AlCircle News Edited By "Staff Editor"
MINO strengthens India’s aluminium rolling technology as domestic investment grows
India’s aluminium industry is moving to expand domestic production of higher-value flat-rolled products, with new investments in rolling capacity and specialised materials highlighting the growing importance of advanced processing technology. However, imports continue to supply a substantial share of the country’s flat-rolled aluminium requirements, leaving scope for further development of domestic manufacturing capabilities. The shift is visible in Hindalco Industries’ January 2026 commissioning of a 170,000-tonne-per-year flat-rolled products and battery-grade aluminium foil facility in Odisha. The project involved an investment of INR 45 billion (USD 490 million), while the company said nearly 40 per cent of India’s flat-rolled aluminium was being imported. Hindalco expects its...
PMB Technology bets $133m on silicon-aluminium alloys amid mounting silicon metal losses
PMB Technology Bhd plans to invest MYR 650 million (USD 133 million) in a silicon-aluminium alloy plant at Samalaju Industrial Park in Sarawak, Malaysia, as the group seeks to diversify its operations following prolonged weakness in its silicon metal business. The proposed facility is expected to be completed and begin commercial operations by the second quarter of 2027, subject to shareholder approval. The investment forms part of a restructuring plan that would redirect some of the group's existing power capacity towards silicon-aluminium alloy production while partially suspending silicon metal manufacturing. The move comes as PMB Technology faces mounting financial pressure from weak silicon metal prices and sluggish demand. By expanding into silicon-aluminium alloys, the company aims...
CIE Automotive India advances aluminium casting merger as NCLT waives shareholder meetings
CIE Automotive India Limited has begun dispatching notices to shareholders and unsecured creditors for its proposed merger with wholly owned subsidiary CIE Aluminium Casting India Limited, following an order from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Mumbai Bench, dated September 24, 2026. The merger would bring the aluminium casting subsidiary into the parent company’s corporate structure, with the board having approved the scheme on April 23, 2026. The company has cited operational efficiencies, economies of scale and synergies between the businesses as key reasons for the proposed amalgamation. Merger proceeds without new share issuance A key feature of the scheme is that CIE Automotive India will not issue new shares as consideration for the merger. As CIE Aluminium Casting India...
Cameroon to hold October hearings on proposed $2b alumina refinery
Public hearings on Camalco Cameroon’s proposed alumina refinery are scheduled for October 12–17, 2026. The company is a subsidiary of Australia-registered Canyon Resources. The hearings will examine the project's environmental and social impact assessment. The refinery is linked to the Minim-Martap bauxite deposit in the Adamawa Region. The Ministry of Environment, Nature Protection and Sustainable Development (MINEPDED) announced the hearings in a public notice. Meetings will take place in Ngaoundéré and Martap, with mobile teams visiting nearby communities. Residents will be able to review the assessment report and comment on the project's potential environmental and social effects. The hearings are part of the review process. They do not amount to a construction permit or a final...
Gränges Powder Metallurgy and partners develop 2 aluminium-scandium alloys, targeting 2027 demonstrators
Gränges Powder Metallurgy (GPM), PINT and the Institut de Recherche Technologique Matériaux, Métallurgie et Procédés (IRT M2P) are developing two aluminium-scandium alloys for Laser Beam Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-LB), a form of 3D printing. The partners expect to produce the first demonstrator components in 2027. The programmes are currently in development and testing. The alloys are designed for different uses, including high-temperature applications and equipment operating in hydrogen environments. Al-Si-Sc alloy targets high-temperature applications The first alloy, Al-Si-Sc, is designed for applications that require heat resistance and dimensional accuracy. It contains a high proportion of silicon, along with scandium and other alloying elements. The development builds on GPM’s...
Indonesia launches two aluminium plants as Weda Bay projects attract $10b
Indonesia has launched the development of two aluminium plants at Weda Bay as part of new industrial projects worth billions of dollars. President Prabowo Subianto announced the projects on Thursday and said the government was committed to protecting investments. The four projects launched at the industrial park are worth around USD 3 billion. Investment in six other projects is expected to reach around USD 7 billion, Investment Minister Rosan Roeslani said at the event. Among the companies investing in the projects are PT Weda Bay Aluminium, PT Guang Ching Nickel Cobalt and PT Flatsolar Energy Indonesia, according to the Investment Ministry. Explore the production, demand and consumption forecasts of bauxite and alumina in our report: " Global Bauxite & Alumina Market Forecast to 2036:...
Hindalco’s digital alumina tender tests a new route to price discovery
With only 10 per cent of globally traded alumina changing hands on the spot market, Hindalco is moving its tenders online in an effort to strengthen the evidence behind benchmark prices. For a commodity market where a relatively small number of transactions can influence prices across a much larger pool of long-term contracts, the quality of the underlying data matters. That is the challenge facing alumina, and Hindalco is now testing whether digital trading infrastructure can help address it. Hindalco is expected to conduct its first digital tender for metallurgical-grade alumina on Metalshub before the end of 2026. The physical cargo sold through the tender may be only part of the significance of the transaction. The more important outcome could be the structured market data generated...
Aluminium du Maroc’s revenue retreats, but profit refuses to follow with a 31% Y-o-Y increase in H1 2026
Aluminium du Maroc reported a 31 per cent year-over-year increase in H1 2026 net income to MAD 41.0 million (USD 4.11 million), even as consolidated revenue declined to MAD 603.7 million (USD 60.55 million) from MAD 650.1 million (USD 65.21 million). The Moroccan aluminium producer’s results point to a stronger profitability performance despite weaker top-line activity. Net income rose from MAD 31.3 million (USD 3.14 million) in H1 2025, while operating income also increased by 23 per cent to MAD 77.2 million (USD 7.74 million), according to AlphaMena. Profit growth outpaces revenue The divergence between revenue and profit was the key feature of Aluminium du Maroc’s H1 2026 performance. Revenue declined by around 7 per cent year over year, while net income increased by nearly one-third....
Golkonda Aluminium sales jump to $144.48m as Q2 swings to loss
Golkonda Aluminium Extrusions Limited saw its reported sales surge to INR 13.99 billion (USD 144.48 million) in the second quarter ended September 30, 2026, from INR 1.86 million (USD 19,208.92) a year earlier. The sharp rise in sales, however, did not translate into stronger profitability, with the company reporting a net loss of INR 0.321 million (USD 3,315.09) compared with net income of INR 0.471 million (USD 4,864.19) in Q2 2025. The same contrast carried into the first six months of the financial year. Golkonda Aluminium reported sales of INR 13.99 billion (USD 144.50 million) for the six months ended September 30, compared with INR 3.64 million (USD 37,591.66) a year earlier, while net income fell to INR 0.643 million (USD 6,640.50) from INR 2.13 million (USD 21,997.31). Sales...
Your next job could be on the Isle of Wight as Joedan creates 150 new positions
Joedan is investing more than GBP 4 million (approx USD 5.3 million) in a major expansion of its Isle of Wight operation, a move expected to create up to 150 new jobs, including 30 apprenticeships, as the company strengthens its manufacturing footprint. The expansion will include a new 25,000 sq ft manufacturing extension, additional machinery, warehousing, and a showroom at the company’s site on a 3.5-acre plot in Newport. Planning permission for the new manufacturing facility has already been secured. Investment supports UK manufacturing jobs Joedan founder John Purcaro said the company was prepared to invest at a time when the market remains challenging because of its long-term confidence in the Isle of Wight and the future of UK window and door manufacturing. “Not many businesses of...
Nespresso puts aluminium at the centre of capsule strategy, ends paper-based collection
Nespresso will shift its focus to its aluminium range from paper-based capsules, following customer feedback on shelf life and the overall product experience. The Nestlé subsidiary said the paper capsules were introduced as a pilot project to give customers another option. The company said its experience showed that aluminium provides better protection for freshly roasted coffee. Nespresso said, “ Our experience has reinforced more than ever that aluminium is the best option for optimally protecting the high quality of our freshly roasted coffee all the way to the cup. ” The company added, “ For this reason, we have decided to discontinue the Paper-Based Collection and focus our efforts on our aluminium range going forward. ” To learn the future of aluminium in the packaging industry,...
Civmec adds A$220m in contracts, expands work with Alcoa at Wagerup refinery
Civmec Limited has secured new contracts and extensions worth more than AUD 220 million (USD 153 million), including a construction contract for a gallium production plant at Alcoa’s Wagerup Alumina Refinery in Western Australia. The contracts are expected to be delivered across FY27 and FY28. The awards take Civmec’s order book to about AUD 1.5 billion (USD 1 billion). Civmec to build gallium plant at Wagerup Civmec will build the gallium production plant at Alcoa’s Wagerup Alumina Refinery. The project received a final investment decision in July 2026. Construction started in August following a groundbreaking ceremony. Civmec will carry out civil, structural, mechanical, piping, electrical and instrumentation works for the plant. The work also includes the process building, tanks,...
Arconic’s Iowa aluminum plant retains $50.1 million tax valuation after court appeal
Arconic’s massive aluminum rolling mill in Iowa will retain a property tax valuation of about $50.1 million after the Iowa Court of Appeals rejected the company’s challenge to the assessment. In a ruling filed October 7, 2026, a unanimous three-judge panel affirmed the lower court’s determination that the industrial complex in Scott County had an actual value of $50,102,085 as of January 1, 2023. The decision leaves the Riverdale portion valued at $47.62 million and the smaller Bettendorf parcel at approximately $2.48 million. The case centered on how one of the largest industrial facilities in the country should be valued for property tax purposes. A sprawling aluminum complex with two tax parcels Arconic’s Iowa aluminum rolling mill stretches roughly a mile from end to end across the...
Vietnam’s Lam Dong bauxite-aluminium chain expands as alumina output hits 1Mt, ingot production begins
Vietnam’s Lam Dong province is expanding its bauxite-aluminium production chain, with alumina output rising in the first nine months of 2026 and the launch of the country’s first aluminium ingot production at Nhan Co Industrial Park in July. Lam Dong’s industrial production index (IIP) increased 12 per cent in the first nine months of 2026 from the same period last year. The bauxite mining industry grew 19 per cent, while processing and manufacturing increased 19.4 per cent. Alumina production rises as aluminium ingot production begins Alumina production in the province reached an estimated around 1 million tonnes in the first nine months, up 1.7 per cent year on year. Third-quarter production was around 380,000 tonnes, an increase of 9.3 per cent. Vietnam produced its first aluminium...
Novelis produces first coil at Alabama's $5bn aluminum rolling and recycling plant
Novelis Inc. has produced the first coil on the cold mill at its $5 billion Greenfield aluminum recycling and rolling plant in Bay Minette, Alabama, marking a major commissioning milestone for one of the largest new US aluminum manufacturing investments in decades. The first-coil production moves the facility closer to customer qualification and commercial shipments, which Novelis said remain on track to begin in the second quarter of 2027. All assets required to commence commercial shipments are currently in the commissioning process. Novelis moves toward commercial production The Bay Minette facility is the first fully integrated aluminum recycling and rolling plant built in the United States in more than 40 years. Once fully operational, it will add 600 kilotonnes of annual rolled...
US alumina imports reach 712kt in H1 2026, up 2.7% despite Q2 decline
Alumina imports in the United States increased in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025, although imports fell sharply in the second quarter. Total imports reached 712,000 tonnes in H1 2026, up 2.7 per cent from 693,000 tonnes in H1 2025. The H1 2024 total was 495,000 tonnes. Imports in Q1 2026 reached 446,000 tonnes, up 32 per cent from 337,000 tonnes in Q1 2025. However, imports dropped to 266,000 tonnes in Q2 (a 25 per cent decline) from 356,000 tonnes in the same quarter a year earlier. Brazil remains the largest supplier Brazil remained the largest exporter of alumina to the US during the period covered by the data. Its shipments reached 568,000 tonnes in H1 2026, around 5 per cent increase from 542,000 tonnes in H1 2025. In H1 2024, Brazil supplied 430,000...
Hormuz crude flows recover, but aluminium, LNG and fertiliser face a slower return to normal
Middle East crude exports ended September at roughly their pre-conflict levels and exceeded them on several days, according to Reuters. However, the recovery is far less complete for other Gulf commodities. Diesel and gasoline shipments were running at 58 per cent of pre-conflict volumes, while LNG, fertiliser, aluminium and helium were recovering more slowly. The uneven rebound highlights why crude flows alone do not provide a complete picture of trade through the Strait of Hormuz. For commodities with lower margins, limited routing options or specialised infrastructure requirements, the cost of moving cargoes and repairing damaged facilities continues to weigh on supply. Crude can absorb the cost of moving through Hormuz Supertanker rates for voyages from the Middle East to China...
Ma’aden aluminium surge puts growth back in focus as stock trades at $17
Ma’aden’s aluminium business delivered strong revenue growth in Q2 2026 as higher realised prices lifted the segment, although weaker phosphate and ammonia guidance creates a mixed operating backdrop. Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden) saw aluminium revenue rise 49 per cent year on year to USD 1.01 billion in Q2 2026, with realised aluminium prices increasing 51 per cent to USD 3,915 per tonne. Read more about Maaden aluminium revenue jump in Q2 2026 The stronger aluminium performance provides the clearest quantified growth signal in Ma’aden’s latest operating picture. However, revised production guidance for phosphate and ammonia adds a counterweight as investors assess the company’s broader portfolio. Higher aluminium prices drive revenue growth The aluminium division produced...
