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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EGA continues to forge ahead with technology innovation
The largest primary aluminium producer in the region and among the top five producers in the world, Emirates Global Aluminium ("EGA") has for more than 25 years implemented advanced technologies - many developed in-house - to improve productivity and enhance operational procedures at its operations, while maintaining the highest standards of environmental conservation. As part of its mandate to drive an ongoing quest for innovation-based improvements, the dedicated Technology Development & Transfer department at EGA continuously forges ahead in identifying and implementing technological advancements for the benefit of the aluminium industry. A case in point is the successful filing of an application in September 2015 to patent the development of hinged grating for easy access to the outer...
Indian bauxite exporters clamour for removal of export duty
Bauxite exporters in India are clamouring for removal of export duty on the ore similar to a cut in duty for iron ore in the budget. Higher duties have led to a sharp fall in India's share in the export market in recent years with Australia and Malaysia increasing their share. "We are losing out to countries like Malaysia and Australia when it comes to exports to China. The duty cut on bauxite ore in the recent budget from 20 per cent to 15 per cent which is too little to resuscitate the bauxite export industry which is already battling headwinds from the meltdown in the global commodity markets. It should be reduced to zero like in the case of iron ore," C K Joshi chairman Gujmin Industry Association said. China produces and consumes nearly half of world's aluminium and is dependent on...
NALCO records the highest-ever bauxite and alumina production
At a time when 70 per cent aluminium companies world over have reported loss and the aluminium industry is reeling under heavy pressure due to sluggish international market, National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO), a Govt of India PSU, has remained profitable all through by successfully handling the market downturn by focusing on its bauxite mining and alumina refining arm, besides effecting several cost reduction measures, particularly in metal production. In the process, the aluminium major has registered an all-time high production of 63,40,142 tonnes of bauxite in 2015-16 fiscal i.e. 10.47 per cent higher, and 19,53,000 tonnes of alumina i.e. 5.51 per cent higher than the corresponding figures of the previous fiscal. "These are the highest-ever production figures since inception of...
Inalum orders HE Batch Homogenizing Plant for their upcoming extrusion project
PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium (Inalum), located in North Sumatra, Indonesia, has placed an order with Hertwich Engineering for the supply of a Batch Homogenizing plant including auxiliary equipment. In the context of its strategic aims, Inalum intends to broaden its product range. The Japanese-Indonesian Joint Venture founded in the 1970s (and since 2013 the Indonesian Government has been the sole owner) operates on the basis of a hydroelectric power station (which they own) and an aluminium smelter, which has up until now specialised in the production of pure aluminium ingots of the 99.90 per cent and 99.70 per cent grades. In future the range of products supplied is to be extended to continuously cast extrusion billets. For this, the company has awarded Hertwich the contract for...
Pepsi becomes ‘first brand’ to adopt tinplate, aluminium can recycling marque
Pepsi has demonstrated its commitment to drinks can (aluminium or tinplate) recycling by becoming the first brand to feature the marque of a major European recycling initiative on pack. Every Can Counts – or Jede Dose Zaehlt in German – has been encouraging consumers in Austria to reuse drinks cans properly since 2010. For the first time, the scheme’s emblem and call-to-action “please recycle” will appear on cans of Pepsi Cola, as well as Seven Up. The companies are hoping to motivate young people, especially at festivals and sports events, to collect their empty beverage cans for recycling so that the packaging material can remain in circulation. Jede Dose Zaehlt founder Dorothea Junk said: “Jede Dose Zaehlt has been engaged in motivating Austrians to recycle beverage cans properly...
Australian Bauxite says firm soon to reopen Bald Hill Mine
After months of delays, Australian Bauxite says that market conditions are finally returning to a level that will make it possible to reopen operations at its Bald Hill mine. The firm has been attempting to sell the 120,000 metric tons of bauxite they extracted from their mine in Campbell Town, Tasmania, last year. AB had a sale lined up with a Chinese buyer for the Bald Hill mine bauxite until December, when the aluminium market fell, taking bauxite prices with it. AB’s CEO Ian Levy said that market conditions are improving largely due to a decision by the government of the People’s Republic of China to relax bank lending conditions. He says that they are receiving offers and negotiating contracts that they would not have been likely to see last year. “We are hoping to start shifting...
Airbus, Fokker seek less expensive fiber metal laminate and lightweight aluminium layers
Airbus and Fokker Technologies are partnering for research on automated production of fiber metal laminate (FML), lightweight layers of aluminium and glass fiber. Early FML, also called Glare, was used on the upper fuselage and the vertical stabilizer of the Airbus A380. Automated production and next-generation fiber will improve FML performance and reduce cost. Maarten van Mourik, Fokker director for large commercial aircraft, says FML has better material properties than aluminium, especially in fatigue resistance, allowing for lighter designs. “FML also offers considerable weight advantages versus polymer composites in smaller fuselages because these composites carry a weight penalty, due to minimum thickness for damage tolerance.” While fatigue resistance is FML’s chief advantage, it...
Sachin Satpute appointed as SVP Novelis Inc. and President Novelis Asia
Novelis, the world leader in aluminium rolling and recycling, today announced the appointment of Sachin Satpute to the position of Senior Vice President, Novelis Inc. and President, Novelis Asia, effective June 1, 2016. Satpute has nearly 30 years of experience in the aluminium industry and previously served as Chief Marketing Officer, Hindalco Industries Limited. Prior to his role with Hindalco, Satpute held roles of increasing responsibility within Novelis, including Director, Business Development & Innovation for Novelis Asia; Vice President, Sales, Marketing & Technical Services for Novelis Asia; and Managing Director of Aluminium Company of Malaysia Berhad (ALCOM). "We are pleased to have Sachin Satpute rejoin our Novelis Asia team," said Steve Fisher, Novelis President and Chief...
China semis exports still down; aluminium alloy wheel exports grew 21% YoY in Feb
China aluminium semis exports shrunk in February and the trend is expected to continue in March as well. General Customs data showed that the country exported 260,000 metric tons of semis, which is down 34.1 per cent year-on-year and down from January’s total of 330,000 metric tons. The SHFE/LME aluminium price ratio, which rose above 7.6 in the month of March, is expected to continue to limit the export of semis. Chinese traders that spoke to SMM expect to cut exports due to the less-than-favorable price ratio. The unfavorability has yet to affect the larger aluminium processors, as they tend to operate on long-term contracts. Aluminium alloy wheel China’s aluminium alloy wheel exports grew markedly in February in both volume and value. The country exported 55,500 tonnes of aluminium...
Aluminium Association of India meets Union Steel Minister
The newly elected body of Aluminium Association of India (AAI) met Union Minister of Steel and Mines Narendra Singh Tomar on Tuesday in New Delhi to put forth its plans and press for business safeguards. In the meeting, members of the body expressed concern over extreme sluggish domestic and international aluminium market conditions and requested for Government interventions to revive aluminium sector in the country. President of AAI Tapan Kumar Chand emphasised that promotion of aluminium consumption will give a big boost to ‘Make in India’ movement. He informed that the International Aluminium Conference-2017 will be held in Bhubaneswar in February where all world leaders of aluminium industry will participate.
Buoyant seasonal demand driving China aluminium prices up
China’s aluminium futures rose to their highest level in half a year on Monday, March 28, thanks to an increase in seasonal demand, and lowered domestic output due to capacity cuts made late last year. Stocks of aluminium ingots at major warehouses across China dropped from 937,000 metric tons last week to 870,000 metric tons this week. Jackie Wang, analyst at CRU Group in Beijing, says this is indicative of an uptick in demand. “We do not expect to see a sharp increase in production through the second quarter because we haven’t seen any significant restarts among aluminium smelters up to now,” explained Wang. Shanghai Futures Exchange’s most-traded May aluminium contract jumped to CN¥11,830 yuan (US$1,816) a metric ton on Monday, the highest it’s been since September 25. Wang predicted...
Odisha grounds INR2.53 lakh cr investment; Hindalco commences production at Sambalpur smelter
As many as 46 industries who signed MoUs with the Odisha government have invested INR 2.53 lakh crore so far in the state, the assembly was told on Thursday. "Ninety-two have inked MoUs with the state government to set up their industries with an investment of INR 5.68 lakh crore. Of the 92 projects, 46 have commenced partial or full-scale production with an investment of INR 2.53 lakh crore," said Industry Minister Debi Prasad Mishra. The 46 industries have generated employment for 152,398 people, he added. Mishra informed that while the state government has signed MoUs with 48 steel companies, 40 companies have started production with an investment over INR 1.2 lakh crore. In the aluminium sector, Vedanta has started partial production from its alumina refinery at Lanjigarh and...
Orbite announces Q4 and Full Year 2015 Results
Orbite Technologies Inc. announced today the filing of its Financial Statements for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2015. During the fourth quarter, the company reported a loss before net finance expense (income) and taxes of $3.9 million, down 23.5 per cent from $5.1 million for the same period in 2014. For the full year, loss before net finance expense (income) decreased by 13.9 per cent, or $2 million, from $14.4 million to $12.4 million, as compared to fiscal 2014. As at December 31, 2015, the company had an aggregate cash and short-term investments balance of $2.6 million, and positive working capital (current assets less current liabilities) of $4.2 million. Subsequent to year end, in fiscal 2016 to date, the company has raised capital, strengthening its working...
Rebound in alumina prices YTD outpacing aluminium price in China
Strong rise in alumina prices have been supporting China’s domestic aluminium price. According to the latest data, alumina prices increased 18.2 per cent from the start of the year, which greatly outpaced the aluminium price rise and lifted the price ratio between alumina and aluminium from 0.28 in the beginning of this year to 0.32 in March. Industry analysts note that unlike aluminium, where production cuts ceased in Q1 this year in China, production cuts for alumina continued in the first quarter as a result of scheduled capacity idling from the end of last year when the alumina price plunged due to the aluminium smelters’ production cuts. The analysts further point out that the time lag in refinery production cuts led to a strong rebound in alumina prices YTD, and they believe the...
Guinea and Burkina Faso to take back unused mining permits
Guinea and Burkina Faso plan to take back hundreds of unused mining permits for re-auction, ministers said this week, as governments try to reignite interest in the sector amid a downturn. Permits awarded in recent years that are not being used for exploration or production should be made available to other companies, the two West African countries said in separate statements this week. Both countries' mining ministries said that the changes were brought about to clean up their outdated land registries. But they also come as resource-rich African countries struggle to entice investment due to a global slump in commodities prices. In Guinea, Africa's largest bauxite producer, 142 of 2,500 permits covering bauxite, gold, diamond and uranium prospects were recently made void, the Guinean...
Seagate unveils all-aluminium enclosed USB-powered hard drive Innov8
Seagate Technology PLC, the leading American data storage company, has unveiled Innov8, the world's first USB-powered desktop hard drive. All the power that the 8TB Innov8 drive needs is delivered along with the data down a single, reversible USB-C cable thanks to a feature that Seagate is calling Ignition Boost. The all-new USB-powered desktop hard drive is housed in an all-aluminium enclosure that's both sturdy and well-balanced. All Innov8 drives come with Seagate Dashboard software, which offers users either one-click on-demand or customizable, scheduled backups for their devices. Also included is 200GB of Microsoft OneDrive cloud storage and Lyve software compatibility, so users can back up, access and share their data from any device (Android and iOS) or location. The drive enclosed...
Continuous Homogenising Plant successfully commissioned at Hindalco
For the production of extrusion billets at its newly built plant in Madhya Pradesh, Hindalco Industries decided in favour of heat treatment in a continuous homogenizing furnace. The continuous homogenising and sawing plant for billets (diameter range 178 to 229 mm) has a capacity of 64,000 tonnes per year and is the fourth such unit supplied by Hertwich to India. Hindalco Industries Ltd., which belongs to the Aditya Birla Group in India, employs around 20,000 people and has a turnover of almost US$15 billion per year, making it one of India’s largest companies in the raw materials sector. To extend its pre-material basis Hindalco has supplemented the Renukoot smelter in Uttar Pradesh with a newly built Mahan plant in Bargawan, Madhya Pradesh. The new plant, which also produces...
Rising investments in automotive lightweighting driving aluminium demand
As automobile manufacturers and operators look for ways to improve fuel economy and freight efficiency, lightweighting tops the list. Investing in lightweighting is an attractive and economical alternative to adding new equipment, potentially saving fleets nearly $1 million over five years, according to a recent “Confidence Report on Lightweighting” by Trucking Efficiency, an initiative of the North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE) and the Carbon War Room (CWR) that aims to double the efficiency of the North American trucking fleet. “When lightweighting is looked at not only in terms of better fuel economy but also [in terms of] improved freight efficiency, it makes sense in a wide variety of applications,” says Mike Roeth, operation lead at Trucking Efficiency. One...
