Indonesian Aluminium: The shift from mining to smelting
Indonesia is pitched as the next big Asian aluminium hub as the country has released an expansive alumina and aluminium expansion plan, based on the abundant bauxite resource in the country. China has exhausted its aluminium capacity cap and is unlikely to raise installed capacity significantly in the coming years. Additionally, geopolitical conflicts, sanctions, and tariffs have made much of global aluminium capacity inaccessible and vulnerable. This includes Russian aluminium and the Gulf output, along with restricted and costly access to Canadian aluminium for the US smelters. The already tight supply conditions have been made worse after the Iran-Israel-US war that disrupted the Gulf aluminium capacity. Under current supply conditions, India and Indonesia will play a critical role in...
Germany’s automotive industry drives 32.8% of aluminium consumption as EV production rises 23%, led by Volkswagen, BMW & Mercedes-Benz
Germany’s automobile industry is a major part of the country’s aluminium story, with the metal used in everything from vehicle body panels and chassis components to battery enclosures and electric-drive systems. As automakers develop lighter vehicles and expand their electric models, aluminium has become an important material across the manufacturing process. Germany’s automotive industry consumes around 950,000 tonnes of aluminium annually, accounting for a substantial share of the wider transport sector’s demand. In 2025, Germany’s total aluminium consumption stood at approximately 2.9 million tonnes, with the transport sector accounting for 1.35 million tonnes, representing 46 per cent of the total. This extensive use of aluminium in transport mirrors its importance to the global...
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Chinese and global aluminium alloy cable market poised to grow over 2015-2020
Replacement rate of copper by aluminium in cable manufacturing sector is increasing steadily. Currently, aluminium-replace-copper rate in China stands at a low level, barely at 3 – 5%. In the United States, however, the aluminium alloy-replace-copper rate or almasilium-replace copper rate stands at around 70%-75%. In Japan, too, the replacement ratio is 55%. Since, the new energy market is developing pretty fast in China, aluminium alloy cables are expected to be widely adopted in the following years. Aluminium alloy cable has been the general product used in power transmission lines in many foreign countries. According to the data obtained from countries using substantial quantity of aluminium alloy cables, the market has already entered the growth phase; it is here to stay and gain...
Opportunities and technologies galore at iMT Taiwan’s successful 1st edition
International Metal Technology Taiwan Exhibition and Conference (iMT Taiwan) delivered outstanding performance and visitor turnout at its inaugural staging as the country’s long-anticipated premiere exhibition dedicated for the metal sector. Held over three days from 2-4 December 2015 at the Kaohsiung Exhibition Centre, iMT Taiwan surpassed expectations attracting 4,657 trade professionals and full attendance at the keynote industry conference. Presenting top-notch technologies and cutting-edge innovations from 172 global industry players and Taiwan’s most prominent market leaders, the exhibition opened a world of discoveries for new machinery, equipment, and other products and solutions to boost manufacturing performance and supply chain efficiency for metal businesses. Mr. Gerd Keim,...
Pahang to decide on bauxite mining by the year end
Putrajaya and the Pahang government will announce a plan for dealing with bauxite mining activities in the state by the end of this month, Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob said yesterday. "The state government and the Ministry of the Natural Resources and Environment will make an announcement soon. Do not worry, it will be for the good of the people," he said after attending a function at Indera Mahkota in Kuantan yesterday. Adnan's administration has been criticised for its slowness in dealing with rampant bauxite mining and the resulting pollution. He told The Star in August that Pahang could not immediately put a stop to the mining out of consideration for those who earned a living from it. He said bauxite mining generated economic activities that had spin-off effects for the...
Aluminium stocks in major Chinese markets fall for three consecutive weeks
Aluminium stocks in China’s five major trading markets fell for three weeks in a row as of December 3 as production cuts begin yielding fruit, SMM understands. Smelters that used to ship aluminium ingots to major consumption hubs now prefer to ship goods to regions where aluminium capacity was cut on a large scale, SMM has learned. This resulted in lower arrivals into major trading markets. The table below shows details of aluminium stocks at China’s five major markets:
SMM Survey: 32% of Chinese smelters bullish toward aluminium prices this week
Almost 32% of the 38 Chinese aluminium smelters surveyed by SMM are bullish toward this week’s aluminium prices. Another 52% expect prices to stabilize, while the rest 16% paint a gloomy picture. The optimists expect LME aluminium to return above USD 1,525/mt and SHFE 1602 aluminium to rise above RMB 10,400/mt. aluminium production cuts in China are still on the rise, as reflected in a three consecutive week of decline in aluminium stocks in China’s five major trading markets. Spot discounts in China shrank to near RMB 100/mt, due to signs of tightening supply in east China. Rumors about SRB stockpiling will also keep shorts cautious about entering. Those neutralists see SHFE 1602 aluminium hovering between RMB 10,200-10,400/mt, and USD 1,500-1,525/mt for LME aluminium. They see negative...
Aluminium smelters across Ghana record huge losses
Metal manufacturing firms in Ghana, which include small to medium sized aluminium smelters, continue to record losses in their operations due to a host of factors including the hostile exchange rate market and the poor power situation in the country. According to the industry sources, the rolling power outage has had a devastating effect on firms’ administrative and operating expenses as well as their cost of sales. This is evident in the negative growth of the manufacturing sector for the first half of 2015, according to the Ghana Statistical Service. Aluminium smelter, Aluworks is one of the latest firms to register losses in their third quarter financials. Aluworks registered a loss of GH¢9.6 million at the end of September 2015, compared with a loss of GH¢2.4 million the same period...
Metro Mining enhances intended takeover offer for Cape York Gulf Alumina
Metro Mining has enhanced bulk export prospects for its bauxite holdings on Queensland’s Cape York Peninsula with the definition of expanded direct shipping ore (DSO) resources. This follows immediately on Metro’s proposed takeover of Gulf Alumina, a potentially game-changing acquisition which could result in a substantially larger company benefiting from a number of operational synergies and economics of scale. The company’s Cape York DSO bauxite resource has increased to 65.3 million tonnes with the delineation of 11.7 million tonnes in the indicated resource category at the broader Bauxite Hills project’s BH2 deposit. This material has been confirmed as suitable to produce a beneficiated product with grades of 49.1% total aluminium oxide, 37.4% available alumina and 6.7% reactive...
Nalco teams up with Gujarat Alkalies for a caustic soda plant at Dahej
Aluminium major National Aluminium Corporation (Nalco) on Tuesday launched a joint venture with Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Limited (GACL) to set up a caustic soda plant at an investment of Rs 1,800 crore, an official source said. The two firms will come together to set up a caustic soda plant at Dahej in Gujarat. Nalco CMD T K Chand on Tuesday laid the foundation stone of the proposed plant, a release here said. The new JV company GACL-Nalco Alkalies & Chemicals Private Limited, in which NALCO holds 40 per cent share capital, while GACL holds the rest, plans to produce 2.7 lakh tonnes of caustic soda per annum. The land transfer and ordering of plant equipment are in the final stages, it said adding that the office of the new company was also inaugurated today in Baroda. “As a...
Cadilac's premium aluminium-skinned vehicle gets own repair network
When Cadillac rolls out the new CT6 early next year, the aluminium-skinned vehicle will have dedicated factory-certified repair facilities. Cadillac said last week that it is launching the Cadillac aluminium Repair Network to ensure the lightweight rear-wheel-drive luxury sedan, due in the first quarter, is repaired properly after a crash. aluminium vehicles require repair facilities that are sealed off from those used to fix steel-bodied vehicles, dealers need different tools to repair aluminium body panels and technicians need to learn different repair techniques. With the CT6, Cadillac joins a small but growing group of automakers producing aluminium-intensive cars and light trucks, including Jaguar Land Rover, Tesla, Ford and Audi. John Eck, Cadillac’s collision manager for wholesale...
Boyd Aluminum adds fully functioning CNC machine to its fabrication capabilities
Boyd Aluminum announced the company has expanded its fabrication capabilities with the addition of a fully functioning Computer Numerical Control machine. Set up last summer, the Emmegi Phantomatic T3 Star allows Boyd to meet the requirements necessitated by its storefront division, as well as other product lines, by matching the original CAD design, officials said. "The addition of our CNC machine allows us to meet our customers’ always changing design needs and customization preferences with a consistent high level of quality. The versatility of the CNC lets us manufacture parts that were not possible in the past. It also gives us great deal of flexibility in our new storefront systems," says Erin Olson, executive vice president. Headquartered in Springfield, United States, Boyd...
Tianjin Zhongwang’s cold rolling mill for aluminium plates and sheets finishes its first load trial run
Tianjin Zhongwang announced another good news that the two cold rolling mills for wide-width aluminium plates and sheets produced the first aluminium coil in success. Till now, both of the two sets of single-stand cold rolling mills for wide-width aluminium plates and sheets have entered into the trial production stage, following the test of smelting and casting mill, hot rolling mill and the first set of cold rolling mill. There are two sets of cold rolling mills in #1 cold rolling plant in Tianjin, of which the products are mainly applied in aerospace and aviation, vessels and military, transportation and chemical vessels etc.. On 30th June, 2015, the first 6-roll cold rolling mill finished the first load trial run in success, and the testing progress is carrying out smoothly. This...
China aluminium semis exports to rebound slightly in November
China will see a slight rebound in its aluminium semis exports in November after 6% decline in October, SMM expects. The average SHFE/LME aluminium price ratio slid further to 6.84 in November. Some export orders are due for fulfillment before Christmas holiday. Both will contribute to the growth in outbound shipments. Customs data showed that China’s aluminium semis exports fell to 283,000 tonnes in October from 300,000 tonnes in September. SMM attributes the fall to falling overseas orders and anti-dumping against some aluminium products. Aluminium extrusion exports plummeted 19.4% month-on-month to 70,329 tonnes. Pipe/tube exports dropped 14.6% month-on-month to 8,985 tonnes, and foil exports slipped 4.8% month-on-month to 74,892 tonnes. Exports of plate/sheet and strip, by contrast,...
Amtek Auto's bloated debt adds to the investors' list of concerns
Amtek Auto group is under stress and its latest earnings - a consolidated loss of INR 987 crore for the year ended 30 September (for the first time since 2004), against a net profit of INR 848.21 crore the previous year - aren’t good news for the lenders. Amtek Auto follows the October-September financial year. For the September quarter, its stand-alone loss is INR158.62 crore against a net profit of INR 74.37 crore a year ago. Further, the group carries a debt burden of INR 21,134 crore in June 2015: a combination of bonds, term loans, working capital loans and external commercial borrowings, or ECBs. Its total income for the year dropped to INR15,213.4 crore from INR 15,706.6 crore a year ago and the bulk of the erosion happened in the September quarter - a fall to INR 833.8 crore from...
LME aluminium faces resistance at $1,518
LME aluminium faces a resistance at $1,518 per tonne, a break above which could lead to a gain to the next resistance at $1,544. These resistances are provided respectively by the 38.2 percent and the 50 percent Fibonacci retracements on the fall from the September 9 high of $1,655.50 to the November 23 low of $1,432.50. It seems the metal was unable to break $1,518 this time and may retrace to a support at $1,485, the 23.6 percent level, or at least hover below $1,518 for one day. A rise to $1,524 could confirm a break above this resistance.
China primary aluminium imports rise to 34,900 mt in October
According to China Customs, China imported 34,900 mt of primary aluminium in October, up from September’s 10,600 mt. The month-on-month growth is driven by a significant growth of imports under tolling trade. Primary aluminium imported under tolling trade came mainly from Iran, New Zealand and Australia. Imports under general trade were a mere 10,000 mt. aluminium premiums in Japan remained between USD 80-90/mt in October. Overseas institutions see no sharp drop in Japan aluminium premiums in the short term. China will maintain a 17% VAT on primary aluminium imports. These factors will act as constraint on primary aluminium imports.
Rio Tinto to go ahead with $1.9 bln bauxite expansion
Rio Tinto expects to produce 2.8 million tonnes of bauxite a year and replace the output from the depleting East Weipa mine. It slashed its budget for major projects to roughly $5.5 billion for 2015 from more than $17 billion three years ago. The project also provides further expansion options which could increase annual output to 50 million tonnes. In 2011 commodities saw a minor spike, but haven't been able shake off their downwards trend since. Chief executive, Sam Walsh, said the project would provide 1,400 permanent jobs and 1,100 in the construction phase, set to begin in 2017. Norsk Hydro ASA, Europe's third-largest aluminum producer, last month signed a letter of intent to acquire Vale SA's 40 per cent stake in Brazilian bauxite producer Mineracao Rio do Norte SA. It is expected...
China alumina imports up 113.83% YoY in October
China imported 581,500 mt of alumina in October, up 113.83% YoY, customs data showed. A sharp fall in import prices lured Chinese aluminum producers and traders to ramp up imports. FOB price of West Australian alumina fell 11% MoM to USD 243/mt at the end of October. Imported alumina is suitable for production of high-purity aluminum or low-Fe aluminum, due to relatively low content of lithium and iron. This also partly explained the growth in import volumes.
China bauxite imports to fall further in December after 34% slump in November
China’s bauxite imports fell 34% month-on-month in November, a trend to continue in December, SMM expects. SMM bases its prediction on falling shipment from top supplier Malaysia due to monsoon season there, as well as destocking by Chinese alumina producers against year-end cash tightness. China imported 4.48 million tonnes of bauxite in October, up 74.36% from a year ago, but plunged from 6.81 million tonnes in September, customs data showed. The month-on-month decline was dragged mainly by a 41.5% slump from Malaysia, a 36.1% decline from Australia and an 11.1% drop from India.
