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.
Ghana’s Ambassador to China assures: GIADEC will ensure utmost gains from Bauxite mining
Edward Boateng, Ghana’s Ambassador to China, has assured that due process is being followed by the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation, GIADEC, to ensure that Ghana benefits sufficiently from the expected bauxite mining. Government’s plan to mine bauxite in the Atewa Forest Reserve, a $2 billion Sinohydro deal with China, has received a lot of backwash with environmental groups propelling against the deal due to the expected impact of bauxite mining, especially in the Atewa Forest. Seven Civil Society Organisations and some private citizens have gone ahead to sue the government over the plans to mine in the Atewa Forest. On the occasion to mark 60 years of bilateral relations between Ghana and China, Mr Edward Boateng confuted opinion that Chinese companies where being...
PAHAL, a plastic bag elimination program: An initiative by BALCO
Bharat Aluminium Company (BALCO), a global leader in aluminium, has been endorsing sustainable development since its inception. This has been counted as one more unyielding step in this direction; BALCO has recently launched PAHAL, a plastic bag elimination program in its township amongst its employees and business partners. The company stated: “BALCO is one of the first organizations in Chhattisgarh to introduce plastic elimination program, which was taken up in association with Chamber of Commerce, Balconagar.” Environment-friendly bags were distributed among the residents as part of the drive and township residents are encouraged to use those in place of single-use plastic bags. Speaking about the initiative, Abhijit Pati, CEO & Director – BALCO, said, “‘Pahal’ is a step towards...
Cameroon’s Aluminium structures importation market displays instability during 2017-19; Projected 80.12% volume growth in 2020
Cameroon, on the Gulf of Guinea, is a Central African country of varied terrain and wildlife. Its inland capital, Yaoundé, and its biggest city is Douala. Cameroon has a mixed economic system which includes a variety of private freedom, combined with centralized economic planning and government regulation. Cameroon is a member of the Economic Community of Central African States. The Central African nation’s aluminium structures import during 2017-19 remained unstable, as the import volume stood at 1347 tonnes and the foreign revenue expenditure was recorded at $20.73 million. The analysed import volume for 2020 is expected to reach at 861 tonnes and the expenditure would surge up to $16.14 million. When the projected import volume and expenditure of 2020 gets added to the previous three...
Rio Tinto plans to wind-down New Zealand Aluminium Smelters; strategic review indicates business no longer viable
Rio Tinto will start planning for the wind-down of operations and the eventual closure of New Zealand Aluminium Smelters (NZAS) following the conclusion of its strategic review which has shown the business is no longer viable given high energy costs and a challenging outlook for the Aluminum industry. Consequently, NZAS has delivered Meridian Energy notice to terminate the power contract, which will end in August 2021, when the wind-down of operations is expected to complete. The strategic review concluded that the smelter, which has made Rio Tinto an underlying loss of NZ$46million in 2019, is not economically viable due to energy costs that are some of the highest in the industry globally, coupled with a challenging short to medium term aluminium outlook. Extensive discussions with a...
Raspberry Pi: Fanless aluminium case drives style to the popular single-board computer
Akasa made public three new fanless cases for the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B at the end of May’20, of which the Gem Pro was one. Now, the company has officially announced the pricing of said case. According to Akasa, the case has a "gem-like" top that improves cooling. The company includes thermal pads and aluminium blocks to maximise the case's cooling efficiency too. The Gem Pro is made from aluminium and finished in silver. According to Akasa, the case has been sandblasted and anodised. The Gem Pro measures 96 x 75.6 x 34.4 mm and provides access to the Model B's GPIO, microSD card reader and its full selection of ports and available for £24.75 or US$30.95.
Holden Aluminium Technologies in UK will close-down by the end of year: Parent company Hydro reveals
Holden Aluminium Technologies at Station Road, Bromyard, will be closed down by the end of 2020, as this information is revealed by its parent company Hydro Group. At the Bromyard factory, around 50 jobs will be at risk as the company seems to adapt to challenging market conditions. A spokesperson for the aluminium and renewable energy company, Hydro, headquartered in Oslo, said: "I can confirm that due to challenging market conditions in the UK, Hydro will restructure its operations and close the aluminium fabrication business unit in Bromyard, Holden Aluminium Technologies.” "The activities currently performed in Bromyard will be moved to our Bedwas site in South Wales. "The Bromyard plant has around 50 employees and the planned restructuring is expected to be completed by end 2020....
PMO-Canada confirms: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will not visit Washington for any sort of USMCA celebration
The Prime Minister’s Office of Canada has confirmed that PM Justin Trudeau will not visit Washington, with Mexico's president this week to celebrate a new North American trade deal, after Canada louden concerns over United States aluminium tariffs. On 6 th July’20, over a phone call, Trudeau told Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador that he expects the talks with US President Donald Trump would be successful. However, the Mexican President had urged Trudeau to join him, is due to meet Trump at the White House on 8 th July’20 on his first trip outside of Mexico since taking office 19 months ago. The Prime Minister’s office stated that Justin Trudeau will be attending cabinet meetings and a sitting of parliament in Ottawa. "We wish the United States and Mexico well at Wednesday's...
Cyprus export of Aluminium scrap remains downsizing during 2018-20, revenue earnings to rise in 2020
Cyprus is an island nation in the Eastern Mediterranean. The Cyprus economy has been expanding rapidly, with robust growth rates averaging 4.4% in 2015-18. The European Commission predicts a growth rate of 3.1% in 2019 and 2.7% in 2020. The government aims to double the industry's share of GDP by 2030. The manufacturing sector is not very developed and is estimated to account for only 5% of GDP. Cyprus' economy is mostly based on the tertiary sector, which contributes 72.2% of the GDP and employs 81% of the active population. The Eastern Mediterranean island nation’s aluminium scraps export have displayed de-growth between 2018-19, as the total export volume remained at 16,971 tonnes and revenue earning recorded at $22.60 million. The estimated export volume for 2020 has been analysed at...
“COVID-19” crisis: LAlumina refinery in US expects to shut down
In Ascension Parish, USA, workers more than 300 will be facing job loses next month at Burnside Alumina refinery, a speciality alumina producer that has exhausted millions from a program of Federal Government that meant to protect American jobs during the COVID-19 epidemic. As per industry sources, some potential buyers have approached the company, but there’s no deal to sell the business at this time. Gabriel Henn, Plant Manager said: “The speciality alumina market demand was declined during the pandemic and the LAlumina LLC plant has tried hard to hold on, but the losses have mounted for months.” He explained with an example: “As smelter-grade alumina prices dropped by about a third in March, then prices for its premium product plummeted, as did demand.” The alumina refinery was...
JV of Alcoa and Alumina Ltd in Australia faces tax bill of $919 million
Alumina Ltd in Australia stated that its joint venture with aluminium giant Alcoa has been evaluated $212 million in previous taxes over alumina sales to the aluminium smelter in Bahrain, known as ALBA. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has also highlighted that the compound interest on the tax owed by Alcoa of Australia (AoA) amounts to $707 million. However, it has invited the company to make submissions on why that charge should not be fully payable. The ATO is also expected to compute administrative penalties by August’20, though Alcoa of Australia is unable to guess the figures. Mike Ferraro, CEO, Alumina Ltd. said: “The ATO had carried out an investigation focused on AoA's sales over a 20-year period.” The ATO proclaimed that AoA under-priced its alumina sales over a 20-year...
Fight against COVID-19: GIADEC donates PPEs to Kyebi and surrounding communities
The Ghana Integrated Aluminum Development Corporation (GIADEC) has delivered an extra mileage to the fight against COVID-19 by donating hygiene items to people of Kyebi and surrounding communities of the East Akim Municipal District in the Eastern Region. The items are quantities of veronica buckets, gallons of alcohol-based hand sanitizers, disposable hand towels, nose mask and dust bins were presented to the locals as part of efforts to mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus in the country. Mr Michael Ansah, CEO, GIADEC, recapitulated during the event that: “GIADEC’s commitment of continuous support in the fight against the virus and urged the beneficiaries to use the hygiene items judiciously.” He added: “With the outbreak of the pandemic in Ghana, we at GIADEC believe in...
Comptoir d'Aluminium de Côte d'Ivoire: Welcomes 10 trainees from Multispectral Professional Training Centre Mohammed VI in Yopougon
Moroccan companies are part of the continuity in Ivory Coast for the works accomplished by HM King Mohammed VI. Presently, the company “Comptoir d'Aluminium de Côte d'Ivoire”, based in Abidjan, welcomes, in its workshops, ten trainees from the Multispectral Professional Training Centre Mohammed VI in Yopougon, inaugurated in November 2017 by the Sovereign, then on an official visit to the West African nation. These internships are the diversification of the agreement that the Moroccan company has just signed with the management of the Multifunctional Centre that HM the King has kindly offered to the young people of Côte d'Ivoire. Saâd El Hamzaoui, CEO, Comptoir d'Aluminium Ivory Coast: “We have received ten (10) interns in our company for three (03) months. By welcoming these young...
Belgium’s import of Aluminium alloy ingot remains to fluctuate marginally during 2017-20
In spite of its small size, Belgium's economy has consistently placed among the top 20 economies of the world and remains strong. The major industries that support the economy of Belgium are Metallurgy, steel, textiles, chemicals, glass, paper, and food processing are the dominant industries. Belgium is one of the world's leading processors of cobalt, radium, copper, zinc, and lead. The western European nation’s import of aluminium alloy ingot during 2017-20 remains fluctuating, although marginally. The import volume during the phase remained at 476,731 tonnes and the revenue expended stood at $808.02 million. The import for 2020 has been forecasted at 169,663 tonnes and the expenditure might stay at $276.06 million. However, when the analysed import and expenditure of 2020 gets valued...
Hitachi aluminium shell new intercity trains for Avanti West Coast touch down in UK
Hitachi's first nine body aluminium shells that will transform to Avanti West coast new fleet have touched down in the United Kingdom. The shells are extra spacious, comfortable, and greener models made by Hitachi Rail are due to enter service on the West Coast Main Line in 2022. The Hitachi train will substitute the current diesel-powered Super Voyagers and serve the West Midlands, North Wales and Liverpool. The aluminium shells landed in the UK this week by the sea at Southampton docks from Hitachi Rail’s Kasado factory in Japan, ahead of the train building work that will start at Hitachi’s Newton Aycliffe plant in County Durham later this year. When completed, the fleet will comprise of 13 Class 805 Bi-Mode trains and 10 Class 807 Electric trains. Each Bi-Mode train comprises five...
Post COVID-19 growth: German electric motor producer Ziehl-Abegg to invest $18 million
Peter Fenkl, CEO, Ziehl-Abegg SE said: “The global markets will continue to need high-quality electric motors and fans in the future.” This is the major reason the German company based in Künzelsau is now investing $18 million in the expansion of its production buildings at the Kupferzell site. Dr Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut, Minister for Economic Affairs, said: “The new construction project is a clear commitment to Baden-Württemberg as a location for manufacturing and innovation. Our state needs companies like Ziehl-Abegg SE that take on a leadership role in our economy, particularly during difficult times.” The Hohenlohe industrial company has also been affected worldwide by the corona crisis, as sales are close to the previous year. “However, a higher than average 8.6% increase in sales...
French aluminium foundry company Diace SAS signs agreement with the Lot fire-fighters
On 26 th June’20, representatives of the Lot fire-fighters went to the Diace company in Vayrac, France for the signing of availability agreements. Diace SAS, an aluminium foundry company, has the distinction of having 5 volunteer fire-fighters out of a workforce of around 100 employees. Serge Rigal, President of the Departmental Fire and Rescue Service of the Lot (Sdis), accompanied by the top-class colonel Bernard Tachet des Combes, director of the Sdis, Lieutenant-Colonel Olivier Blanco, head of the grouping of territories and Captain Mickaël Desbruères, head of Utis Gourdon, joined by Christian Delrieu, departmental advisor and Loïc Lavergne-Azard, mayor of Vayrac, were welcomed at the company's headquarters. Matthieu Hede, president of the FMH group, surrounded by Isabelle Echalier,...
Chinese imports worth $12 billion under the scanner of India Govt., including Aluminium products
India reviews measures to restrict imports from China; it is dusting-up by raising basic customs duties on multiple products. This would begin with non-tariff measures, such as standard specifications for hundreds of items, in the medium term, as per the sources. However, the move is not distinctively China-specific and will apply to imports of the specified items from any country; but the impact of the decisions will be borne by China. As per the sources, Indian Government is assessing a list of 1,173 items that cover from auto-parts, aluminium die-cast products, compressors for AC, aluminium products, electrical machinery, etc. to zero in on products/ sub-products on which the import duties can be hiked. These items are mostly imported from China and can be substituted with local...
The significant rise of Italy’s aluminium scrap export during 2017-20
Italy has a diversified industrial economy, which is divided into a developed industrial north, dominated by private companies, and a less-developed, highly subsidized, agricultural south, where unemployment is high. Some of the major sources of income in Italy include the production of machinery, chemicals, automobiles and textiles. The Italian export of Aluminium scrap during 2017-19 has shown notable growth, as the total export volume stood at 301,268 tonnes and the revenue generation exhibited $313.76 million. The export for 2020 has been analysed for 131,482 tonnes and the income to rise at $143.51 million. When the projected export volume and income of 2020 get added with the preceding three years it reflects 432,750 tonnes and $457.27 million. The country’s aluminium scrap export...
