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's Metro Mining extends strategic partnership with Xiangsen Aluminium for bauxite supply until 2026
The Australian mining and exploration company Metro Mining Limited has extended the Strategic Cooperation Agreement with China's Xiamen Xiangsen Aluminium Limited (Xiangsen) for 1.5 million DMT per annum for 2 years until 2026. In addition, binding terms for the 2023 offtake component have been agreed upon, making the total binding offtake for 2023 5 million WMT. It was announced on November 25, 2022, that Metro would supply approximately 5 Million WMT of bauxite between 2022 and 2024 to Xiangsen Aluminium. This supply agreement has been extended by a further 3.4 million WMT over two years into 2026. The quality specification continues to be the Metro Blend. The 1.1 million WMT of offtake commitments by Xiangsen under previous and current agreements have been met. The 1.7 million WMT...
Russian aluminium producer Rusal discloses its updated corporate environmental policy
The Russian aluminium giant and the sole primary aluminium producer in Russia, RUSAL, revealed its updated corporate Environmental Policy. The Environmental policy sets the company goal as “Creating a fundamentally new approach to production to meet the principles of the green economy” and for this purpose, RUSAL will pursue leveraging the best available technologies and innovations, striving to harmonize the company's development while mitigating adverse environmental impacts. An essential fundamental of a green economy is decoupling economic growth from environmental impact. According to the updated Environmental Policy, this is the way Rusal will follow to build a brand-new class of sustainable metallurgical production. It will be accompanied by: The rational consumption of primary...
Indian Railways flagged off the first indigenously manufactured aluminium freight rake in quest for a green network
The statutory body under the ownership of the Ministry of Railways, Government of India, managing the fourth largest national railway system in the world, Indian Railways attains another milepost by securing its first indigenously manufactured aluminium goods train rake. Aluminium goods trains differ from previous ones because they're lighter but have more freight capacity than their predecessors. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw flagged it off in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha. The rake is 180 tonnes more lightweight than existing steel rakes, stemming in increased speed and lower power consumption for the same distance. The Indian Railways will save more than 14,500 tonnes of carbon with one rake that will reduce carbon emissions by 8 to 10 tonnes over its lifetime. The national transporter,...
Asian aluminium extrusion giant China Zhongwang Holdings declared bankrupt
The second-largest industrial aluminium extrusion product developer and manufacturer in the world and the largest in Asia, China Zhongwang Holdings Limited prospered in the 2000s along China’s resonating property sector, which created robust demand for its products in construction. In the wake of the economic slowdown, its overexpansion and leveraged asset purchases led to the collapse of its business. The Shenyang court approved the bankruptcy application filed by Zhongwang's creditors in September 2022. In an official announcement, the company said it had received notice that its 252 affiliates and parent company would undergo consolidated restructuring due to its inability to pay its debts. As of the end of March, Zhongwang had liabilities of Rmb459.8bn ($64bn) at its affiliates but...
Vedanta Board approves Balco expansion project worth $1 billion
The Indian multinational mining and metal giant Vedanta’s Board has approved the growth expansion project of its subsidiary Bharat Aluminium Company (Balco) at its meeting held on October 28, 2022. A revised cost of $ 72 million (INR 595 crore) has been assessed for expanding Balco's rolled product capacity to 180 KTPA from its existing 50 KTPA. Upon completion of this project, Balco will be placed in the high-premium product segment. Balco is equipped to deliver high quality rolled products in segments with application in automobiles, insulations, bus bars, power projects, electrical, packaging etc. The expansion of Balco's capacity from 580 KTPA to 994 KTPA will be accomplished through an expansion project of 414 KTPA smelter with an improved VAP portfolio at a revised cost of around $...
Dudley’s Aluminium secures major industrial site project of installing Metal Technology System in Ebbw Vale
The Cardiff-Welsh-based fabricator, Dudley’s Aluminium, had secured a significant project in Ebbw Vale, allying again with Jones Brothers (Henllan) Ltd. However, previously, the fabricator has worked with the town's leading construction, housing, and civil engineering company to create the TVR Showroom. An industrial unit of 52,582 square feet will be built on the Welsh Government's 30-acre Rhyd Y Blew site. A part of the Tech Valleys initiative, the RYB1 unit, which aims to capitalise on the opportunities arising from the 4.0 revolution, will incorporate manufacturing and production space, a two-storey open plan office, a service yard and a loading area. It will be built to be carbon-neutral when operating. The leading fabricator, Dudley’s Aluminium, will install Metal Technology System...
South32 expects to double its low-carbon aluminium production: Graham Kerr
The diversified miner and metal producer, South32, has maintained its outlook for a few commodities over the longer term, despite the decrease in base metal prices. Following the company's annual general meeting (AGM), Graham Kerr, the CEO, said, "In the company's longer-term, commodities such as copper, nickel, zinc and silver would pursue to play an essential role in decarbonising the world." "That demand will be super strong, and the reality is that supply over the last five or six years has been shrinking, and there has been a severe lack of investment and exploration. So we will see higher prices in the long-term, which will make the industry very attractive." Regarding South32’s outlook on further acquisitions in the base metals sector, Kerr pointed out that there were few...
Carbon-free aluminium to green projects, Apple Inc. on its way to net-zero
In March, Apple Inc. announced its first trial application of carbon-free aluminium smelting for the aluminium used in the iPhone SE 2022 and presently, low-carbon aluminium is applied in the production of the 16-inch MacBook Pro. Apple elucidates that increasing the device's energy efficiency can significantly shrink the carbon emissions generated during its use. The M1 chip, for example, is said to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by up to 34 per cent due to low power requirements per watt. On October 25, 2022, Apple Inc. stated it would go for new investments to build European solar and wind projects. The world-famous consumer electronics house advised its suppliers and traders to reduce the carbon content to zero in operations linked to manufacturing iPhones and other products. With...
Workers at Rio Tinto Gove operations will take industrial action over stalled wages
In protest over stalled pay negotiations, Rio Tinto workers at the Gove bauxite mining operation have planned to take industrial action. According to the union, workers have not been paid a raise in three years as the company has put off talks on a new enterprise agreement. Lloyd Pumpa, the United Workers union organiser, said, "All our members in Gove wanted out of this bargaining process was a few clauses tidied up and a reasonable wage increase afforded to them, at a mine which has constantly met or exceeded production targets for years." "Workers are completely fed up with the blown-out process”, Pumpa added. Pumpa said that protected industrial action across Gove operations was now ‘imminent’. Gove Operations in Australia’s Northern Territory has been supplying the global aluminium...
Netherlands pulls back some sanctions imposed on Russia, including those on aluminium
As a result of a geopolitical crisis between Ukraine and Russia, Russia has been subjected to numerous EU restrictions since February 2022. Our source from Europe unveiled that during the nine months of the crisis, the government in the Hague issued 91 decisions exempting individual entities from sanctions. There is often a benefit to more than one company from every decision made. Dutch ministries carry out the lifting of sanctions. 34 Russian ships carrying aluminium, among other things, were allowed to dock at Dutch ports by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Resources. A total of 25 permits were issued by the Ministry of Economy and Climate to Dutch firms working with former Gazprom companies owned by the German company SEFE Energy. Accordingly, the Ministry of Foreign Trade...
Sanctions against Russian aluminium company may lead to revenue losses for Jamaica
In the current fiscal year, the Jamaican Government estimates the value of mining and processing earnings from bauxite and alumina to be $507 million (JMD$77 billion), seven per cent more than the fiscal year 2020-2021. Jamalco is expected to reopen its operations in August 2022. The US and European sanctions linked to the Russia-Ukraine geopolitical crisis are again eyeing UC Rusal. This Russian aluminium conglomerate owns a major share of local alumina production, Windalco. Jamaica's mining and quarrying industry contracted by 62.5 per cent last year due to the fire that closed the Jamaica Alumina Company (Jamalco) plant in August 2021. Russian aluminium imports were expected to rebound, but now the US is considering restrictions. Other companies, such as US producer Alcoa, lobby for...
Dry bulk commodity trading house International Materials appoints Michael R. Kirby as Chief Financial Officer
On October 25, 2022, International Materials LLC (IMI), the dry commodity trading company sourcing and shipping raw materials globally, like bauxite, among others, announced the appointment of Michael R. Kirby as Chief Financial Officer, w.e.f. October 31, 2022. Kirby will succeed Dan O’Bryon, who stepped down from his position after seven years of service to IMI. Michael Kirby brings over 25 years of experience across the financial services, commodities, banking, and technology industries. He was in the U.S., London, and Hong Kong while holding Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer positions within Noble Group, James Alpha Liquid GSE, and RBS Sempra Commodities. However, he successfully led the divestment of four Noble Group businesses at Noble, three of which generated...
Hydro chief executive urges for sanctions on Russian aluminium in EU, US
On October 24, 2022, Hilde Merete Aasheim, the President and CEO of the Norwegian aluminium producer Norsk Hydro called on the United States and the European Union to halt importing Russian aluminium onto their territories. According to the Hydro chief, around half of Europe's primary aluminium production has been cut down due to the soaring energy costs following the Ukraine-Russian geopolitical crisis, and adversely, Russian aluminium production remained unaffected. Russia's sole primary aluminium producer, Rusal, produces around 6% of the world's aluminium. However, this metal has not been targeted by Western sanctions against Russia following the border crisis with Ukraine. The CEO said, "We want to urge sanctions in Europe and the US. Our European industry shuts down, while ... we...
Covid resurgence impacts on secondary aluminium shipments of Henan province
The resurgence of the Covid pandemic across China has significantly impacted secondary aluminium-producing companies in the Henan province. According to an SMM survey, the pandemic generally affected the production and shipment of secondary aluminium facilities in the local area. A company in Shangqiu City, Henan, focuses on remelted aluminium billets production with a capacity of 55,000 tonnes per year and a monthly output of 4,500 tonnes. It has maintained average production, but if the pandemic stretches, it may cut output for risk evasion in the following two months at a time when aluminium scrap prices are surging, and aluminium prices are volatile. In a Yongcheng-Henan-based facility, with a capacity of 110,000 tonnes of ADC12 secondary aluminium per year and a monthly output of...
Indonesian exports could surpass $300 billion by 2024, driven by bauxite and other commodity-based shipments
On October 24, 2022, Luhut Pandjaitan, the Coordinating Minister of Maritime and Investment Affairs Indonesia, stated that the island nation's export is anticipated to cross $300 billion by 2024 as the government is getting ready to ban bauxite exports, among other commodities, to encourage investment in local manufacturing sectors. He further added that exports could surpass a record $280 billion this year, with nickel-based steel shipments growing sharply after the country banned nickel ore exports. In contrast, loads of other commodities got a boost from high prices. Indonesia lacked alumina production due to a lack of infrastructure development. However, in 2015, Indonesia’s first alumina refinery started its commercial operations. The second phase of a China Hongqiao Group alumina...
Sanctions on Russian aluminium may drive several companies out of business: European industry associations
On October 24, 2022, five European industry associations stated that they had urged European authorities to stave off sanctions, tariffs or boycotts against Russian aluminium. Otherwise, it might create a situation where thousands of companies would go out of business, and develop unemployment. The Russian aluminium giant, Rusal's output is considered to be around 6% of the total world's aluminium production. However, this aluminium company has not been earmarked by western sanctions against Russia following the geopolitical crisis with Ukraine. Conversely, the United States is considering restrictions on Russian aluminium imports. In contrast, the world's biggest metal trade hub, the London Metal Exchange (LME), is asking members if it should ban Russian metal from its system. Although...
Covid impact, unlawful activities at logistics delivery drags down South32's aluminium sales
The global resources company, SOUTH32, stated that sales of aluminium and manganese from its South African operations shrank in the first quarter of its 2023 financial year due to port congestion and reduced third-party rail availability. In comparison with the previous quarter, aluminium sales dipped 18% to 162,000 tonnes, while manganese sales narrowed by 8% to 473,000 tonnes. As a result of Covid-19 absenteeism, a lack of parts and equipment, as well as constant theft and sabotage by criminal gangs, South Africa's state-owned rail and port operator Transnet has struggled to maintain volumes. In the past, South32 has trucked manganese from its mines in the Northern Cape. In the event of a decline in manganese prices, this route may be less effective, and there may be more disruption to...
Canyon Resources secures 'Certificate of Environmental Compliance' for its Minim-Martap bauxite project
The African-focused mineral exploration company Canyon Resources has been granted a 'Certificate of Environmental Compliance' (CEC) for its world-class Minim-Martap Bauxite Project by the Ministry of Environment. A detailed Environmental Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) was conducted by Canyon Resources (Canyon) through its 100% owned subsidiary Camalco S.A. The ESIA included extensive public consultation of multiple stakeholders and related communities. Jean-Sebastien Boutet, the Chief Executive Officer, said: “It is gratifying to see the steady progress occurring because of our rigorous and systematic approach. Signing the Certificate of Environmental Compliance is another demonstration of the momentum the company is building through our positive interaction with all stakeholders in...
