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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World aluminium production declines in January 2016
LME Aluminium prices averaged at $ 1535 per tonne by the end of February 2016, up 3.7 per cent from month ending January 2016. The release of the Union Budget in India at the end of February brought a hike in the custom duty to support the ailing industry. Considering the plea from the Aluminium manufacturers due to rising imports the Finance Minister proposed increase in custom duties of Aluminium to 7.5 per cent from 5 per cent currently. In global markets, International Aluminium Institute (IAI) that measures the production trend in the world came out with its latest numbers. IAI has mentioned that the trend of Aluminium production declined during the month of January 2016 away from the record highs that were registered in August 2015. Data estimates from International Aluminium...
China aluminium alloy wheel exports fall sharply in January
China reported large declines in both volume and value of its aluminium alloy wheel exports in January 2016. China exported 65,100 tonnes of aluminium alloy wheel in January, down 13.5 per cent from a year ago, and export value also dropped 19.4 per cent year-on-year to $304 million. The US was the top export destination –53.60 per cent of China’s total export value - followed by Japan and Mexico. Exports to the United States were 33,451 tonnes in January.
Gains in aluminium products boost ANZ commodity prices
New Zealand commodity prices rose 0.4 per cent last month riding gains in the price of aluminium products . The ANZ Commodity Price Index rose to 233.4 in February from 232.4 a month earlier and was down 18 per cent on an annual basis. In New Zealand dollar terms, the index was unchanged in February and down 10 per cent on the year as a weaker kiwi helped offset the global decline. Aluminium product prices gained 2.6 per cent on a monthly basis. "Aluminium prices were supported by tightening Chinese inventories and coincided with price improvements for the rest of the industrial metals complex," ANZ Bank New Zealand agri-economist Con Williams said in a note. The price rise across a wide range of aluminium products somewhat balanced off price delines in other commodities, especially dairy...
Indian aluminium scrap, MCX aluminium prices rise in line with LME aluminium
India major aluminium scrap commodities prices gained on Tuesday, 1st March, while aluminium futures prices at Multi Commodity Exchange settled higher as profit booking seen after prices of LME Aluminium hit a 4-1/2 month high on Monday after top metals consumer China cut its reserve ratio for banks in an effort to revive flagging growth. The major aluminium scrap commodities advanced on Scrap Register Price Index as on Tuesday. India's major scrap commodities like aluminium ingots and aluminium utensil scrap showed an uptrend during the day. The most active February aluminium contract on Multi Commodity Exchange settled up by 0.8 per cent to INR 107.35 per kilogram on Tuesday from previous close of INR 108.20 per kilogram. The MXC aluminium prices touched an intra-day high of INR 108.70...
Hike in aluminium import duty not benefitting Indian cos: Agarwal
India government's move to protect domestic aluminium producers by raising import duty on the metal has been neutralised by doubling of cess on coal, mining baron Anil Agarwal said today. Budget 2016-17 raised customs duty on primary aluminum to 7.5 per cent from 5 per cent, while the levy on other aluminium products was hiked to 10 per cent from 7.5 per cent. The move was to counter China flooding world markets with cheap metals especially aluminium as its economy slows down. But the safeguard duty hike has been neutralised by the doubling of clean-energy cess on coal to INR 400 per tonne made the fuel costlier for metal producers, said Vedanta Resources Chairman. "They have increased cess on coal. It has no benefit to us. Industry is in such a bad shape that 60 per cent aluminium is...
Apollo, Blackstone said among bidders for Ball-Rexam assets
Apollo Global Management, Blackstone Group LP and Madison Dearborn Partners are in the second round of bidding for assets being sold as part of Ball Corp.’s acquisition of Rexam Plc, people familiar with the matter said. The divested operations could be valued at about $4 billion based on combined earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $400 million, one of the people said, asking not to be named because the deliberations are private. The sale process is ongoing and no final decisions have been made, the people said. Ball’s approximately 4.4 billion pound ($6.1 billion) acquisition of Rexam will create a packaging giant that supplies cans and bottles to companies such as Coca-Cola Co. and Anheuser-Busch InBev NV, according to supply-chain data compiled by...
Indian aluminium producers to raise product prices soon
With the government proposing to hike the customs duty on primary aluminium products, Indian aluminium majors like Aditya Birla Group company Hindalco Industries, state-owned National Aluminium Company (Nalco) and Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta are planning to raise product prices in coming months. “Since pricing happens on import parity, we certainly have the room now to raise product prices by about INR 2,500 per tonne,” a Nalco official said. “This hike will happen in phases in coming months.” In the Budget, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has proposed to increase the customs duty on primary aluminium to 7.5 per cent from five per cent at present. Global prices of aluminium and movement of rupee will also be taken into consideration at the time of price revision. Global aluminium prices are...
Alba announces savings from Project Titan
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba), the Bahrain-based leading international aluminium smelter, announced the completion of Project Titan – Phase I with a final actual figure of $148 per metric tonne against the set target of $150 per metric tonne. The results of Project Titan – Phase I was measured against baseline of 2013 actuals and focused mainly on creating a competitive and sustainable cost structure. Commenting on this milestone, CEO Tim Murray said: “We are pleased with the overall success of the first Phase of Project Titan, having nearly achieved the set target of $150 per metric tonne. Through this Project, we were able to leverage the use of our operational excellence as well as train and develop the next generation of leaders from within the Company. Given the current LME market...
Rio Tinto board changes
Richard Goodmanson, non-executive director of Rio Tinto, who joined the board in December 2004, will be retiring from the board this year. Richard will not seek re-election as a non-executive director of Rio Tinto plc and Rio Tinto Limited and will retire from the board at the conclusion of the Rio Tinto Limited annual general meeting in Brisbane on 5 May 2016. Megan Clark will be appointed as chairman of the Sustainability Committee upon Richard Goodmanson’s retirement on 5 May 2016, and will also become a member of the Remuneration Committee with effect from 1 May 2016. Rio Tinto chairman Jan du Plessis said “I am very grateful to Richard for his considerable contribution to Rio Tinto over many years. He provided tremendous support during his tenure, notably as chairman of the...
Sapa appoints new business area president from within own organization
Sergio Luiz Vendrasco is the new president of Sapa’s Precision Tubing business area, the area in Sapa providing aluminium solutions for heat transfer applications to the automotive and HVAC&R industries. Vendrasco has been appointed business area president of Sapa Precision Tubing, succeeding Salvador Biosca, who has taken over responsibility as business area president for Sapa Building Systems. Vendrasco will take up his new position on March 1, reporting to Sapa’s President & CEO Egil Hogna and serving as part of the corporate management team. Vendrasco comes from the position as vice president of Sapa Precision Tubing South America and will relocate to Oslo, Norway, where the company’s headquarter is located. “I’m very pleased that Sergio will head up one of our most successful and...
Brazeway joins US' fight against non-competitive Chinese aluminum subsidies
Brazeway Inc. has joined the China Trade Task Force Coalition as part of a global effort to combat illegal Chinese aluminum subsidies in order save thousands of American aluminum jobs. Brazeway is the world's largest manufacturer of frost-free evaporators for household refrigeration and is a leading manufacturer of extruded aluminum tubing and heat transfer components for the HVAC, appliance and automotive industries. As a privately-owned U.S. manufacturing firm, Brazeway provides employment to hundreds of hard working American families. Illegal Chinese aluminum subsidies threaten the company's ability to source high quality aluminum from the domestic American market. "China's illegal trade practices have damaged American manufacturers for years. We are proud to join this team to protect...
Aluminium China brings aboard electronics manufacturers and aluminium processing companies
With the rapid development of consumer electronics, with shorter life cycles and less time between upgrades, metal is increasingly replacing plastic as the shell material of choice, reducing costs and providing a lighter, slimmer and more environment friendly alternative. A look at some of the latest mobile phones in 2016 including LG’s curve screen, the Sony Xperia Z6 and HTC X9, along with Chinese brands such as LeTV Max Pro, Huawei Mate 8 and Lenovo K4, they all have one feature in common, a metal shell. Lighter, slimmer, greener: aluminium alloy finds use in consumer electronics Traditionally, metal shells for consumer electronics were made mainly of aluminium-magnesium alloy or stainless steel. However, with complicated processing technologies and high costs, aluminium alloy is now...
Japanese recycler starts scrap aluminium alloy separation project
Japanese recycler Harita Metal Co. has stepped on board a national project that is focusing on the mutual separation of scrap aluminium alloys with support from a consortium of the country’s universities and research institutes. The initiative combines an appearance recognition system with a neural network analysis (ARENNA) sorter as well as a laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) sorter. The new ARENNA system can detect many metals like copper, iron, lithium, manganese, magnesium and zinc,’ entrepreneur Matoko Harita told delegates at last week’s biannual Sensor-Based Sorting congress in Aachen, Germany. The system was developed at the National Institute for Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) and essentially performs 3D image analysis and density measurement with a...
Metro Mining receives Terms of Reference for Bauxite Hills EIS
Metro Mining Ltd has announced the receipt of the final Terms of Reference (ToR) for progressing the Bauxite Hills Project Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The ToR incorporated the relevant comments and concerns raised during the recent consultation period. The ToR was delivered ahead of the mid-March 2016 timeframe that Metro had allowed to have the ToR completed. Metro's EIS is proceeding well with the EIS document currently being collated to address the ToR. Once accepted by the State, the EIS documents will then undergo a separate public consultation period. Metro expects the EIS process to be completed by Q4 2016. This will enable Metro to finalise the Environmental Authority and obtain the Mining Lease by Q1 2017, with production planned to commence by Q3 2017.
Odisha govt challenges Supreme Court’s judgement in Vedanta bauxite mine case
Government of Odisha has filed an interlocutory application before the apex court challenging the landmark Supreme Court judgement in the Vedanta bauxite mine case. The Court in its judgement had upheld the statutory powers of the tribal village councils under the Forest Rights Act and the Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Area) Act to decide if they were willing to allow mining to take place in their traditional forestlands or not. In its application, Odisha government has claimed that no such consent is required from gram sabha for use of forestlands if the government decides that the rights of the people have been settled. If the application filed by the state against the Union government is accepted by the courts for hearing it could also force the NDA government to take a public...
Indonesia Asahan Aluminium named holding company for mining SOEs
The Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises has appointed PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium (Inalum) as the holding company for state mining companies. This makes Inalum be in charge of PT Bukit Asam (Persero) Tbk (PTBA), PT Timah (Persero) Tbk (TINS), and PT Aneka Tambang (Persero) Tbk (ANTM). Fajar Harry Sampurno, the SOE Ministry's deputy for Mining, Strategic Industry and Media Department, said Inalum was appointed because it is wholly owned by the government. This way, the state will have full control over its subsidiaries. Despite the full-control status of the government, Harry ensured that the subsidiaries with a public company status will their status. "We promise that we will not interfere with investors," he said yesterday. The discourse to form a mining holding emerged when the...
EGA achieves international accreditation of its metallurgical laboratories
The commitment of Emirates Global Aluminium (“EGA”) to continual improvement and standardisation has led to the accreditation of the organisation’s Laboratories to ISO/IEC 17025:2005 (General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories), in the field of Metallurgical Testing. The certificates were presented to Abdulla Kalban (MD & CEO: EGA) by the Director of Dubai Accreditation Centre, Amina Ahmed Mohammed, on 18 February 2016, in the presence of EGA senior management and core implementation team members. Commenting on the accreditation, Kalban said “Currently, the standardisation of best practices is one of the key elements that bring measurable value to EGA’s operations. It reflects EGA as a strong brand by delivering consistency in quality of the products...
About 64% of Chinese aluminium smelters see prices stabilizing this week
About 64% of the 33 Chinese aluminium smelters surveyed by SMM expect aluminium prices to stabilize this week. Those neutral smelters see SHFE 1605 aluminium at RMB 11,250-11,380/mt and LME aluminium at USD 1,550-1,575/mt. Aluminium consumption in east China is strong, but demand recovery is tepid in other markets. The divergence will keep market players cautious. Caution will also prevail before the upcoming NPC & CPPCC sessions. KDJ indicates that SHFE aluminium will have little upward momentum, while support at the 5-day moving average is strong. Another 27 per cent are bullish that SHFE 1605 aluminium will climb to RMB 11,400-11,500/mt and that LME aluminium will rise above USD 1,580/mt, citing positive factors: 1. Trading in domestic spot market has become active, allowing spot...
