AL Circle Analysis: Bauxite developments, alumina trade & primary aluminium market dynamics across Australia, Guinea, US & India
The aluminium industry is entering another phase of supply-chain repositioning. Across bauxite, alumina and primary aluminium, companies are investing in new resources, consolidating strategic assets and expanding processing capacity, while governments are increasingly treating domestic supply as a strategic priority. The latest developments from Australia, Guyana, Guinea, Indonesia, the US and India point to a market where resource security, processing location and control over supply chains are becoming as important as production growth. At the same time, new trading mechanisms and changing investment patterns are beginning to influence how aluminium and its raw materials reach the market. Bauxite supply expands, but securing the right tonnes is becoming harder In Western Australia, VBX...
China's 22.87 Mt extrusion market faces a structural shift as 317 GW solar growth counters weak construction demand
The global aluminium extrusion landscape is undergoing a structural transition driven by industrial decarbonisation, global electrification, and the rapid deployment of clean energy infrastructure. Historically anchored by civil engineering and residential real estate, demand for extruded aluminium profiles in China, the world’s dominant manufacturing hub, is decoupling from traditional property sectors. Persistent structural weakness in China’s domestic construction market has slowed the consumption of conventional architectural profiles such as window frames, door sections, and curtain walls. Conversely, advanced industrial applications, specifically solar photovoltaic (PV) racking, battery energy storage systems (BESS), power grid modernisation, and electric vehicles (EVs), have...
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India aluminium scrap prices gain; MCX aluminium settles lower
India major aluminium scrap commodities prices gained on Wednesday, while aluminium futures prices at India's Multi Commodity Exchange settled lower as pressure seen after Citi cut its 2016 aluminium forecast to $1,435 a ton. It expects Chinese aluminium product exports will continue to weigh on the market this year. The major aluminium scrap commodities dropped on Scrap Register Price Index as on Wednesday. India's major scrap commodities like Aluminium Accessories scrap, Aluminium ingots, Aluminium Rod Company and Aluminium Rod Local traded up on Wednesday. However, the most active January aluminium contract on Multi Commodity Exchange settled up by 0.69% to INR 100.15 per kilogram on Wednesday from previous close of INR 100.85 per kilogram. The MXC aluminium prices touched an intra-day...
Indian metal recycling industry seeks removal of duties
The metal recycling industry of India has urged the government for exemption on Special Additional Duty (SAD) and removal of basic import duty on inbound shipments of ferrous and non-ferrous scrap to give a boost to the sector. The industry recycles aluminium among other metals mainly from automotive, power, infrastructure, construction and white goods industry. It is set to register an annual growth of 11.4 per cent by 2020, industry body Metal Recycling Association of India (MRAI) said in a statement. Considering the growth potential of the industry, the sector needs policy intervention from the government, it added. Pre-Shipment Inspection Certification (PSIC) is one such area where the trade body wants the government to streamline pre-shipment inspection procedures, MRAI President...
Alba participates in Aluminium Symposium 2016
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba)’s, one of the leading aluminium smelters in the world, is a key participant in the well-known international aluminium event - Aluminium Symposium 2016, taking place from January 20-22, 2016 in Florida, USA, under the theme ‘Outlook for Aluminum in 2016’. As one of the first international aluminium event for 2016, Alba’s participation in the Aluminium Symposium 2016 marks its continuous commitment to expand its reach across diverse territories. Alba’s Chief Marketing Officer, Khalid Abdul Latif, Manager Sales – Europe, Boris Santosi and Manager Sales – Alba Americas, Patrick Hudson, will represent the Company at this Symposium. Speaking about Alba’s participation, Alba’s Chief Marketing Officer, Khalid Abdul Latif said: “GCC aluminium production constitutes...
New logistics regulations set to keep a tab on Pahang's bauxite operations
Lorries designed specifically to ferry bauxite and new rules for the transfer of the aluminium ore onto ships and barges are among new regulations proposed to keep bauxite industry operations in check in Pahang. Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said the stringent new regulations were now being drafted. “We want to better regulate the operations by coming out with standard operating procedures covering the mining, transportation and stockpiling of bauxite in Pahang,” he told reporters after attending the Department of Irrigation and Drainage’s excellence award ceremony here yesterday. Among the proposed regulations, Dr Wan Junaidi noted, was that bauxite mining companies use only lorries that are specifically designed and manufactured...
Government unlikely to give in to Noranda's bauxite levy waive-off demand
Against Noranda Aluminum Holding Corporation's recent decision to lay off a huge chunk of its workforce if the Government did not reconsider its plans to collect outstanding levy from them, Finance Minister Dr Peter Phillips, said the Government believes it can collect the revenues without impairing the ability of the company to survive. "We believe that we can both collect on our money and keep the company working, but we cannot give away depleting, non-renewable resources of Jamaica without getting what is provided for, in law, for the people of Jamaica," Phillips said yesterday. Noranda Aluminum Holding Corporation has announced it will be moving ahead with job cuts, as it is failing to cope with several challenges, including the insistence of the Jamaican Government to collect the...
Aluminium stockpiling fund gives glimpse of China metals reforms
China's plans to set up funds to manage coal and ferrous metal capacity closures and stockpiling schemes offer nervous markets some clarity on the likely future make-up of the country's sprawling and predominantly state-run metals and mining industries. As the world's largest producer of aluminium, steel and other metals, and the biggest consumer of copper and iron ore, China is crucial to global metals markets which have slumped in the past year as Chinese industrial demand growth slowed. China's slowdown has hit revenue at global miners such as BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, and the market is keen to know what China plans for its own state-run mining and metals giants - many of which have kept producing even as prices drop below the cost of production. After weeks of talks between...
South32 puts focus on balance sheet
BHP spin-off South32 has slashed its debt and sharply cut costs as it races to stay ahead of weaker earnings amid a slump in commodities prices. The company on Thursday posted drops in production across most of its businesses for the December quarter. South32 has already cut or suspended production at high-cost manganese ore mines in South Africa, as well as several aluminium smelters, but said it was ready to do more if needed to ride out the volatile market conditions. "Further decisive action will be taken as we seek to maximise short-term cash flow while preserving longer-term value," chief executive Graham Kerr said. The company said its net debt by the end of December stood at $US115 million ($A166.79 million), down from $US196 million three months earlier, and $US402 million at the...
Groundbreaking for Garmco’s $50m aluminium remelt plant held in Bahrain
Groundbreaking for Gulf Aluminium Rolling Mills Company's (Garmco) $55 million aluminium remelt plant was held on Thursday near the company’s main production facilities in Bahrain. The project, which is part of a three-year programme aiming to increase profitability and explore opportunities for the company in the regional as well international markets, is due for completion by November 2017. On completition, the remelt plant will produce 120,000 tonnes of aluminium slabs and create around 50 new jobs while generating significant cost savings. France’s Fives has EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contract with Garmco for this project. The event was attended by Bahrain’s Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Zayed Al Zayani, and the French Minister of Foreign Trade,...
Vizag aluminium alloy wheels unit invests $140 million in Bahrain
Shekhar Movva of Synergies Castings Ltd (SCL) will invest $140 million in a world-class aluminium alloy wheels firm in Bahrain. The SCL will invest the amount in two phases with the majority being held by Synergies. The joint venture with the Sovereign Wealth Fund ‘Mumtalakat,’ an investment arm of Kingdom of Bahrain, was signed in December last. The world-class plant with a capacity of 2.2 million wheels or equivalent of 30,000 tonne per year will be located within the precincts of ALBA. It will deploy state-of-art technology and service the global OEM market with particular emphasis on the US and Europe, Mr. Shekhar, president of the SCL, told The Hindu, adding that their first overseas unit would be operational in 24 months. SCL is the leading manufacturer of aluminium alloy wheels in...
Sapa sees aluminium sales `bump' in bid to make cars lighter
Sapa AS, the maker of aluminium products, expects a “significant bump” in sales to automotive companies in North America as more of the metal is used in passenger cars and commercial vehicles. With all-aluminium-bodied products such as new electric car lines and increased adoption of aluminium by Ford Motor Co. in its F-Series pickup trucks, “auto is a huge growth market for us,” Charlie Straface, the Oslo-based company’s North American business area president, said in an interview. Car and truck makers are turning to aluminium to reduce vehicle weights and boost fuel efficiency ahead of stricter U.S. emissions rules. Sales to automotive customers represent 10 to 15 percent of Sapa’s North American portfolio, according to Straface. Light-vehicle output in the region is projected to grow...
India to host mega mining conference-cum-exhibition in Kolkata in Feb
India’s mining industry set to reach $36 billion to open up commercial coal mining to private companies with the aim of shifting the world’s third largest coal importer towards energy self-sufficiency. A mega conference, the 6th International Mining, Exploration, Mineral Processing Technology, Metals & Machinery Exhibition, is scheduled from February 24 –27 at the Eco Park, New Town, Rajarhat, Kolkata, with this aim. The event is being organized by TAFCON – a professionally managed company with over six decades of experience and expertise in organizing international a trade fairs and conferences in India and overseas, along with the Mining, Geological & Metallurgical Institute of India (MGMI), the oldest institute of its kind in Asia, which has been promoting the cause of the mineral...
Gramercy's Noranda alumina plant could close; 444 jobs at stake
A foreign tax dispute and sagging commodity prices could lead a St. James Parish manufacturing plant to close, leading to the loss of 444 jobs. Noranda ships bauxite that it mines in Jamaica to its plant in Gramercy, where alumina is extracted. That material then goes to the company's smelter facility in Missouri and is turned into aluminum. Noranda is attempting to reach an agreement with the Jamaican government over the production fee the company pays the country for exporting bauxite. A previous deal expired at the end of 2014, and the parties have been in arbitration since then trying to reach new terms. John Parker, Noranda's vice president for investor relations, said Jamaica is seeking fees that established in its original production agreement with the company, which he likened to...
Alumina price rally on the upward curve, SMM Says
Alumina prices in China are building up upward momentum after a slump in December, SMM sees. The price rally will be driven by alumina production cuts, stocking before the 2016 Chinese New Year holiday due in early February, SMM aluminium analyst explained. China’s alumina output fell 1.17% month-on-month to 4.66 million tonnes in December, SMM data statistics showed. Production cuts have allowed stocks to drop at Chinese alumina producers, SMM has learned. It should be noted, though, that a pileup of cheap imported alumina will limit the upside of domestic alumina prices. Imported alumina traded around 1,700 yuan per tonne (including VAT, self pickup) at the Port of Lianyungang in mid-January.
Aluminium futures weaken, hurt by weak global cues
Aluminium prices were down 0.55 per cent to INR 100.30 per kg in futures trade today as participants trimmed exposures amid weak global cues and sluggish demand in the domestic spot markets. At the Multi Commodity Exchange, aluminium for delivery in the current month eased by 55 paise, or 0.55 per cent, to INR 100.30 per kg in a business turnover of 363 lots. Similarly, the metal for delivery in February was trading lower by 50 paise, or 0.49 per cent, at INR 100.90 per kg in 22 lots. Marketmen said the weakness in aluminium at futures trade was mostly in tune with a weak trend at London Metal Exchange (LME) on renewed worries over global growth and muted demand at domestic spot markets.
Alcoa expands Investor Relations team
Alcoa announced today that it is expanding its Investor Relations capability in preparation for the previously announced separation of the Company during the second half of 2016. Matt Garth, Vice President of Financial Planning and Analysis, will take on the additional leadership of Alcoa's Investor Relations group. Garth will be the primary point of contact for investors and analysts. Vice President Investor Relations Nahla Azmy, and Patricia Figueroa, Director Investor Relations, will report to Garth. Garth led Alcoa’s investor relations function from May 2009 to November 2010 before being promoted to Chief Financial Officer of Alcoa’s $3 billion global packaging business. He assumed his current role as head of Financial Planning and Analysis in September 2015.
Tiwai Point aluminium smelter could run at half capacity
New predictions pick the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter in Southland is likely to stay open, but possibly in a scaled-down form.The predictions come from utilities analyst Nevill Gluyas at research and broking firm First New Zealand Capital. There have been suggestions for years that the smelter would shut down because of low aluminium prices. It faced closure in 2013 but stayed on after winning a $30 million bailout from the government, and getting an undisclosed cut in the price it paid for its electricity from Meridian Energy. Then last year the smelter negotiated a new agreement until 2030.But this was open to early termination if needed, with 2018 being the possible shut-down date if conditions deteriorated. That left New Zealand's electricity industry with a huge headache, since the...
Novel molten metals (aluminium)-based battery offers low-cost, long-lasting storage for the grid
A novel rechargeable battery developed at MIT could one day play a critical role in the massive expansion of solar generation needed to mitigate climate change by midcentury. Designed to store energy on the electric grid, the high-capacity battery consists of molten metals (including molten aluminium) that naturally separate to form two electrodes in layers on either side of the molten salt electrolyte between them. Tests with cells made of low-cost, Earth-abundant materials confirm that the liquid battery operates efficiently without losing significant capacity or mechanically degrading-common problems in today's batteries with solid electrodes. The MIT researchers have already demonstrated a simple, low-cost process for manufacturing prototypes of their battery, and future plans call...
Micro minimalist wallet constructed from aluminium and PVD finished
London based KKMC Limited has introduced a brand new model of its popular minimalist wallet. Branded as Micro, the cutting-edge functional wallet is constructed from premium grade aluminium and finished with a PVD coating. While taking about the wallet’s sleek design and unique in-built features, Micro creators said: "This is not just another wallet in an overflowing market. We came together to design a pure and beautiful minimalist product that truly reflects our design ideals. With our lives getting faster and more cluttered by the day, it seems we always have to get somewhere that bit faster, grab food that bit quicker and forget to appreciate the small things. So we decided to make your transactions that bit easier and put the small things in your pocket!" Each aluminium-built Micro...
