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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Alcoa reports progress towards aluminium business targets at 2015 Investor Day
Lightweight metals leader Alcoa reported progress on the company’s performance against three-year financial targets and its continuing transformation as it prepares to separate into two industry-leading, publicly-traded companies. Alcoa also outlined a clear roadmap to complete its separation in the second half of 2016. The company delivered the update at its 2015 Investor Day event in Grand Rapids, Michigan. “Alcoa’s transformation continues to create exciting profitable growth in our Value-Add business and lower the cost position of our Upstream business to ensure success throughout the cycle,” said Klaus Kleinfeld, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Culminating our successful multi-year transformation, we have now set a clear path to separating the portfolios into two strong,...
Aleris reports Q3 2015 results- adjusted EBITDA up 24% Q-o-Q
Aleris Corporation reported results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015. Except as otherwise indicated, all amounts reflect the divested recycling and extrusions businesses as discontinued operations. Third Quarter Summary: • Adjusted EBITDA of $68 million, up 24 percent compared to third quarter of 2014 • Global automotive volumes up 29 percent compared to prior year • Global aerospace volumes up 16 percent compared to prior year • Solid productivity savings in North America led by Nichols integration and network optimization efforts • Stronger U.S. dollar positively impacted Europe profitability • Asia Pacific achieved positive Adjusted EBITDA • Purchased $125 million in principal of Senior Notes; liquidity of $612 million as of September 30, 2015 Fourth Quarter...
Kobe Aluminum Automotive Products plans expansion
Kobe Steel, Ltd. announces that its U.S. joint venture, Kobe Aluminum Automotive Products, LLC (or KAAP), will expand its production facility to meet the growing demand in North America for aluminum forged suspension products. KAAP will invest approximately $56.6 million in capital investments. Start-up of the new production equipment is anticipated to begin in 2017. KAAP will install an additional melting and casting line and two forging presses. The expansion will increase production capacity up to 750,000 pieces per month. The investment also includes the acquisition of adjacent land and the construction of an additional building to house the new equipment, while looking ahead to further potential expansion in the future. About 100 people are anticipated to be hired. By making cars...
ARABAL 2015 receives royal patronage
The CEO of the Saudi Arabian mining company "Ma’aden" Khalid bin Saleh Al-Mudaifer announced the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Saud bin Nayef bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud, the governor of the Eastern Province of the Arab International Aluminium Conference and Exhibition "ARABAL 2015", which will be hosted by Ma’aden. The event takes place between the fifteenth and seventeenth of November in Dhahran International Exhibitions Center in the Eastern Province, and will be attended by His Excellency Engineer Ali Al-Naimi, the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources. Engineer Al-Mudaifer spoke at a press conference hosted by Ma’aden yesterday in order to shed light on the final preparations for "ARABAL" and the themes addressed and activities associated with this global gathering....
Metro Mining outlines its Bauxite Hills project operation plan
Metro Mining announecd feasibility study results of its Bauxite Hills project in Queensland. Based on the analysis, which indicated at a healthy production over a 25+ year life with modest costs and a tight payback period, the company valued the project at A$235 million. Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) figures for the project have contemplated a simplified operation producing 2 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of direct shipping ore (DSO) bauxite earning annual EBITDA of $A54.4 million at a low operating cost of $22.5 per tonne before royalties. Capital expenses came in at only $33.9 million, allowing for a payback period of 1.1 years and an internal rate of return at 148%. Assuming all regulatory approvals are granted by late 2016 and project funding is obtained prior to the start of...
"We are making all efforts to keep our operations running… resorted to closure only after exhausting all other viable options," Dr Mukesh Kumar, President & Group Head - Technology & Innovation, Vedanta Limited
Vedanta Limited, a Vedanta Group company is one of the world's largest global diversified natural resources company, with operations across zinc-lead-silver, oil & gas, iron ore, copper, aluminium and commercial power. To remain competitive in the recent global melt down condition due to low metal prices and non-availability of raw materials, Vedanta Limited is plunging into cost cutting, capacity cut and technology innovation drives. Dr. Mukesh Kumar is the President & Group Head – Technology & Innovation, Vedanta Limited. He is looking after Technology/ Projects of Vedanta Resources, developing innovative culture in the group with a focus on zero discharge, zero waste and zero harm through implementation of state of the art technologies. He spoke to AlCircle about Vedanta's waste...
Shipston Equity Holdings acquires aluminium design and casting company
Shipston Equity Holdings, LLC, a privately owned company, today announced the acquisition of Compass Automotive Group, LLC, a premier aluminium design and casting company. Effective immediately, Compass will be renamed Shipston Aluminum Technologies, International (SAT). Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. SAT is a leader in the design and manufacture of complex safety critical aluminium high-performance castings found in chassis, suspension, engine and driveline systems primarily for automotive industry. SAT has expertise in modified and proprietary low pressure permanent mould and squeeze casting processes that are used in applications requiring high-integrity precision. Its customers include virtually all North American, Asian and European OEMs as well as major tier 1...
Rexam engages with British craft brewers at craft beer masterclass
Rexam, a leading global can maker, last week hosted a craft beer masterclass for craft brewers at its newly expanded Graphics & Design Centre at European HQ, Luton. Guests were shown the full can manufacturing process, from concept of the design to the delivery of cans. Eleven customers attended in total and all expressed how informative and insightful they found the session – the first of its kind. Attendees gained a higher understanding of the functionality of the can as a packaging format and the 360o design potential – key for small brands with limited marketing spend. Experts at the Graphics & Design Centre work with customers to introduce them to different can sizes and finishes, and to translate their brief into a design that will stand out on the shelf. In the last year Rexam...
China Zhongwang net profit increases by 30% to RMB2.52 billion in Q1 2015
China Zhongwang Holdings Limited, together with its subsidiaries, announced its unaudited results for the nine months ended 30 September 2015. During the review period, the Group’s revenue rose 3.0% year-on-year to RMB12.68 billion. As sales of high-end industrial aluminium products increased, together with reduced raw material costs due to a decline in the price of aluminium, the Group’s gross profit margin increased by 6.2 percentage points to 34.8%. Profit attributable to equity shareholders surged by 29.1% year on year to approximately RMB2.52 billion. Mr. Lu Changqing, Executive Director and Vice President of China Zhongwang, said, “Seizing opportunities arising from China’s industry upgrade and the light-weight development trend of the transportation sector, the Group continued to...
Aluminium Federation to seek governmental support for UK’s aluminium sector
The Aluminium Federation, UK, has called for an urgent meeting with Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Sajid Javid. The Federation stresses that the UK’s aluminium sector needs similar support to that being proposed for the country’s steel industry. “The UK aluminium sector has already suffered major plant closures such as those currently threatened in the steel industry, and our energy-intensive industry needs government backing just as much as steel and other metals,” said Aluminium Federation chief executive Will Savage. “Specifically, we want to see swift action on energy taxes, business rates, public sector procurement, support for R&D, resourcing for BIS and a firm stance to be taken regarding China’s application for ‘Market Economy Status’ at the EU. The...
Aluminum climbs as Alcoa shrinks capacity on China export deluge
Aluminum notched higher after Alcoa Inc., the largest U.S. producer, announced reductions in smelting and refining capacity, in a latest response to Chinese export deluge that have created a global surplus and driven prices to the lowest level in more than six years. The metal used to make everything from aircraft to window frames and cans climbed as much as 1.5 percent to $1,516 a metric ton, the highest level in a week, after the New York-based company said it will reduce smelting capacity by 503,000 metric tons and alumina refining by 1.2 million tons. The measures will be completed by the end of next quarter. Prices have slumped 27 percent in the past year after Chinese shipments surged to a record as new low-cost capacity started in the world’s biggest supplier. Goldman Sachs Group...
LME aluminium may rise into $1,532-$1,548 range
Aluminium on London metal Exchange (LME) may break resistance at $1,515 per tonne and rise towards the resistance range of $1,532-$1,548, as indicated by its wave pattern and a Fibonacci projection analysis. Resistance is provided by the 114.6 percent Fibonacci projection level of a downtrend from the October 9 high of $1,646. The trend could be broken down into five small waves, with the fourth wave having peaked around $1,548, the 86.4 percent level. Wave theory suggests this peak may be approached. However, the target at $1,548 could only be confirmed when aluminium overcomes resistance at $1,532, the 100 percent level. Support is at $1,505, the 123.6 percent level, a break below which could lead to a loss to the 138.2 percent level at $1,488.
China primary aluminum imports up 97.93% YoY in September
China imported 10,600 mt of primary aluminum in September, down 11,200 million tonnes (mt) MoM, but up 97.93% YoY, customs data showed. The MoM decline is due to lower SHFE/LME aluminum price ratio. In September, tolling trade remained the major trade mode, and aluminum ingot imported not via tolling trade was rarely sold in China’s domestic market. Aluminum premiums in Japan fell to USD 90/mt in late October, down USD 10/mt from August. Despite falling aluminum premiums overseas, supply glut in domestic market and a 17% VAT will offer little incentive to import. This, combined with further decline in the SHFE/LME aluminum price ratio, means that imports will continue falling in October.
Aluminum withdrawal orders on LME surge in longest run in a year
Orders to remove aluminum from warehouses tracked by the biggest metals exchange rose for a third day, the longest stretch in more than a year, prompting traders to close out bearish bets on prices that are near a six-year low. Canceled warrants, as the bookings are known, surged 21 percent in the past three days to 1.1 million metric tons (mt), the highest in five weeks, London Metal Exchange (LME) data show. While the market is in surplus, the bookings are probably a sign that supplies are tightening and have spurred traders to cover positions on further price declines, according to ICBC Standard Bank Plc. "It’s unlikely to be related to real demand," Leon Westgate, an analyst at ICBC Standard Bank in London, said by phone. "With the large tonnages like that, it’s likely to be...
China alumina imports down 6.80% MoM in September
China imported 372,000 million tonnes (mt) of alumina in September, down 6.80% MoM, but up 9.79% YoY, customs data showed. Despite falling import prices, import volumes did not grow significantly, due to rising port stocks and weaker demand from aluminum smelters. China imported 3.14 million mt of alumina January-September, down 19.89% YoY. Imports from India grew 10.13% YoY to 486,000 mt during the first three quarters, 15.6% of total imports. Imports from Australia, however, fell 20.4% YoY to 1.88 million mt in the same period.
Two huge bauxite deposits discovered in China's Guizhou
Guizhou provinces in China recently announced the discovery of two new bauxite deposits. Preliminary studies suggest, bauxite reserves at one deposit in Zheng'an County are 20.98 million tones (mt), while at another deposit in Wuchan County, bauxite reserves stand at 33.24 mt. Bauxite reserves in China’s Guizhou province grew for four years running, according to the Guizhou Land & Resources Department. By the end of 2014, bauxite reserve base in the province stood at 133 mt, up 1 mt from 2013. Over the past few years, the number of small bauxite mines in Guizhou has decreased sharply due to stricter management by the local government. So, this news comes as an additional good news for the entire bauxite mining hub based in the region.
Rusal prepares testing site for RA-550 reduction cell
Global aluminium producer Rusal has completed preparation of a testing site for the RA-550 reduction cell. Prior to this, the Russia-based company completed engineering works and plans to commission the first cell in the third quarter of 2016. According to Rusal, the RA-550 cell development is aimed at achieving better levels of technical and economic performance in aluminium smelting. Rusal technical director Viktor Mann said: "RA-550 is a reduction cell with a breakthrough design for future smelters and upgrade projects at Rusal's existing smelting capacities. Alongside the technical and process standards, it is a compulsory requirement for any modern production facility to comply with health and safety standards and to minimise hazardous emissions into the atmosphere. So, all...
U.S. aluminum companies join hands against China's anti-competitive trade practices
Aluminum companies across the United States have come forward to form a new coalition aimed at fighting trade practices by China they think will cause potential damage to the U.S. aluminum indusrty in as little as eight to nine months. The coalition holds China responsible for heavily subsidizing its aluminum production that is causing a situation of oversupply in the global market resulting in price fall unlike ever before. The group comprising several aluminium producers is headed by embattled Century Aluminum, which posted a significant quarterly loss of $51.6 million last week and recently cut down production at its Kentucky plant. The coalition argues that China’s subsidization violates World Trade Organization rules. “As such, USTR should invoke its rights under the WTO and request...
