AL Circle Analysis: Aluminium’s recycling economics, trade walls and carbon rules converge
The story of the aluminium industry is starting a chapter wherein scrap availability, recycling technology, trade policy, carbon costs and demand growth are becoming increasingly interconnected. From the US and Canada to Europe, India, New Zealand and China, recent developments show that the global aluminium supply chain is being reshaped on several fronts at once. These developments point to a changing aluminium business model: access to metal alone may no longer be enough. Quality of recycled feedstock, domestic processing capacity, carbon intensity, trade exposure and the ability to meet increasingly specific customer requirements could become equally important competitive factors. Join the fourth edition of the webinar “Hedging for recyclers - Become an expert in 6 hours” by Jorge...
Europe holds 10% of global aluminium extrusion demand, supported by Germany’s Constellium, France’s Hydro Extrusions & Italy’s Metra
Across Europe, aluminium extrusion has become closely woven into some of the region’s biggest industrial and construction markets. From automotive and transport to buildings and industrial applications, extruded profiles are finding demand across a wide range of sectors. This is reflected in Europe’s position in the global market: the region accounted for 12 per cent of global aluminium extrusion capacity, making it the second-largest regional contributor after China. At the same time, Europe represented 10 per cent of global aluminium extrusion usage, out of total global usage of 35.35 million tonnes . With production capacity and usage shares relatively close, Europe’s extrusion capacity and consumption are broadly at par. If we break down Europe’s 10 per cent share of global aluminium...
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Rio Tinto finally executes job-cuts at Weipa bauxite mine operations
Mining giant Rio Tinto is finally laying off more than 40 staff at its Weipa bauxite operations. The staff are spread across the East Weipa and Andoom ventures. Two weeks ago, Rio Tinto flagged job cuts at Weipa. It wrote to all personnel, warning them of job losses as part of a review to cut costs because of falling aluminium prices and competition. It is understood that no voluntary redundancies were called for, instead the company restructured operations to identify the roles it could do without. The staff who have lost their jobs include long-term as well as newer employees. A Rio Tinto spokesman said: “We are working to reduce costs across Rio Tinto in a challenging environment and to ensure our Weipa bauxite operations remain globally competitive. Our focus is on providing all...
Bauxite Resources announces completion of Yankuang transaction with sale of Fortuna
Bauxite Resources Limited announced that it has now received from Mercator Metals Pty Ltd a duly executed Deed of Variation & Assumption which was required to complete the assignment of the bauxite rights held for the Fortuna deposit to Yankuang Resources under the Sale & Purchase Agreement dated 30 November 2015. As a consequence, the royalty payable by Yankuang to BRL will be on the first 100 million tonnes of bauxite at a rate of 0.9 per cent of the FOB price (or FOB price equivalent) (presently estimated to be worth approx. 50 cents per tonne) from the sale of bauxite mined from the Royalty Area comprised by the Felicitas and Fortuna tenements.
Fastest, most powerful and aluminium-bodied Jaguar debuts in Australia
The car that got everyone in a lather at the Goodwood 2014 Festival Of Speed in 2014, the aluminium-bodied Jaguar F-TYPE Project 7, has made its Australian debut. Just 10 of the 250 cars produced by Jaguar Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) skunkworks were earmarked for Australia and all have already been sold to customers who have stumped up $339,610 for the most exclusive limited-edition road-going Jaguar ever available here. Jaguar’s 5.0-litre supercharged V8 engine, as seen in the F-TYPE R Coupe, is installed in the F-TYPE Project 7 but SVO has fettled it to produce 423kW (19kW more than the F-TYPE R Coupe) and 700Nm of torque. The eight-speed Quickshift automatic transmission and second-generation Electronic Active Differential delivers the power to the rear wheels, with...
Balco to resume aluminium rolled products business
Vedanta-controlled Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (Balco) would resume production in its sheet rolling shop (SRS) In a move that would facilitate the company's return to the aluminium rolled product business. Production in the shop was suspended in September last year following crises in the backdrop of crash in global aluminium prices. The shop was running under heavy loss and the management decided to suspend production, that put Balco’s aluminium rolled products business under the scanner. The market was abuzz with reports that Balco had initiated the process of shutting down the business of aluminium rolled products. The rolling mill, with an annual production capacity of 72,000 tonnes, was commissioned in 1981-82. The products rolled from the shop included hot-rolled coils,...
China ends complex export subsidies but aluminium rebate remains
According to the latest industry reports, China has agreed to end export subsidies it provided to industries including aluminium products, titanium and specialty steel after the U.S. complained to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in February 2015. This is indeed a big news for the companies buying aluminium product or semi-finished goods from China and for aluminium product producers who have been facing tough competition from Chinese exporters. However, industry experts opine that rebates still remain while steps have been taken to do away with the subsidies. What they observe is that, the continued 15 per cent value-added-tax refund producers enjoy on exports of aluminium semi-finished products in the aluminium market outside China happens to be of much more concern. This is a subsidy...
SAF installs cut-to-length aluminium coil processing line
SAF (Southern Aluminium Finishing Co.) recently installed a Cut-To-Length (CTL) aluminium coil processing line in their SAF-West, Redding, CA plant. The heart of the line is a Herr-Voss 6 hi corrective leveler to enhance processing of non-ferrous coil for surface critical sheet with the flatness important for architectural building applications. SAF's new Cut-To-Length processing line can handle 0.024” - 0.125” thick aluminium coils up to 60” wide, ID 18” - 22” and 100 feet-per-minute. Newly renovated electronic controls for both the leveler and the flying shear enable more precise and reliable production. An in-line slitting head and flying shear minimize processing time. The leveler’s rollers give SAF the capability to meet surface critical requirements for painted and anodized...
Vedanta seeks extension of aluminium SEZ
Aiming to ramp up capacity of the idle aluminium smelter lying within its product specific Special Economic Zone (SEZ), Vedanta has sought extension of the formal approval for the SEZ beyond May 22 this year. The Board of Approvals (BoA) under Union commerce and industry ministry will consider Vedanta's case for extension at its ensuing meeting on April 28. The development commissioner at Falta SEZ has already recommended Vedanta's case for extension. The SEZ meant for manufacture and export of aluminium, is located at Bhurkamunda village near Jharsuguda, close to the site of its standalone aluminium smelting facility. Formal approval to the SEZ was granted on May 22, 2007 and since then, it has been granted six extensions. The board had approved the establishment of the 1.25 million...
Applications are being sought for the European Aluminium Award 2016
The Aluminium International Today announced that the process of accepting applications from leading business entities in the aluminium industry for the European Aluminium Award 2016 has already started. Presented for the 10th time, the most important prize of the aluminium industry honours the sector’s innovations. The Award Ceremony will take place at ALUMINIUM 2016 in Düsseldorf on 29 November. The application deadline is 15 July 2016. Awards will be presented in the categories Automotive, Transportation (air, rail, road, water), Architecture & Construction, Production Techniques, Tools & Machinery and Design & Lifestyle (lighting & interior, sports & leisure, computers & electronics, art & fashion). In addition, the Young Talents Award for young designers and engineers aged 30 or under...
IIAC2016 awaits kick-off amid tremendous presence of companies
The fourth Iran International Aluminum Conference and Exhibition 2016 is all set to open its doors to a global congregation of companies in Tehran on May 11. More than 62 companies have announced their presence till now, out of which 23 are foreign and the rest are Iranian entities. Among these companies many familiar and famous names are seen such as: Rusal from Russia, Danieli from Italy, SMS Group from Germany, Fives from France, Outotec from Germany, NFC from China, SAT from Italy, Salico from Spain, Italtecno from Italy, NKM Noell from Germany, Sino Steel from China and Sermas from France. More information on the exhibition is available at http://iiac20.ir/en/?page_id=10 Prior to the conference a two-day workshop will be held followed by a one-day workshop after the conference, in...
Aluminium stalls on prospect of Chinese production restarts
Aluminium on London Metal Exchange (LME) gained 1.1 per cent to reach $1,587, its highest since March 8. But Chinese exports and oversupply are expected to weigh on prices over the coming weeks and months as recent gains entice Chinese smelters to restart aluminium output. That prospect has seen aluminium prices in Shanghai stall at about 12,000 yuan a tonne in recent days. "At these prices, we estimate less than 18 percent of Chinese capacity is facing real margin pressure," Citi said in a note. "We expect China to have an effective surplus of about 3 million tonnes this year, much of which we believe could be exported in the form of products."
Alba hosts VIP delegation from SABIC
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba), a leading aluminium smelter in the world, welcomed on Thursday April 14, 2016 a high level delegation from the Saudi Arabian Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) led by the Vice Chairman and acting CEO Mr. Yousef Abdulla Al-Benyan, Alba Board member Mr. Abdul Aziz Al Humaid and other senior officials from SABIC. Alba Chief Financial Officer Ali Al Baqali and Chief Marketing Officer Khalid A. Latif along with other officials from Alba welcomed SABIC delegation and presented them with an overview about Alba full-fledged operations and Line 6 Expansion Project contribution to Bahrain’s economy. Upon welcoming the high delegation, Mr. Ali Al Baqali said: “We at Alba believe in the regional role that our company plays in spearheading the economic...
Rio Tinto's Q1 alumina production improves by 7% YoY
Rio Tinto posted strong production results for the quarter ended March 31. Production volume inreased across all verticals of the aluminium business value chain compared to the corresponding period previous year. This indeed is a major development keeping in view the recent downturn in the global commodity market. Rio Tinto's alumina production in the first quarter improved by seven per cent compared with the first quarter of 2015 and was consistent with the fourth quarter of 2015. This solid performance was mainly driven by Yarwun, where first quarter production of 785 thousand tones was 15 per cent higher than the first quarter of 2015, setting a new quarterly record. It also reflected the ongoing focus on productivity improvements across all refineries, which continues to be the...
The Aluminum Association to review United Steelworkers’ petition on primary aluminum
The Aluminum Association looks forward to carefully reviewing the Section 201 petition on primary aluminum filed by the United Steelworkers on 18th April. The Association assured to work with their membership to better understand the impacts of such an action on the entire aluminum value chain. The United Steelworkers files a petition to the association for relief pursuant to section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974. This is a petition under sections 201-202 of the Trade Act, 1974 and Subpart B of part 206 of the rules of practice and procedure of the United States International Trade Commission. The USW seeks a finding of critical circumstances and a recommendation to the President of provisional relief of an additional duty of 50 percentage points to be applied during the pendency of the...
Aluminium pressure diecasting maker JVM pumps £1m into Tamworth operation
The British aluminium pressure diecasting manufacturer JVM Castings has invested more than £1m into its Tamworth site in a move that has will create 14 jobs. The business has installed additional machinery and invested in sustainable processes at its facility on the Lichfield Road Industrial Estate. The injection is part of its plans to double the size of its site by 2020. JVM has taken on ten additional staff and two apprentices across its engineering, management and machining departments. A further two new members will be joining in the coming months. Operations director Ken Parker said: "Our growth plans have been driven by market demands, both through new and existing business, as well as a stronger focus on meeting our company’s green agenda. "Whilst the majority of our work is in...
Toyota and Clemson team up for Gen Z car built from aluminium composites
Toyota and Clemson University have joined forces in creating uBox, a concept car ideally aimed at the next-generation auto buyers. This new concept is a result of the partnership between the graduate students at the International Center for Automotive Research at the Clemson University and engineers at Toyota Motor North America. Deemed Deep Orange, the collaboration between Clemson University and Toyota aims to immerse students into the step-by-step process of developing vehicles. The vehicle is fitted with composite carbon fiber rails bonded with aluminum so as to support a curved glass roof, thanks to a distinctive technique employed by the Clemson University students, dubbed pultrusion. Other key features of the uBox include: • Dashboard display bezels, vents along with customized...
Salsa launches carbon and aluminium versions of all-mountain trail bike Redpoint
Salsa is a brand known for their out-of-the-box take on the world of bikes. But now they have shouldered their way into the full-bore gnarmobile arena with their latest launch, the power bike- Redpoint in carbon and aluminium versions. The Redpoint is Salsa’s 27.5 inches wheeled 150mm trail bike for ‘tackling the roughest and most remote all-mountain terrain’. It is boosted, so Salsa claims increased stiffness coupled with ‘massive amounts of mud clearance.' The power bike comes in carbon and aluminium flavours, with slight differences in geometry between the models. In the US the Carbon XO1 and GX1 are $5499.99 and $4499.99 respectively, while the aluminium is $3499.99. In the US versions, finishing kit between the GX1 and aluminium version is largely the same, although the aluminium...
Fear overdone over China aluminium semis export rebate removal
It is worried that China will cancel export rebate on aluminium semis as well after its recent decision to remove export rebate on seven industries. SMM deems such concerns as overdone and sees little possibility for China to do so for the foreseeable future, citing three reasons. Currently, China offers 13 per cent rebate on exports of aluminium extrusion , plate/sheet, strip and pipe/tube, as well as 15 per cent rebate on aluminium foil exports. Chinese aluminium semis exporters need to pay 17 per cent VAT. That is to say, they are still subject to 2 per cent-4 per cent tax even after the rebate. SMM learns that export profit margins at most Chinese aluminium processors are less than 10 per cent after counting in export rebate. Should the rebate be abolished, Chinese exporters will...
MCX Aluminium slides on subdued demand
Select base metals including aluminium weakened by INR 2 per kg in India's non-ferrous market (Multi Commodity Exchange) today following muted demand from the end user industries namely, transport, electricals, construction, packaging, and others. Following are today's metal rates (in INR per kg): • Aluminium ingots INR 154 • Aluminium sheet cutting INR 150 • Aluminium wire scrap INR 150 • Aluminium utensils scrap INR 148 Traders said low demand from consuming industries attributed the fall in aluminium prices.
