AL Circle Analysis: US scrap imports hit 580kt as China slips 3.2%, who drives aluminium recycling?
Aluminium scrap is no longer a side story in the metal’s market. Rather, aluminium’s next standoff is over scrap. As US imports surge 37 per cent while China’s purchases decline, manufacturers in Europe and India are confronting a common challenge of securing affordable, reliable raw materials. With recycling rates, trade barriers and low-carbon production reshaping market, the global industry faces a critical question: who will control the metal that powers its circular future? Join the fourth edition of the webinar "Hedging for recyclers - Become an expert in 6 hours" by Jorge Dyszel. A 1.1-billion-tonne stockpile: US stocks up, China steps back, India asks for access The US imported 580,000 tonnes of aluminium scrap worth USD 2.07 billion in H1 2026 , with Canada accounting for 63.62...
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...
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About 57% of Chinese aluminium smelters expect aluminium prices to stabilize this week
About 57 per cent of the 46 Chinese aluminium smelters surveyed by SMM expect aluminium prices to stabilize this week. Those neutral players see SHFE 1607 aluminium at RMB 12,600-12,850/mt and LME aluminium at USD 1,650-1,670/mt, citing several reasons. First, the price spread between SHFE 1606 and 1605 aluminium contracts expanded to RMB 25/mt. This left suppliers eager to sell, while downstream producers refrained from buying at higher prices, limiting upside room in spot prices. Spot discounts did not expand, offering support to SHFE aluminium. Second, some longs took profit last week, and the rest longs will probably take profit as well if SHFE aluminium rises to higher levels again. SHFE 1607 aluminium will meet strong resistance at RMB 12,850/mt. On the other hand, long buying was...
Chhattisgarh to auction two bauxite mines in the second phase
The success of the first phase of mines auction held in February this year has encouraged Chhattisgarh government to go ahead with a second phase of auctioning. This time, the state government is planning to put 10 more mines carrying limestone and bauxite deposits for auction. Of the 10 mines, eight contain limestone deposits, and the remaining two are bauxite mines. The bauxite mines spread over Sarguja area are crucial for the state’s industrial growth. In February this year, the state government had auctioned four mines, including three limestone and one gold mine. The state exchequer had garnered INR 4000 crore through the auction. Under the amended Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2015, that came into force last year, states have been powered to auction...
China turns to Guinean bauxite against Malaysia ban
Chinese buyers have turned to Guinea for bauxite after Malaysia extended ban on bauxite mining by another three months. Imports from Guinea soared 189 per cent month-on-month to 937,000 tonnes in March, of which 93.7 per cent were imported by China Hongqiao Group alone, customs data showed. Some alumina producers in Shandong resumed production after alumina prices rebounded, boosting demand for imported bauxite. With more alumina producers restarting idled capacity, China’s bauxite imports will continue growing in the future, SMM expects. According to China Customs, China imported 5.11 million tonnes of bauxite in March, up 58.6 per cent from February and 16.08 per cent from a year ago. Average CIF price of China’s bauxite imports was $47.54 per tonne in March, down 14.3 per cent...
Emerald Automotive to manufacture extended-range electric van on aluminium chassis in the UK
Britain is all set to become home to the world’s first ever mass-produced extended-range electric delivery van this year. The Emerald T-001, expected to debut late next year, will be built exclusively on an aluminium chassis, reported sources close to the vehicle manufacturer. Based around a range-extender powertrain, the Emerald T-001 combines a 66-mile EV range with the ability to deal with a 1400kg payload arranged on three standard pallets. The technology opens the way for zero-emissions deliveries in towns and cities to arrive at a time when the annual average mileage of light commercial vehicles (LCVs) is growing dramatically due to the significant consumer shift towards internet shopping. Emerald Automotive is owned by Chinese car maker Geely, which also owns Volvo and London Taxi...
Japanese firms ramping up automotive aluminium offerings
Two major Japanese metals companies are planning to expand their aluminium offerings to take advantage of the emerging trend in consumer vehicle lightweighting for improved fuel efficiency. Kobe Steel is planning to spend approximately US$93 million to assemble aluminium plants in the United States and the People’s Republic of China. The plants will make extruded aluminium for use in automotive body parts like bumpers as well as frame parts. The plant to be built in the US and finished next year will be the firm’s first offshore integrated production complex. The Kentucky plant will merge the continuing casting process with the extrusion process in one facility. The firm’s plants will turn out aluminium parts that are stronger than material currently used in automobile manufacture, but up...
Ford recycling creates 30,000 F-150 bodies worth of aluminium every month
A recent publication on the consumption of aluminium by auto industry showed that Ford produces about 20 million pounds (9 million kg) of aluminium stamping scrap per month, which is recycled as a part of the company's closed loop recycling system and goes on to provide parts for the F-150. Opting for aluminium over steel in new automobile construction is the best way to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions, according to Oak Ridge National Lab. Recycled aluminium avoids 95 per cent of the greenhouse gas emissions associated with primary aluminium production. It uses significantly less energy and water – another reason Ford F-150 leads the full-size truck pack in terms of lifetime carbon footprint, according to Automotive Science Group. Ford recycling closed loop system: • First,...
LME aluminium to meet resistance
LME aluminium will meet resistance and move at USD 1,660-1,680/mt on Tuesday, with crude oil prices down due to profit-taking. SHFE 1606 aluminium will move at RMB 12,650-12,750/mt, with support at the 10-day moving average and resistance at the 5--day moving average. In China’s spot aluminium market, spot discounts of RMB 0-20/mt and spot premiums of RMB 0-20/mt are expected over SHFE 1605 aluminium contract. Key macroeconomic indicators for base metal prices The LME market will be closed today due to the bank holiday. China’s official manufacturing PMI was 50.1 in April, down 0.1 from March. Large producers posted a 0.5 drop. Production index and new order index also fell. The weakening US dollar index drove up base metals. US non-farm employment data due for release this Friday are...
Aluminium stocks fall sharply in China major markets
Aluminium stocks continued falling significantly in China’s five major markets, SMM reports. SMM learned from many warehouses that load-out shipments, though down slightly, were still higher than load-in shipments, allowing stocks to fall steadily. SMM expects aluminium stocks in these five regions to continue falling in May. The table below shows details of aluminium stocks at China’s five major markets: Unit: 1,000 tonne
Alba reports Q1 results: Collapse of all-in-aluminium prices eats into top-line and earnings
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba) announced the release of its first quarter of 2016 results on Monday, May 2, 2016. Commenting on Q1 2016 Results, the Chairman of Alba’s Board of Directors, Daij Bin Salman Bin Daij Al Khalifa: “Despite weak market sentiment coupled with low LME prices, Alba still recorded positive Net Income. Line 6 continues to gain momentum and we look forward to work with Bechtel who got recently appointed as EPCM contractor.” Q1 2016 Industry Highlights: • World consumption up by 5 per cent YoY while world production up by 1 per cent YoY • Q1 2016 cash-average was $1,515/t down by 16 per cent YoY • Significant drop in global physical premiums • LME inventories at 2.8 million metric tonnes (mt) in March Q1 2016 Alba Highlights: • Continuous improvement in safety...
Alcoa reaches power agreement to improve competitiveness of Intalco smelter
Lightweight metals leader Alcoa today announced it has reached an agreement with the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) that will help improve the competitiveness of its Intalco aluminium smelter. As a result, the smelter will not curtail at the end of the second quarter as previously announced by the company. The amendment to the power contract is effective July 1, 2016 through February 14, 2018 and provides for additional access to market power during this period. This short-term amendment with BPA, combined with the state of Washington’s $3 million budget proviso for workforce training, are key factors in helping Intalco remain competitive. Alcoa thanks Governor Inslee; its federal delegation led by Senators Murray and Cantwell, and Representatives DelBene and Larsen; the state...
Chinese alumina holds steady with no refining capacity restarts happening yet
Chinese domestic alumina prices continued their positive run in 2016, up 1.3 per cent (RMB25/t) to RMB1,989/t (US$306/t including VAT) in the north and up marginally, by 0.8 per cent (RMB15/t), to RMB1,880/t (US$290/t including VAT) in the south, revealed data released by Bauxite Index for the week ended April 29. No alumina refining capacity restarts were detected during the week. According to Bauxite Index, currently China’s refining industry is running at 71 per cent utilisation.
Bauxite prospectors signs mine pact without ministry
An agreement between AU Capital Mining and Iron Mountain Mining was done outside the government’s normal process, without the input from the Ministry of Mines. Both are Australian companies and are eying bauxite prospecting at Nende, Temotu. It has been known from a reliable source that the Mines ministry does not recognise the agreement because it was done without the ministry’s knowledge. Currently, it is AU Capital that holds the two tenements and the ministry knows nothing of any transfers of the tenements to Iron Mountain Mining as reported, the source said. Iron Mountain Mining claimed under the terms of the agreement, it would pay a nonrefundable option fee of AUD$100, 000, and if the company elected to proceed with the transaction, Iron Mountain would issue 20-million of its own...
NALCO to buy back 25% stake from government
State-controlled National Aluminium Co Ltd (NALCO) has agreed to buy back 25 per cent of its shares from the government, Indian Mines Secretary Balvinder Kumar said after a meeting with the company on Monday to discuss pricing. The buyback, initiated by the finance ministry earlier this year, is part of the government’s efforts to raise much-needed funds, including by selling shares worth up to INR 565 billion ($8.5 billion) to curb the 2016/17 fiscal deficit. Kumar, who met NALCO officials in New Delhi alongside bankers from State Bank of India, said the company’s board would meet this month to decide the price at which it will buy back the shares. NALCO stock closed at INR 46.35 on Monday, valuing the company at around INR 119 billion ($1.8 billion). The government owns 80.93 per cent...
CBIX fell 1% to finish at US$43.5/dmt previous week
CBIX fell 1.0 per cent (US$0.4/dmt) to finish the week at US$43.5/dmt on April 29. Prices for imported bauxite are keeping low, despite Chinese alumina prices rebounding some 25 per cent from the market lows in January, Bauxite Index reported. Malaysian bauxite prices were unchanged, quoted in the range US$25/dmt to US$27/dmt FOB (unadjusted) for unwashed material. In comparison, washed bauxite from Malaysia was fetching US$38/dmt FOB (unadjusted), broadly in line with our ViU-adjusted expectations. Rumblings about the temporary bauxite mining ban continue in Malaysia, with some camps suggesting it will be lifted for larger producers sooner rather than later, and others suggesting it will be extended beyond the current six months, citing a lack of progress to date.
First Bauxite Corporation completes mining of bulk sample pit at Bonasika
First Bauxite Corporation announced that it has completed a bulk sample test pit programme at its Bonasika 7 bauxite deposit. The company provided a general update on the expected use of proceeds from the US$15 million private placement of secured convertible notes to Resource Capital Fund VI LP. This included using a portion of the proceeds to undertake a bulk sample pit programme to confirm mining and processing assumptions in the Bonasika Project Feasibility Study and to produce industrial scale volumes of ceramic proppants in a full scale ceramic proppant production facility. Bulk Test Pit Programme Pit preparation, mining and ore beneficiation in the Bonasika 7 deposit commenced in October 2015 and was completed in March 2016. Ceramic Proppant Production Trial During April 2016,...
Global bauxite reserves were 27.5 bln tonnes as of Jan 2016, says report
According to a new market research publication on global bauxite mining trends and outlook to 2020, the world bauxite reserves stood at 27.5 billion tonnes (Bnt) as of January 2016. Guinea had the world’s largest reserves, with 7.4Bnt, accounting for 26.9 per cent of the global total, with most bauxite deposits located in the western and central part of the country. Australia held the second largest reserves at 6.2Bnt. The highest grade bauxite reserves are located in Queensland and the Northern Territory, with the Weipa and Gove mines having grades of 49–53 per cent Aluminium oxide. Brazil ranked third with 2.6Bnt of bauxite reserves, of which around 80 per cent are located in the Trombetas region, the publication noted. As per the data published in the report, global bauxite ore...
Ball to sell US$3.42 bln of divestment assets to Ardagh
Colorado’s Ball Corporation announced last week that it and British-based American-owned Rexam PLC have come to terms with Luxembourg’s Ardagh Group over the sale of certain of Ball’s and Rexam’s assets in order to satisfy regulatory concerns involved in Ball’s purchase of Rexam. Ball and Rexam are among the largest makers of aluminium cans on Earth. Under the agreement, Ball and Rexam will be selling US$3.42 billion worth of assets to Ardagh: eight Rexam plants in the United States, ten Ball plants and two Rexam plants in Europe, and two Ball plants in Brazil. Ardagh would also receive innovation and support functions in Brazil, Britain, Germany, Switzerland, and the United States. According to Ball, the assets Ardagh would be receiving had a combined revenue of US$3 billion in FY 2015....
Aluminium conductor manufacturer ECA Cables posts 27% decline in profit
East African Cables Group, which manufactures copper cables and aluminium conductors and cables among other items, is waging on increased cables manufacturing and investments to return to revenue growth. This is after the regional manufacturer reported a 27 percent decline in its profits for the year 2015 of an undisclosed amount. The company has attributed the overall decline to the significant interruptions that facilitated the completion of the modernisation of the Kitui Road Copper Production plant. “The overall decline in performance was attributable to significant interruptions in our production processes as we concluded the last phase of our capacity upgrades at the refurbished Kitui Road plant,” said the firm’s Group CEO Peter Arina. EA Cables also singled out regional general...
