Germany exports 86% of TRIMET’s aluminium production despite 1.84Mt domestic demand from automotive, packaging & extrusion industries
Germany’s last remaining primary aluminium producer, TRIMET Aluminium SE, has a combined nameplate capacity of approximately 540,000 tonnes per year across its German and French smelters. Yet Germany exported 466,756 tonnes of unwrought primary aluminium in 2025, equivalent to 86.44 per cent of that combined capacity. Exports reached 501,678 tonnes in 2023 and 449,590 tonnes in 2024, while shipments totalled 273,080 tonnes between January and July 2026. The comparison presents an intriguing picture of Germany’s aluminium industry. Despite having a limited primary smelting base, the country continues to export hundreds of thousands of tonnes of unwrought aluminium annually. At the same time, it imported 2 million tonnes of primary aluminium in 2025, more than four times its exports. Why...
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...
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Odisha locals extend support to Vedanta's Lanjigarh refinery
A delegation of project affected people of Vedanta from the region met Mr. Abhijit Pati, CEO Vedanta Aluminium and urged him to continue with operations at Lanjigarh and to explore all possible options to avoid closure of the refinery as it will result in catastrophic consequences for the region. They have presented him with a petition on the same during his visit to Lanjigarh yesterday on 9th September. Referring to the decision of closing down the plant, the petitioners expressed their concern over the future of ongoing CSR projects. The locals also said that closure of the plant will severely affect livelihoods of more than ten thousand workers of the region and drag the region back to the dark old days of poverty and ill- health. They also assured to extend all possible cooperation to...
Orbite ships first 5N+ high purity alumina samples
Orbite Technologies Inc. announced shipment of its new samples of high purity alumina ("HPA") to prospective customers. The company had previously shipped 4N8 HPA samples to prospective customers. Feedback on purity and chemical composition of samples was positive and these prospective customers had indicated their desire to test HPA that is more representative of full-scale, commercial production, notably relative to mechanical properties. Orbite subsequently modified its existing calcination equipment and process to mimic more closely the new permanent setup. These new samples produced at Cap-Chat are more representative of the Company's intended final products. Purity levels achieved were up to 5N5 (99.9995% purity), which the Company will refer to as 5N+ going forward. These samples...
Orbite declares intention to purchase outstanding 2012 debentures
Orbite Technologies Inc. announced its intent to purchase all outstanding 8% convertible secured debentures issued on December 13, 2012 as per the terms of the indenture of that date. The debentures, the outstanding principal of which amounts to $25M, will be purchased for a price of $1,000 for each $1,000 of outstanding principal amount plus unpaid accrued interest. "The redemption of the debentures will increase cash available for operations by $2.0 million on an annual basis due to a reduction in interest payments," stated Jacques Bedard, Orbite's CFO. Additionally, the 2012 and 2013 refundable investment tax credits received, against which the debentures were collateralized, exceed the $25M of the principal amount of outstanding debentures by $1.0 million, and will be used against the...
MetalX acquires aluminum toll processing firm
MetalX, Waterloo, Indiana, has announced it has completed the acquisition of the assets and business of Metal Shred Industries LLC (MSI), an aluminum scrap toll processor located in Kendallville, Indiana. The MSI name will be retired and the facility will be identified as MetalX effective immediately. MSI, founded in 2006 as an affiliate of Metropolitan Alloys, shreds aluminum scrap on a toll basis for a variety of customers in the aluminum sector. It currently processes nearly 10,000 tons of aluminum annually. In a press release announcing the acquisition, MetalX says it intends to maintain MSI’s current toll processing relationships and volumes and also plans to expand the scope of operations to include open market purchases. Over the next several months, MetalX estimates that annual...
Century announces curtailment of one potline at Hawesville, KY Smelter
Century Aluminum of Kentucky, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Century Aluminum Company, announced the orderly curtailment of one potline at its Hawesville, Kentucky aluminium smelter, effective immediately. Following the curtailment, Hawesville's primary aluminium production will be about 60% of capacity. The plant was operating at approximately 80% capacity prior to the curtailment. Century Aluminum of Kentucky previously issued a notice of its intent to curtail its plant operations in their entirety beginning on October 24, 2015, unless the current pricing environment substantially changes, and such notice remains in effect. Chicago, Illinois based Century Aluminum owns primary aluminium capacity in the United States and Iceland.
Wainunu in Bua opens doors to bauxite mining
The vanua of Wainunu in Bua has agreed to bauxite mining. However, it has made its stand clear that proper preliminary work needs to be done first including an environment impact assessment report. Tui Wainunu Ratu Orisi Baleitavea confirmed the bose vanua of Wainunu (traditional leaders meeting) held in Daria Village last week agreed to open doors to bauxite company Aurum Exploration (Fiji) Ltd. "We will not have bauxite mining in our district anytime soon but at a later stage after all preliminary works are carried out properly in an accountable and transparent manner," he said. "Although we have agreed, we are seriously considering the impact it will have on the environment especially the rivers and streams in our district. There also needs to be a sustainable plan for the surrounding...
Global demand and recession affect Fiji bauxite exports
Fiji has exported $48 million worth of bauxite so far from the shores of Bua in the Northern Division. But the drop in global demand has affected export and slowed work progress at the mines this year. Aurum Exploration (Fiji) Ltd executive Derek Qiu confirmed although works continued, operations were not the same during peak period. He said the company had exported 1.2 million tonnes of bauxite since mining started in Bua. "We may just have two shipments this year because of the global market situation. The global demand is less but work at the Dreketi mine is progressing," he said. On the number of bauxite shipments expected from Dreketi, Mr Qiu said, that was yet to be determined. He did not either elaborate on the tonnage of bauxite stockpiled at the mine site. However, in July, he...
IFC to lend €15m to Belarusian Alutech
The International Finance Corporation (IFC, part of the World Bank group) will lend €15 million to the group of companies Alutech, the largest privately owned manufacturer of aluminum sections in Belarus, told IFC representatives. The IFC said that the money will be granted to help bolster and diversify the Belarusian company Alutech and stimulate the growth of the private sector. The IFC's long-term loan will substitute the company's short-term financial debt. It will allow Alutech to reinforce the structure of the capital and help continue increasing export and diversifying it geographically. Carsten Mueller, the IFC's director for investments in production sector, services, and agribusiness in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, noted that investments in Alutech represent part of...
Alicon Castalloy acquires casting business of Atlas Castalloy
Alicon Castalloy, one of the leading manufacturers of aluminium alloy castings, has acquired the castings business of Atlas Castalloy. The acquisition includes transfer of plant and machinery against issue of equity shares to the existing shareholders of Atlas Castalloy. The acquisition has been completed through an all-share deal wherein existing shareholders of Atlas have been issued 1.26 million equity shares of Alicon. Atlas Castalloy, manufactures aluminium castings at its production facility at Chinchwad, Pune with a capacity of 6000 million tonnes per annum, generated revenue of INR 1.37 billion during FY 2014-15. Vimal Gupta, CFO, Alicon Group, said "The acquisition will enable the company to achieve economies of scale with additional production capacities, optimal utilization of...
Alucast secures coveted automotive quality accreditation
Alucast, which is a specialist supplier of sand, gravity and pressure castings, has secured TS16949, a prestigious automotive quality accreditation, as part of its continuous improvement drive and believes this latest development will pave the way for 33 per cent growth between now and 2018. Boosted by the industry-specific approval, the company is expecting to win a number of new orders, taking turnover from its current £7m level to £10.4m in three years, potentially creating 25 new jobs in the process. “We’ve always offered outstanding manufacturing standards to our global client base, but in order to win more work with tier 1 and car makers we had to secure TS16949. It’s fast becoming a pre-requisite on tenders,” explained Martin Haynes, technical manager at Alucast. “It is a quick...
Hindalco said to refinance INR 14,700 crore of loans
Hindalco Industries Ltd, the Indian aluminium producer backed by billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla, refinanced about INR14,700 crore ($2.2 billion) of debt. Shares extended gains. The Mumbai-based company got the average maturity of its local-currency project loans extended by 10 years, two of the people said, asking not to be identified as the details are private. Under the revamp deal, the metal maker needs to pay 6% of its debt in the first five years, versus 35% originally, one of them said. Hindalco, whose debt more than doubled to INR 29,000 crore in the four years through March, is battling mounting costs amid a slump in aluminium prices. Interest costs surged fourfold in the two years through June while the light-weight metal has declined 21% on the London Metal Exchange in the...
Vedanta smelter bags national award in energy efficiency
The aluminium smelter unit of Vedanta Limited at Jharsuguda has been bestowed the coveted ‘Excellent Energy Efficient Unit’ award in the ‘16th National Award for Excellence in Energy Management’ conducted by Confederation of Indian Industries (CII). This is the third successive year that Vedanta’s Jharsuguda unit received this prestigious award. The unit was adjudged as the “Excellent energy efficient unit” in General category (including metal & refinery), out of 127 shortlisted companies for final presentation. The parameters on which the award was bestowed were; the last three Energy Conservation initiatives, specific energy reduction trend, innovative projects that were carried out and Energy conservation approach & team work. The ‘Excellent Energy Efficient Unit’ award is instituted...
Québec launches its first Aluminium Development Strategy
Québec Premier Philippe Couillard, accompanied by Minister of the Economy, Innovation and Exports Jacques Daoust and the Parliamentary Assistant to the Premier for the Saguenay Lac-Saint-Jean region and Member for Dubuc Serge Simard, has announced the launch of the Québec Aluminium Development Strategy to foster the industry’s growth and global reach. The strategy’s objectives are to double aluminium processing in Québec by 2025, to support equipment manufacturers and specialized suppliers in export markets, and to consolidate Québec’s position as one of the world’s largest primary aluminium producers. “We owe Québec’s reputation for excellence in large part to the aluminium sector’s businesses and employees. No other state has developed a complete strategy to promote industry growth....
Outotec inaugurates dewatering technology centre in Finland
Outotec has established a dewatering technology centre in Lappeenranta, Finland to develop new products, processes and services for solid-liquid separation and raw material reuse for the entire life cycle of processing plants. Tailings are the materials left over after the process of separating the valuable fraction from the worthless fraction of an ore. The composition of tailings is directly dependent on the composition of the ore and the process of mineral extraction used on the ore. Dewatering is the process of removing some of the water from the tailings-water slurry following concentration. Both the procedures are integral to bauxite processing before the ore is sent to the refinery for alumina refining. With the new dewatering technology centre, Outotec can simulate and optimise...
TVS Motor, Sundaram Clayton to invest INR 800 crore; includes investment on aluminium casting
TVS Motor and Sundaram Clayton, India's two leading two-wheeler companies together announced plans to invest around INR 800 crore in Tamil Nadu. Speaking on the sidelines of Tamil Nadu Global Investors Meet at Chennai on Wednesday Venu Srinivasan, chairman and managing director, TVS Motor and Sundaram Clayton said that Tamil Nadu is the best place to invest as it boasts great business environment and infrastructure. Both the companies together would invest around INR 800 crore over the next three years. This will be increasing the two-wheeler capacity from 2 million to 2.5 million in Tamil Nadu. The investment will be on castings, plastic and aluminium casting and also on the BMW project.
LME aluminium to test support at $1,589
LME aluminium is expected to test a support at $1,589 per tonne, as indicated by its wave pattern and a Fibonacci retracement analysis. A five-wave cycle from the Aug. 24 low of $1,506 has completed, causing the current drop, which may extend into a range of $1,558-$1,574, formed by the 61.8 percent and the 50 percent Fibonacci retracements on the cycle. The immediate support is at $1,589, the 38.2 percent level, only a break below which could confirm the target range. Resistance is at $1,609, the 23.6 percent level, a break above which could lead to a limited gain to $1,621, the 14.6 percent level.
Aluminium futures weaken on sluggish demand
Aluminium fell 0.14 per cent to INR 106.60 per kg in futures trade today after traders reduced their exposure due to sluggish demand at the domestic spot market amid drop in China exports. At Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), aluminium for delivery in September eased 15 paise or 0.14 per cent to INR 106.60 per kg in a business turnover of 86 lots. Similarly, the metal for delivery in October contracts traded lower by just five paise, or 0.05 per cent, to INR 107.90 per kg in 5 lots. The weakness in aluminium futures trading is mostly due to fall in demand from consuming industries at the domestic market and disappointing China's trade data.
Aremco introduces Aremcolox 502-1400-99% alumina
Aremco Products, Inc., a leading manufacturer of high reliability equipment for the electronics, ceramics and metallurgical industries, announced the introduction of Aremcolox™ 502-1400-99, a high density, full-fired, 99% pure alumina ceramic. Aremcolox™ 502-1400-99 provides exceptional abrasion and corrosion resistance as well as high mechanical strength and electrical resistance for continuous operating temperatures to 3000 ºF (1650 ºC). Properties include a compressive strength of 340,000 psi, flexural strength of 46,000 psi and dielectric strength of 225 volts/mil. Aremcolox™ 502-1400-99 demonstrates exceptional chemical and erosion resistance. It experiences no weight loss when exposed to high concentrations of sulphuric acid for extended periods of time and demonstrates a very low...
