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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Aluminium dross processing company Taha International strengthens its management team
Taha International, headquartered in Bahrain, as part of its further growth strategy, and to support the company entering a robust new phase of expansion, has strengthened the management team with three key appointments. Graham Bruce , formerly CEO of Gulf Aluminium Rolling Mill (Garmco) Bahrain, and ex-Chief Commercial Officer of Oman Aluminium Rolling Company, (OARC) Oman, has taken up the post of deputy CEO of Taha effective 18th October. Mr Bruce has been in the region since 2010 and is delighted to return to Bahrain to join Taha at this exciting moment in the company’s development. Max von Arnim , a partner at Fjord Capital has taken up the role of CFO for the Taha Group in Bahrain. Fjord are a London - based private equity investor focused on industrial resource efficiency and have...
MCX aluminium rise on global cues, spot demand
Taking positive cues from global market and strong demand at India spot markets, aluminium prices edged up 0.43 per cent to INR 94.25 per kg in futures trade today as participants increased their bets. Marketmen said apart from increased domestic demand, a firming global trend after an interest rate cut in China last week and before a meeting of US Federal Reserve that is expected to keep rates unchanged, helped aluminium futures to trade higher. At the Multi Commodity Exchange, aluminium for delivery this month inched up by 40 paise, or 0.43 per cent, to INR 94.25 per kg in a business turnover of 273 lots. The November traded higher by 35 paise, or 0.37 per cent, to INR 95.90 per kg in 49 lots. Globally, aluminium climbed 1.2 per cent to $1,514 per tonne at the London Metal Exchange.
UC RUSAL posts alumina production growth in third quarter 2015
UC RUSAL, a leading global aluminium producer, has announced its operating results for the third quarter 2015. Alumina production for the quarter ended September 30 totaled 1,870 thousand tonnes (+2.8% QoQ). Alumina production for the first nine months of the current financial year stood at 5,496 thousand tonnes (+1.1% YoY). International operations, including Aughinish Alumina and Windalco, accounted for the major part of the output growth due to routine maintenance repairs performed at those plants in 2Q15. The overall alumina production growth is attributable to stronger internal (intercompany) demand and sustainable demand from third parties.
Aluminum hits a fresh six-year low
Aluminium hits a fresh six-year low as spot aluminium closed at $1,442 per metric ton in the London Metals Exchange (LME) on October 26. Prior to this, spot aluminium made a closing low of $1,496 per metric ton on August 24. Of all base metals, aluminium looks the weakest as of now in the commodity marketplace. Industry analysts attribute this price fall to global aluminium oversupply. Years of production cuts by major aluminium producers failed to restore the desired balance in the market. Aluminium production cuts by companies such as Rio Tinto (RIO) and Century Aluminium (CENX) have been counterbalanced by growing Chinese exports. Aluminum demand strong Aluminum demand, on the other hand, is stronger than most other industrial metals. Alcoa expects global aluminium demand to rise 6.5%...
Logan Aluminum announces groundbreaking
Delaware based Logan Aluminum’s long talked about expansion project will likely be unveiled this week. Logan County’s largest employer announced that it would hold a ground breaking ceremony for an expansion project on Wednesday at 1 p.m. No further details were announced, but in March the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority gave preliminary approval to Logan Aluminum for incentives regarding an expansion project. The preliminary approval is for a proposed $282 million expansion project for the north Logan industry, which is the county’s largest employer and among the biggest in the region. According to the proposal, Logan Aluminum would create 188 jobs that could pay an average of $50 per hour including benefits. The purpose for the potential expansion would be to make...
Sapa restructures extrusion business in Sweden
Sapa's aluminium extrusion unit in Sweden, Sapa Profiler AB, has informed its organization about restructuring of operations and consequent manning reductions. Union representatives have been notified and will begin local negotiations shortly. Sapa's long-term strategy is to build strong and effective production units that meet the demands of local and regional customers. In order to optimize its production facilities and its organization to achieve Sapa’s long-term strategy, Sapa Profiler AB will focus its operations to areas where the company has a competitive advantage and invest in these. The changes have resulted in that the company has given notice to 185 employees, mainly within the manufacturing areas. "Although we have a very strong market position in Sweden, recent improvements...
EU raises objections to Rexam-Ball deal
Rexam has received a statement of objections from the EU Competition Commission regarding the proposed £4.4bn acquisition of the company by Ball Corporation, and it could be instructed to sell its UK operations to rival firms. In July the EU launched a detailed probe into whether the deal could lead to higher prices for beverage cans. It is thought that the commission is concerned the remaining competitors would not provide sufficient competitive constraints on the merged entity. However, it is understood that Ball can walk away from the deal if required to divest assets that generate sales of more than £1bn, but would have to pay a break-up fee of about £300m. The group said it will work on a package of remedies to address the EU’s competition concerns. Typically, the acquirer will have...
Odisha pitches for Pottangi bauxite mines allocation for Nalco; fresh bid for Niyamgiri on cards
Indian aluminium major National Aluminium Company (Nalco) has inched closer in its bid to bag the Pottangi bauxite deposits with the Odisha government writing to the Union mines ministry to allocate the mines in favour of the central PSU. "We have already written to the Centre to allocate Pottangi mines in favour of Nalco. The DGPS Differential Global Positioning System) survey for the mine will be carried out by Nalco'', said director (mines), Odisha, Deepak Mohanty. The Pottangi bauxite mines, with 70 million tonne deposits, has already been reserved for Nalco since 2007. Nalco would source bauxite from these mines to feed its new refinery stream. The Navratna company is adding the fifth stream of one million tonne per annum (mtpa) capacity to its existing alumina refinery at Damanjodi...
Vedanta reports strong cash flows in a challenging commodity price environment
Indian miner Vedanta Limited (formerly known as Sesa Sterlite Ltd) has announced its unaudited consolidated results for the second quarter ended 30 September 2015. Revenues stood at INR 16,349 crore and a cash flow of INR 7,145 crore was generated despite a challenging commodity price environment prevailing in the domestic as well as global marketplace. Following are the financial highlights of the results: • Continued optimization of opex and capex to maximise free cash flow and reduce net debt; generated free cash flow of INR 7,145 crore and net debt reduced by INR 5,335 crore in Q2 • EBITDA at INR 4,113 crore up by 2% QoQ; robust EBITDA margin1 at 32% • Attributable PAT at INR 974 crore, 12% higher QoQ • Strong balance sheet with Cash & Cash Equivalents of over INR 52,000 crore, up 11%...
China Zhongwang denies United States' aluminum extrusions dumping accusations
China Zhongwang Holdings Ltd , the world's second largest producer of aluminum extrusions, denied U.S. accusations it had evaded import duties, saying its export business had been conducted in strict accordance with rules in China and overseas markets. The accusations are the first formal U.S. move to curb China's aluminum exports, which U.S. producers say have grown steadily over the past year. In a petition filed with the U.S. Commerce Department last Thursday, the U.S. Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC) asked the government to clarify that pallets and 5050 alloys are subject to antidumping and countervailing duties introduced in 2011. That ruling marked a major victory for U.S. extruders that argued Chinese exports were unfairly subsidized. Zhongwang Chairman Liu Zhongtian said in a...
Lanka Aluminium penetrates deeper into the domestic market
Lanka Aluminium Industries PLC, Sri Lanka’s leading manufacturer and distributor of state-of-the-art aluminium fittings and solutions, has opened their showroom and service centre in the town of Nittambuwa recently. The opening was attended by senior officials from Lanka Aluminium and representatives of construction and interior design establishments in and around Nittambuwa. “We have a wide range of doors and windows which are specifically designed to suit our environment & climate. We take precautions to ensure that there is no water leakage and offer provisions for insect screens which is very important for households especially considering the problem with dengue,” said Dinal Peiris-Managing Director, Lanka Aluminium Industries PLC. “One of the main reasons for opening our showroom...
Arabal participants to visit Ma’aden projects at Ras Al-Khair
The Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden) will organize a tour of its integrated aluminium facility for attendees of the Arabal conference taking place 15 – 17 November at Dhahran International Exhibitions Center in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province. The tour is intended to familiarize attendees with Ma’aden’s aluminium operations at Ras Al-Khair industrial city. Ma’aden, the Arabal host and organizer, will showcase the company’s operational facilities at Ras Al-Khair industrial city on theNovember 17, the day after the conclusion of the two day conference. The tour will include a visit to the alumina refinery (the first in the GCC), aluminium smelter and rolling mill, the latter being the only facility of its kind in the region and among the most technically advanced in the world. Arabal...
LME aluminium to hover above support at $1,488
LME aluminium may continue to hover above support at $1,488 per tonne, or bounce to resistance at $1,515. Support is provided by the 138.2 percent Fibonacci projection level of a downward wave (c), the third wave of a three-wave cycle from the Sept. 9 high of $1,655.50. It has triggered a strong bounce and may cause another one, which will be weaker, probably to extend to $1,515 only, the 114.6 percent level. A break below $1,488 could cause a loss to the 161.8 percent level at $1,462.
Aluminium down 0.26%, hurt by muted demand
Aluminium prices eased 0.26 per cent and were trading at INR 95.15 per kg in futures trade today as speculators reduced exposure, driven by sluggish demand from consuming industries at the spot market amid weak trend overseas. At the Multi Commodity Exchange, aluminium for delivery in October shed 25 paise, or 0.26 per cent to INR 95.15 per kg in business turnover of 620 lots. The November contract traded lower by 20 paise, or 0.21 per cent to INR 96.95 per kg in 144 lots. Analysts said offloading of positions by speculators amid sluggish demand in the spot market and a weak trend in base metals at the London Metal Exchange, mainly led to decline in aluminium prices at futures trade.
Vedanta wins the ‘Excellence in Corporate Governance’ Award by the IOD
Vedanta Limited, India’s only diversified natural resources company, with global assets has been awarded the ‘Excellence in Corporate Governance Award' instituted by the Institute of Directors(IOD), India. This Award recognizes Vedanta’s commitment as an organization to the high standards of corporate governance for which the company a Board of Directors are accountable to all the stake holders. “At Vedanta, we believe in conducting our company affairs with the highest levels of business ethics and personal integrity. With transparent and sound business processes, we continue to fulfill our commitments towards our stakeholders, instilling a sense of confidence in all our relationships. We are pleased to receive this award which reflects our commitment towards corporate governance,...
SHFE aluminum to lead declines in Shanghai market, SMM Says
Base metal prices on the SHFE are expected to continue their declines on October 27, with SHFE aluminum to lead price losses, Shanghai Metals Market foresees. “A considerable increase in short positions on the SHFE aluminum has sent its price to new record lows, and this will also weigh down other base metals on the SHFE,” SMM says. The US durable orders for September are due for release, and are not expected to improve significantly because of August’s poor PMIs. Aluminum price for the most actively-traded contracts will stand at 10,350-10,450 yuan per tonne, according to SMM forecast.
Rexam creates 990 designs for Baltika #3 Russian beer limited collection
Rexam has collaborated with Baltika #3, one of Russia’s most popular beer brands, to create 990 different can designs for a first of its kind limited collection. Using Rexam’s patent pending Editions™ technology, the design project, completed in just three days, is the largest undertaken by Rexam to date. The stand out 50cl cans display names of 990 different Russian cities printed on an identical urban skyline graphic. The efficient formatting of the designs onto cans was made possible by using new software installed as part of the recent investment in Rexam’s Moscow Design Centre. Rexam’s Editions™ technology allowed for 24 different Russian city names to be printed simultaneously on one pallet. The innovative campaign, running until December, aims to promote Russian patriotism and...
China A356 aluminum alloy operating rate falls in September
Operating rate at 15 Chinese A356 aluminum alloy producers dropped to 58.50% in September, Shanghai Metals Market survey found. Output at these producers also fell to 105,300 tonnes, SMM survey showed. Lower profit from tumbling aluminum prices discouraged SMEs from production. Large producers, on the other hand, maintained normal operation.
