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.
Australia unfolds anti-dumping probes into Chinese aluminium
Australia has set in motion three anti-dumping investigations into Chinese export and it includes aluminium, as per records from the Australian Anti-Dumping Commission, adding weight to Beijing’s claims that Canberra has played a lead role in abating up trade tensions between the two nations. The Chinese government has maintained its investigation was thorough and reasonable, with Commerce Minister Zhong Shan pointing out early this week that Australia had launched 100 anti-dumping cases against China since diplomatic relations began in the 1970s, including three in 2020. Australian Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said: “Trade remedy investigations were not about keeping a tally or doing things in a tit-for-tat way”. The Australian Dumping Commission in February’20 kicked-off its first...
Nexans secures major sub-sea HVDC cable contract from Greece’s Ariadne Interconnection S.P.S.A
Nexans has secured a major contract to design, manufacture and install a 335 km subsea high voltage direct current (HVDC) cable system for Ariadne Interconnection S.P.S.A, owned 100% by IPTO, Greece’s state grid operator. The interconnection will link the electricity network on mainland Greece to Crete. The project will deliver security of supply for the island and enables the transition from fossil fuel generation to renewable wind and solar energy resources. Crete is the largest of the Greek islands, with a population of around 700,000 people. It also attracts over 4 million visitors a year, mainly during the summer. The island currently relies mainly on out-dated fossil fuel generation. The new submarine cable interconnection will ensure that Crete has a reliable power supply essential...
COVID-19 impact: US aluminium’s unfavorable price baffle as premium collapses
The hardest-hit industrial metals by the COVID-19 epidemic are Aluminium. The London Metal Exchange (LME) reflected the price slammed a four-year low of $1,455 per tonne in April’20 and is brawling to recover, as the last trading marked at $1,525. Inventory has spewed, with 663,475 tonnes of metal placed on LME warrant since the middle of March’20, raising headline exchange stocks to a three-year high of 1,493,775 tonnes. COVID-19 has squeezed both demand and price with a unified producer supply response requirement. The strapped global market dynamics look even worse in North America, where the physical premium has imploded since March’20. So severe has been the collapse that aluminium could be facing its own WTI oil moment with the premium turning negative. In actuality, contrary the...
Bahamas import of Aluminium structures displays positive trend during 2017-20
The Bahamas is comprised of 700 islands and over 2000 rocks and cays, sprinkled over 100,000 square miles of ocean. The Bahamas has a predominantly market economy that is heavily dependent on tourism and international financial services. The gross national product (GNP) per capita is one of the highest in the region. The most important economic sector is financial services, which places the Bahamas among the world's leading financial centres. Major industries include tourism, banking, cement, oil refining and transhipment, salt production, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, and spiral-welded steel pipe. The island nation’s aluminium structures import has shown a steady move during 2017-19 as the total import volume has been recorded at 1967 tonnes and foreign revenue expended stood at $16.88...
Constellium delivers Aluminium Auto Body Sheet for the new Toyota Corolla in Europe
Constellium SE made published today that it delivers Auto Body Sheet for the new Toyota Corolla produced at Toyota’s European manufacturing plants. Constellium was recommended as the solitary supplier of Auto Body Sheet for the hood of the new Corolla, produced at the automaker’s facilities in Burnaston, UK, and Arifiye, Turkey. This is for the first time Toyota is using aluminium for this series on its European production lines. Dieter Höll, Vice President of Global Automotive Rolled Products at Constellium Said: “We are very proud of this successful collaboration with Toyota and are honoured to be supplying one of the world’s best-selling vehicles. Toyota and Constellium have partnered for many years to develop innovative aluminium solutions for Toyota’s new models, tailored to their...
Bauxite shipping line in Guinea appoints Bernt Christensen as new Chairman of Guinea Shipping Corporation
Guinea Shipping Corporation (GSC) has announced the appointment of Bernt Meldgaard Christensen as the company’s new executive chairman. Christensen succeeds his brother Henrik, who founded the company in 2010 and passed away recently. Christensen said: “Henrik had the vision to build a shipping line for Guinea; that also provides a platform to help develop the country’s maritime industry. I will carry on with that work and strengthen our ties with Guinea’s maritime sector to help local people build careers as international seafarers.” GSC has appointed Paul Bevan as its director in Hong Kong. GSC plans to deliver a range of marine logistics services for several new mining companies that are starting production in Guinea in 2020 and 2021. GSC is committed to starting a training ship for...
Amid “Corona” crisis: Malaysian Aluminium Co. Press Metal to focus on upstream and smelting operations for future trend
Multiple industries including automobile, aviation and construction have been catastrophically affected, accordingly diminishing the demand for aluminium that is hugely used in these industries. Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd will be focusing on its upstream investments and expansion of its smelting operation as building blocks for its future amid the current tumultuous economic environment created by the Covid-19 epidemic and US-China trade dispute. In its recently published 2019 Annual Report, Press Metal acknowledged the challenges that the company would face this year due to the epidemic that continues to hit hard the market today. Press Metal said: “Our upstream investments and smelting operation expansion are the building blocks towards our future growth. We are confident that...
The rapid rise of Croatian export of Aluminium cans during 2017-19: Estimated de-growth by 65.68% for 2020
Croatia is a country in Southeast Europe. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro to the southeast, sharing a maritime border with Italy. The Croatian economy is one of the strongest economies in Southeast Europe. The industrial sector with exports of over €10 billion annually is dominated by shipbuilding which accounts for over 10% of exported goods. Food processing and chemical industry also account for significant portions of industrial output and exports. The industrial sector represents 27% of Croatia's total economic output while agriculture represents 6%. The industrial sector is responsible for 25% of Croatia's GDP. The aluminium cans export market of Croatia during 2017-19 has shown a rapid rise as...
ALCORE to start production of aluminium fluoride at Bell Bay, as CSIRO result sends positive note
Tasmania will be hosting the southern hemisphere's first production of lucrative aluminium fluoride. The project can crop up the possibilities to deliver an annual revenue stream of about $20 million, and that too before its potential expansion. The initiatives for a production facility at Bell Bay were augmented by the recent results of chemical analysis from The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), an Australian federal government agency responsible for scientific research. ALCORE Limited is an 89% owned subsidiary of Tasmanian miner Australian Bauxite Limited. It stated: “CSIRO laboratory results showed aluminium fluoride produced by its research centre in New South Wales was of commercial chemical grades.” ALCORE said: “Its method involved the world's...
RUSAL enters on production of aluminium anodes with enhanced performance attributes for oil and gas and shipbuilding industries
RUSAL a leading global aluminium producer made public that it has started producing anodes for cathodic protection (CP) for the oil and gas, shipbuilding and other heavy industries to protect critical structures and metal objects from corrosion. The move forms part of RUSAL’s strategy to produce more value-added products (VAP) from aluminium alloys with enhancing performance attributes. The anodes will be manufactured at the Volgograd aluminium smelter. The smelter will produce five types of anodes from Zn-Mn aluminium alloy, which delivers upgraded product performance and long-lasting protection of metal objects from corrosion in hostile and challenging operating environments. The initial capacity of the site will be 50 tonnes per month; however, this can be increased if demand for the...
Altech Chemicals: Growth of lithium-ion batteries industry has given the wrong space to some producers to use low-grade alumina
Altech Chemicals has delivered a positive outcome from high purity alumina research activities administered by Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. The Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems (IKTS) of Dresden, Germany, specializes in lithium-ion battery research. This research focused on assessing how impurities, such as sodium, leach from lower quality alumina (sub-4N), and boehmite into a battery electrolyte solution. This is a cause of lithium-ion battery thermal truant, inefficiency, and life cycle reduction. As the lithium-ion battery industry continues to diversify, some producers have opted for cheaper low-grade alumina and boehmite as a coating material for battery separators. Results from Fraunhofer's test work have uncovered previously unrecognized contamination and...
Lindian Resources Managing Director Shannon Green resigns within 12 months of his term
Lindian Resources’ Managing Director Shannon Green has resigned from the company and stated due to personal reasons. Still, he will remain at the company until the end of June’20 to ensure a smooth leadership transition. Shannon joined Lindian Resources only 12 months ago from bauxite development company Canyon Resources, where he was General Manager of Position Implementation. In this role, he played an important part in the development of the Minim Martap Bauxite Project in Cameroon. Green has over 20 years of resource development and mining operations experience, having managed several world-class project developments and mines in Australia. Shannon has also had extensive experience working in Guinea, having held the role of General Manager of Project Delivery with Alliance Mining...
Solar-mounting systems manufacturer Schletter Group moves to larger site in China
Schletter Group, the international manufacturer of solar-mounting systems, made of aluminium and other metal components remains on a growth course. With the relocation of its Shanghai site to a new plant, the company is remarkably expanding its production capacities in China. Florian Roos, CEO of the Schletter Group said: "At our new location, which is perfectly tailored to our requirements, we now have the capacities we need for our growing business. In the new plant, which spans approximately 18,000 square meters, about 400 Schletter employees will from now on manufacture solar-mounting systems for the global market and the new plant also offers us room for potential future expansion." Since 2010, the Schletter Group has maintained its production site in Shanghai. Roos added: "Due to...
AAI seeks price correction in REC to shun burden on Aluminium Industry
The Aluminium Association of India (AAI) seeks the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) to at once look into the distorted market of Renewable Energy Certificates (REC) which, according to it, is stemming an artificial demand and price surge in the power exchange. AAI vice-chairman Rahul Sharma said: “The association feels that it is apparent that the prices of Solar RECs in the last one year have shot up by more than 125% from INR 1000/MWhr to INR 2250/MWhr, putting an additional burden of INR 1.25/kwh of RE energy compliance for all consumers.” “This huge burden on the consumers is due to non-revision of REC prices since 2017 by the regulator, despite a steep fall in RE generation costs.” In a recent representation to the CERC, the AAI said, "There is an acute shortage of...
Nigeria’s aluminium foil importation market transforming to a multi-million dollar industry during 2017-20
Nigeria has overtaken South Africa as Africa’s largest economy and with over 200 million people, it is the largest market in the continent. The economy of Nigeria is a middle-income, mixed economy and emerging market, with expanding manufacturing, financial, service, communications, technology and entertainment sectors. It is ranked as the 27th-largest economy in the world in terms of nominal GDP, and the 24nd-largest in terms of purchasing power parity. The West-African nation’s aluminium foil importation during 2017-19 has been showing a rapid growth as the import was recorded at 10,505 tonnes and the expenditure occurred stood at $42.57 million. The projection for 2020 import has been analysed at 11,711 tonnes and the expenditure might rise to $36.71 million. When the analysed import...
Ningbo Xusheng Auto: To start construction of production plant for light-weight aluminium alloy auto parts
Shanghai-listed Ningbo Xusheng Auto Technology stated that it plans to invest 1.92 billion Yuan into the construction of an intelligent automation production plant, designed with an annualised capacity of 10 million light-weight aluminium alloy auto parts. Ningbo Xusheng Auto Technology Co., Ltd. is a China-based company majorly engaged in the research, development, manufacture and sales of die-cast precision aluminium alloy auto parts and industrial parts. The project, adapting to the development of new energy vehicles and lightweight market, will be equipped with automatic production lines for die casting, extrusion, and machining. Process technologies such as smelting, die casting, extrusion and machining will be adopted. Construction of the project will be starting in July’20 and...
Metro Mining: “Keeps an eye” on the market forth Bauxite Hills Mine expansion stage-2
Metro Mining Ltd continues to watch closely the market situations forth deciding to formally proceed with stage-2 expansion at the Bauxite Hills Mine in Far North Queensland in Australia. In April’20, the company was instructed by the Queensland Treasury that the Queensland State Government would not exercise its veto right regarding the Metro Mining Bauxite Hills Mine Expansion proposal and supports its progression to the loan documentation stage. This is one of the last key milestones for the facility and Metro is now well advanced in satisfying all remaining CPs and reaching the financial close of the facility. The timing for the formal commitment to stage-2 is being influenced by the uncertainty over the outlook for global growth and associated weakness in aluminium and alumina prices...
Nova Scotia ventilator project: A vital breakthrough attained for COVID-19 medication
Nova Scotia Ventilator Consortium initiated the project more than two months ago to support any vacuum for a breathing apparatus the COVID-19 pandemic might create. The ventilator is now ready if a second wave of the pandemic impacts the province in the fall. A thoroughly functional mechanical ventilator is anticipated to be submitted to Health Canada for certification and approval in the forthcoming days, marking the latest breakthrough for the Nova Scotia group that created it from scratch if their requirement that might arise from provincial hospitals. Doug Milburn, Vice-President of Protocase, is a member of the consortium that also consists of Dr Chris Milburn, respiratory technician Bruce Morrison, Halifax Company Enginuity Inc., Advanced Glazings, Nova Scotia Power Makerspace, Cape...
