A should-cost analysis of an aluminium tower furnace in India: Comparing the economics of LPG, PNG, and electric energy sources
In precision non-ferrous casting and high-volume die-casting operations, thermal energy conversion represents one of the largest controllable operating expenses. In modern aluminium foundries, where margins are squeezed by primary metal price fluctuations and stringent customer cost breakdowns, even a modest INR 1–2/kg variance in liquid metal melting cost can translate into tens of lakhs of rupees in annual cost differences. A rigorous, transparent should-cost benchmark is therefore essential for procurement teams, foundry managers and strategic sourcing leaders. This analysis examines a baseline should-cost model for a 1,000 kg/hour aluminium shaft or tower furnace in an industrial foundry. It compares liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), piped natural gas (PNG) and electric energy across...
Germany’s construction aluminium demand falls 12%, but 2027 recovery and recycling offer fresh growth prospects
Germany’s construction industry has endured several years of contraction, weighed down by elevated financing costs, expensive building materials and subdued residential investment. The downturn has also affected the country’s aluminium industry, with estimated construction-related aluminium consumption declining by around 12 per cent between 2022 and 2025. However, the outlook is beginning to change. With Germany’s construction industry projected to return to growth in 2026 and accelerate further in 2027, opportunities are emerging for aluminium suppliers across residential construction, transport infrastructure, energy networks and commercial developments. At the same time, efforts to strengthen closed-loop aluminium recycling in buildings could provide an additional avenue for growth....
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Bell Bay Aluminium wants answers about Tasmanian energy crisis
Tasmania’s Bell Bay Aluminium says that energy shortages have taken a significant toll on the firm’s profit margins and is calling for an investigation regarding the state’s operating procedures, specifically why it was so catastrophic to the island’s energy supply when one power cable to the mainland was severed. Although recent heavy rains have done much to alleviate power shortages, Bell Bay’s general manager Ray Mostogl says it could be up to nine weeks before the smelter is back up to full capacity. He estimated that the company has lost between 7,000 and 9,000 metric tons, which at current market prices is between US$10 million and US$13 million. “For us the saving was the fact that we weren’t buying the energy and the raw materials, so there is an offset. But in any business you...
SHFE aluminium to lose rising momentum
SHFE 1607 aluminium will meet resistance at the 5-day and 40-day moving averages and move at RMB 11,950-12,200/mt on Friday on fading effect from falling aluminium stocks, SMM observed in an early morning forecast. LME aluminium will fluctuate at USD 1,540-1,560/mt, with resistance at the 60-day moving average. In China’s spot aluminium market, spot premiums of RMB 90-130/mt are expected over SHFE 1606 aluminium contract. Key macroeconomic indicators for base metal prices Base metals will lack ability to rise today. Value added at China’s large industrials is expected to grow in April as declines in profit at China’s SOEs narrowed further in April, but increase will slow compared with March. The figure due for release today should boost the market. US Q1 growth looks set to rise compared...
Altech receives $1.75 mln balance of proceeds from sale of E70/3923
Altech Chemicals Limited has confirmed the receipt of $1.75 million, being the balance of proceeds from the sale of its Meckering exploration licence E70/3923 to Dana Shipping and Trading S.A. (Dana). The funds will be applied towards finalising the detailed design of the company’s proposed high purity alumina (HPA) plant at Johor, Malaysia and for general working capital purposes. As announced on 9 May 2016, Altech reached agreement with Dana for the sale of its Meckering exploration licence E70/3923 for $2.0 million cash. A cash deposit of $250,000 was paid on 9 May 2016 and the $1,750,000 balance of sale proceeds has now been received. E70/3923 was surplus to the company’s feedstock requirements for its proposed Malaysian high purity alumina plant. Feedstock for the plant will be...
Jamaica was denied $625 mln in bauxite levy payments due to govt "slackness"- says minister
Minister of Finance and the Public Service Audley Shaw says that Jamaica was denied $625 million in bauxite levy payments last December due to the “slackness” of the previous Government. Shaw, in closing the 2016/17 Budget Debate yesterday in Gordon House, spoke about the loss to the country when he addressed the issue involving the ailing Noranda Bauxite in St Ann, which is in discussions with the Government over waiving its levy payments following an application for bankruptcy by its US parent company in the United States. Shaw said that former Minister of Finance and Planning Dr Peter Phillips, “apparently allowed” the US$5 million (J$625 million) letter of credit, which was issued on behalf of Norando to pay the Government of Jamaica the company’s bauxite levy, to expire last December...
CannaKorp chooses aluminium over unrecyclable plastic for its pod-based vapouriser
CannaKorp, a start-up based in Stoneham, Massachusetts, is preparing to put a single-use pod-based marijuana vapourizer on the market. Just as the coffee company vertically integrated its distribution system, CannaKorp will produce the vaporizer and partner with legally authorized growers to fill the pods. Each CannaCup contains between 0.25 grams and 0.4 grams of ground cannabis flower and will cost about $5 or $6, depending on the strain. Once the pod is inserted, the vaporizer, called a CannaCloud, heats the marijuana without burning it. Within one minute, the portable canister fills up with vapour, which users can then inhale. The prescribed dose of marijuana is recommended by doctors for the treatment of anxiety related disorders. The company has opted for aluminium pods, making the...
Detroit aluminium pile that rattled beer makers is vanishing
A mountain of aluminium that upset beer makers and drew the attention of the U.S. Senate is no more. Inventories held in London Metal Exchange-tracked warehouses in Detroit, where most U.S. metal is stored, were as large as 1.6 million metric tons two years ago. Now they’re a fraction of that amount and equal to just two weeks’ worth of U.S. demand. The drawdown has helped cut global stockpiles monitored by the LME to a seven-year low. As the pile is disappearing, so are the lengthy waits to withdraw metal. The backlogs boosted premiums that buyers usually pay to secure supplies. The inflated costs drew scrutiny from lawmakers amid complaints from consumers including MillerCoors LLC, a user of aluminium in drink cans. In response, the LME strengthened its oversight of more than 600...
Auto makers’ aluminium orders fall short of expectations, says Novelis CEO
Auto makers are still ordering aluminium for their cars, but not as much as hoped, the chief executive of one of the world’s top aluminium companies said in an interview. “The market got a little bit ahead of itself,” said Steve Fisher, who last year took over as CEO of Novelis, maker of over half the world’s automotive sheet aluminium. The announcement by Ford Motor Co. a couple of years ago that it would make its best-selling F-150 out of the metal had aluminium executives salivating and predicting an avalanche of new orders. But as steelmakers countered with new lightweight steels and lower oil prices lessened the push for lighter cars, auto makers have been hesitant to convert more vehicles to aluminium, and the metal is still niche compared with steel. Instead, said Mr. Fisher,...
Ultrasonic metal welder improves aluminium bus bar assembly
Established in 1917, LEONI AG is a global supplier of wires, optical fibers, cables, cable systems and related services for the automotive industry. Based in Nuremberg, Germany, the company operates 24 manufacturing facilities worldwide, and its product offerings range from single-core automotive cables to complete wiring systems. Traditional ultrasonic welding has been performed at select LEONI plants for a few years. However, torsional ultrasonic welding (TUW) is only done at one plant, located in Arad, Romania. There LEONI has been operating a fully automated cell for welding solid aluminium bus bars since early 2014. British automaker Jaguar uses the bus bars, instead of copper cables, to significantly reduce the weight and cost of its F-TYPE sports car. Each bus bar conducts...
Snap lock aluminium roofing panels selected for Queensland Waters Residence project
Snap lock aluminium roofing panels from ZC Technical were selected by the architect, Jared Poole Design for the Paradise Waters Residence project. The client, who was provided with several roofing options, worked with the architect to select the best fit for the residence. ZC Technical’s high quality snap lock panels were finalised based on the outstanding aesthetics of the roofing solution. The client was also particular about selecting only those materials that met extremely high quality standards. ZC Technical provided a custom roofing solution, working with aluminium to create the 1200m² roof complete with gutter and downpipes to achieve the desired finish expected by the client. The panels were chosen in a matt grey finish to keep the palette neutral, fully complementing the...
CORSAIR launches Portable Gaming Control Center built from anodized, brushed aluminium
CORSAIR, a world leader in enthusiast memory, PC components and high-performance gaming hardware today announced the release of its eagerly anticipated BULLDOG 4K living room PC kit and anodized-aluminium built LAPDOG portable gaming control center. BULLDOG compresses high-end desktop PC performance into a form factor fit for living room experience, supporting liquid cooling for both the processor and graphics card to deliver true 4K performance. LAPDOG is the perfect companion for BULLDOG, elevating precision desktop peripherals to an un-matched comfort level. Together, BULLDOG and LAPDOG deliver the un-rivalled 4K PC Gaming experience for next-generation gamers. Built from anodized, brushed aluminium LAPDOG feels as good as it looks, and with a huge removable memory foam lap cushion is...
Demand for lighter auto parts propels Alucast
Major opportunities in the automotive sector are promising to help a leading Black Country manufacturer hit the £10m sales mark over the next two years. Alucast, a specialist supplier of sand gravity and aluminium pressure castings, is targeting £3m of new product introductions after impressing car markers and tier1s with its quality and technical expertise. Backed by MAGMASOFT® software, the company has been able to take a greater role in designing and prototyping lightweight structural parts and this has already led to £500,000 of work for a niche vehicle manufacturer. It has also used the expansion to enhance its management team by appointing Martin Haynes as Quality and Technical Director, responsible for delivering world-class performance and new model introductions. “There is a real...
Magna announces new aluminium casting facility in the UK
Magna International Inc. today announced it will build a new world-class aluminium casting facility in Telford, United Kingdom, to support Jaguar Land Rover, the UK's leading vehicle manufacturer. The new facility is expected to be approximately 225,000 square feet and will create up to 295 jobs at full capacity. Working with the UK Trade & Investment and the Automotive Investment Organization, along with financial support from the UK Government's Regional Growth Fund, helped to secure this project. Construction is expected to start in the autumn of 2016. Once production begins in 2018, the facility will use Magna's innovative high-pressure vacuum die casting process to produce a number of advanced lightweight aluminium castings– a key building block in the next generation all-aluminium...
USGS: Recovery of aluminium from scrap up 0.9% YTD in Feb 2016
The Aluminum Association publishes the most recent release of the U.S. Geological Survey‘s Aluminum Mineral Industry Survey. Data provided below was included in the May 4th release (February data): New can stock (class) scrap receipts totalled 54.8 million pounds during April 2016, a rise of four-tenths of one percent over the April 2015 total of 54.6 million pounds. Compared to the previous month, class scrap receipts decreased 10.9 percent from the March 2016 total of 61.6 million pounds. Year-to-date class scrap receipts through April 2016 totalled 227.1 million pounds, up 2.7 percent over the 2015 year-to-date total of 221.2 million pounds. Secondary Aluminium Recovery Up 0.9 percent YTD in February 2016 The U.S. aluminium industry purchased an estimated 746 million pounds of...
Warning signs appear in aluminium prices, SMM reports
For those who are still bullish over aluminium prices, buyers need to watch out that the wind might begin to change direction soon for the light metal, which has proved to be the bright spot among base metals over the past few months, Shanghai Metals Market warns. SHFE 1607 aluminium, the most active one, tumbled again after briefly touching 12,500 yuan per tonne. The contract ended down 1.83 per cent at 12,060 yuan per tonne on May 25. It appears weird that steadily falling aluminium stocks, limited output supply, and expanding premiums in domestic spot market, should have given boost to aluminium prices. Then, what caused the recent tumble? SMM learns that some Chinese aluminium smelters will resume production in June, sparking fear that more smelters will follow suit. Meanwhile,...
India to merge underground coal mines to deploy longwall mining methods
To facilitate the induction of modern mining technology and equipment, India’s Coal Ministry is looking at merging underground mines in the same geographies and moving away from a trend of converting underground mines to opencast ones. An official in Coal India Limited’s (CIL’s) technical consultancy arm, Central Mine Planning and Design Institute Limited, said that one of the biggest impediments to modernising underground mines was that the country did not have large areas of contiguous underground coal deposits, which made it difficult to deploy longwall mining technology. Longwall mining methods were introduced through ambitious projects in the 1970s and 80s, but failed to achieve the desired results, owing to the fragmented nature of underground coal deposits. The official said that...
SHFE aluminium to fall as shorts gain upper hand, SMM surveys
SHFE 1607 aluminium will test support at the 60-day moving average and will move at RMB 11,900-12,050/mt today, SMM observed in an early morning forecast. LME aluminium will move at lows of USD 1,540-1,560/mt, despite crude oil breaking through USD 50/bbl. In China’s spot aluminium market, spot premiums of RMB 90-130/mt are expected over SHFE 1606 aluminium contract. Key macroeconomic indicators for base metal prices US durable orders and pending home sales in April will be announced today. Base metals are expected to follow their own trends today. US April pending home sales are expected to fall sharply from March. US home prices climbed recently, though, while housing starts and construction permits in April both increased. New and existing home sales were also upbeat in April, meaning...
Freeze on Pahang bauxite mining possibly extended again, minister says
The moratorium on bauxite mining in Kuantan, Pahang, may be extended until all conditions set by the authorities are adhered to, according to Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar. The New Straits Times (NST) quoted him as saying that the conditions include adherence to standard operating procedures on bauxite transportation, designated routes and management of stockpile sites. "I will present the findings to the Cabinet so that a decision can be made, the minister was quoted saying in a reply to PKR Kuantan Fuziah Salleh in Parliament yesterday. The moratorium was supposed to end last month, but was extended for another three months until July 15 to allow more time for relevant stakeholders to clear their remaining stockpiles. Wan Junaidi said...
Guinea overtakes Malaysia as China’s second largest bauxite supplier in April
Guinea beat Malaysia as the second largest bauxite supplier to China, marking a significant change in supplier structure. Imports of the aluminium smelting raw material look set to grow in the future, SMM predicts. Shandong Xinfa Group plans to import 2-3 million tonnes of bauxite from Guinea this year. Customs data showed China imported 900,000 tonnes of bauxite from Guinea in April, down just 4% from March. Imports from Malaysia tumbled 68.8 per cent year-on-year and 51.6 per cent month-on-month as the country has extended ban on bauxite mining by another three months. China’s bauxite imports totalled 4.41 million tonnes in April, down 5.93 per cent from a year ago and 13.8 per cent from March.
