Airport....
More jobs on stake at Lochaber smelter of ALVANCE British Aluminium in Fort William
The relentless impact of COVID-19 and the precariousness around Brexit is being censured for the loss of up to 18 jobs at the Fort William-based Lochaber smelter. Liberty British Aluminium became ALVANCE British Aluminium as part of a new structure back in February’20 but in few weeks the company was forced to lay-off around 40 of its workers in response to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic. ALVANCE British Aluminium comes under the aluminium arm of metals industry tycoon Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance group of companies. On 22 nd July’20, the company declared it would be reducing its workforce permanently. An ALVANCE British Aluminium spokesman said: ‘The Covid-19 pandemic has compounded an already difficult commercial environment for aluminium. Given the continued impact of the virus...
Jamalco to get enlisted at Jamaica Stock Exchange
The Noble Group has formed a treaty with the Jamaican Government to reorganise the assets and operations of alumina refinery Jamalco into a holding company that will raise equity capital on the stock market. The unnamed company is expected to list on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, JSE. Noble Group said in its newly released financial results: “After the year-end, Noble and the Government of Jamaica agreed to put their respective interests in Jamalco into a newly incorporated Jamaican company which will own and operate the assets and business going forward,” Jamalco is owned 55% by Hong Kong-based Noble Group and 45% by Jamaica through Clarendon Alumina Production, CAP. The nation’s economic reform programme with the IMF, Jamaica had committed to divest its holdings in CAP and was said to...
Albania’s Aluminium scrap import-export remains in steady progress during 2017-20
Albania, on South-eastern Europe’s Balkan Peninsula, is a small country with Adriatic and Ionian coastlines and an interior crossed by the Albanian Alps. The economy of Albania went through a process of transition from a centralized economy to a market-based economy on the principles of the free market. Albania's economy is based on the service (54.1%), agriculture (21.7%), and industrial (24.2%) sectors. The European nation’s aluminium scrap import-export remains in steady progress during 2017-20. The aluminium scrap import during 2017-19 exhibited rapid growth followed by minor fall, as the import volume stood at 24,015 tonnes and the revenue expenditure recorded was $24.56 million. The projected import for 2020 has been analysed at 8434 tonnes and the expenditure to stretch up at $9.77...
Apple’s 16-inch MacBook Pro: Carbon-Free Aluminium journey begins at Apple
Apple has announced on 21 st July’20, that 16-inch MacBook Pro is planned to be the first-ever Apple device to be made from carbon-free aluminium. As Apple focuses on its environmental impact and reducing the company’s carbon footprint, the MacBook Pro will take the reins as part of a phenomenal commitment from Tim Cook and his team. Apple confirms that it is working with aluminium suppliers on carbon-free processing. As an intermediate step, the 16-inch MacBook Pro will be the first hardware to use low-carbon aluminium and create a new and more environmentally friendly laptop. The drive comes as part of Apple’s goal to become a 100% carbon neutral across the entire company. “Apple unveiled its plan to become carbon neutral across its entire business, manufacturing supply chain, and...
Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinée floats campaign for reforestation of 200 hectares at Sangaredi mine
Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinée (CBG), one of the leading producer and exporter of bauxite, on 16 th July publicised the launch of campaign reforestation of nearly 200 hectares at the Sangarédi mine. According to Aboubacar Traoré, Biodiversity Technician, in charge of rehabilitation and ecological restoration: “This campaign is part of the CBG's ongoing efforts to fight against the degradation of natural resources and the loss of biological diversity.” “It also contributes to rehabilitating the areas of the CBG concession which have already been serviced to increase the resilience of the ecosystem and populations in the face of climate change.” The current year's campaign furnishes for the planting of a total of 121,000 plants on the Bidikoun plateaus, straddling Sangarédi and Télimélé....
Aluminium packaging recycling organization Alupro appeals for sustained focus on residual recycling
Alupro has restated the significance of kerbside recycling following the launch of energy from waste (EfW) recovery report. Rick Hindley, executive director at Alupro said: “It’s essential that kerbside recycling rates continue to increase and that we prioritise the use of aluminium as a sustainable packaging material. As aluminium recovered from IBA contributes to a circular economy, we fully advocate the process and see it as an essential part of our national vision to achieve a 100% aluminium packaging recycling rate.” A few days back, cross-party think tank Policy Connect released a hard-hitting research report calling for the UK government to commit to energy from waste (EfW) recovery, as opposed to landfill disposal, for the management of the nation’s residual waste. Hindley said:...
Australia’s import volume of Aluminium foil reveals rapid rise with steady fall during 2017-20; expenditure remains rising
Australia's economy is the world's 14th largest rated AAA with a stable outlook by all three global rating agencies. The economy of Australia is a highly developed market economy. Its GDP was estimated at A$1.89 trillion as of 2019. In 2018 Australia became the country with the largest median wealth per adult but slipped back to second highest after Switzerland in 2019. The largest country in Oceania, Australia’s import of aluminium foil during 2017-19 saw both rapid rise and followed by fall in volume, as the import volume during this phase recorded at 54,003 tonnes and the revenue expended stood at $286.07 million. The projected import for 2020 has been analysed at 15,741 tonnes and the expenditure to reach $121.66 million. When the analysed import volume and expenditure of 2020 gets...
“Self-Reliant India”: Govt. strategies to unlock 500 mineral blocks across open auction, counting 11 bauxite mines
The Government of India is evaluating a drive to unlock about 500 mineral blocks through an open and transparent auction by repealing Section 10A2 (b) of MMDR Act under the ‘Self-reliant India” vision. The drive is surmounted to support unlocking of more than a billion tonne of mineral reserves and create approximately 500,000 jobs, as per the industry sources. "A large number of potential mineral blocks are blocked due to the saving clause in section 10A2(b) of MMDR Act wherein RP/PL holder has a right to obtain the mining lease if the holder of the lease has undertaken reconnaissance operations or prospecting operations. There is no sunset clause in the relevant section unlike section 10A2(c) which provided 2 years in 2015 to execute the leases and therefore these leases are still...
Romanian Aluminium producer Alro-Slatina starts operating new Danieli homogenizing furnaces
Alro Slatina, one of the biggest aluminium companies in Romania and Europe is operating new Danieli homogenizing furnaces for the production of quality aluminium flat products at its site. The Romanian plant uses Danieli Olivotto Ferrè's technology to homogenize slabs of aluminium alloys, treating slabs measuring 500x1,650 mm and up to 8 m long, with a total annual capacity of up to 24,000 tons/year. Heating and soaking in two homogenizing furnaces and cooling in a cooling chamber are performed in continuous mode. Furnace equipment and process controls perform in automatic mode, in a controlled atmosphere, matching the stringent AMS 2750E standard for aerospace markets. The subsequent slab cooling treatment delivers perfect quality in terms of mechanical/metallurgical properties....
Technology turning a piece of Aluminium into water purification device: An Indian University alumnus innovation
An Indian University alumnus innovation potentially offers a solution to the problem of lack of potable water in the world, which states several lives globally every year. A former Allahabad University student Subhash Chandra Singh is part of a team of researchers from University of Rochester, New York, that has developed a technology which turns a piece of aluminium into a water purification device with the help of solar energy. After completing PhD from AU, he is now a post-doctoral scholar at the American University. Subhash said: “In the technology when a piece of aluminium comes in contact with quick laser light, it turns it into a super-wicking, superlight-absorbing and a super-water-evaporating surface which removes all the dirt and impurities from water.” “Factors like...
Bridgnorth Aluminium in UK blazes with rubbish fire
The decades-old Aluminium company located on the Stourbridge Road in UK, Bridgnorth Aluminium, blazed with a fire shortly before 11.30 pm on 19 th July’20. Bridgnorth Aluminium Ltd has firmly established itself as a trusted supplier of rolled aluminium products. The fire was caught in rubbish at the back of a pre-heat furnace and fire crews used one hose reel jet to extinguish it. Shropshire Fire & Rescue Service sent two appliances from Bridgnorth and Much Wenlock. An operations officer was also in attendance. Firefighters had dealt with the incident by midnight. Established on 27 hectares of land, Bridgnorth Aluminium is home to world-class manufacturing assets, from our casthouse to state-of-the-art Litho Centres. Bridgnorth Aluminium Ltd's assets include a casthouse, rolling mill, two...
