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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Vedanta CEO to meet Odisha CM to request for bauxite mines
Tom Albanese, Chief Executive Officer, Vedanta Resources Plc, is scheduled to meet Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday to request for making bauxite available to the company's Lanjigarh alumina refinery that is otherwise headed for a shutdown. The company has said repeatedly in the recent past that the plant's operation has become totally unsustainable due to the fall in global alumina/aluminium prices and high cost of production arising out of the non-availability of bauxite within the state. This has created a lot of uncertainty around Vedanta's gamble to invest Rs 60,000 crore in the aluminium sector in Odisha. At such a juncture it is very unlikely that the proposed meeting between Albanese and Patnaik will yield any outcome. The present scenario in fact, leaves little...
China aluminum semis exports show no positive signs in H2, says SMM
Shanghai Metals Market(SMM) sees no positive note for China’s aluminum semis exports in H2 2015. One of the drags comes from one large Chinese company listed on the HKEx, who has been accused by overseas institution of engaging in aluminum semis exports in disguised form. Besides, a high SHE/LME aluminum price ratio will also undermine exports of low- and mid-end products, SMM's aluminum research team said. China exported 320,000 tonnes of aluminum semis in July, up 0.3% year-on-year, but down 21.95% month-on-month, customs data showed. Extrusion exports plunged from 163,000 tonnes in June to 77,000 tonnes in July, the major drag on overall exports.
Vimetco announces interim financial results for H1 2015
Vimetco N.V., the global producer of primary and processed aluminium products announced its interim financial results for the six months ended 30 June 2015. Sales stood at USD 855 million while EBITDA improved at USD 129 million compared to USD 90 million during the similar period of 2014. Gheorghe Dobra, Chief Executive Officer commented: "Although the average aluminium price (cash) for the first half of 2015 stood at 1,783 USD/tonne, slightly above the level registered in the same period of last year (i.e. 1,753 USD/tonne), during the second part of the semester it had a decreasing trend falling below 1,650 USD/tonne by 30 June 2015, one of the lowest levels during the last six years. This determines us to intensify even more our efforts to control costs and to increase the efficiency...
North American aluminum scrap prices held steady as on 31st August, 2015
The North American Aluminum scrap prices remained unchanged on ScrapMonster Price Index as on August 31st. 1100 Scrap prices remained flat over the day. The prices of 3003 Scrap too were flat at $0.65 per Lb. The prices of 356 Aluminum Wheels and 6063 Extrusions/Fe too were unchanged. The prices of 6063 Extrusions held steady over the day. Meantime, prices of 5052 Scrap and 6061 Extrusions remained flat at $0.65 per Lb and $0.60 per Lb respectively. The prices of Al/Cu Radiators and Al/Cu Radiators/Fe remained flat. Aluminum Radiators and Aluminum Radiators/Fe prices held steady. Aluminum Transformers and Breakage 50% Recovery prices remained unchanged on 31st August. Chrome Wheels and E.C Aluminum Wire prices remained flat over the day. Litho Sheets and MLC Clips remained flat at $0.62...
Fresh buying seen in aluminium, open interest up 3.18%
Aluminium settled up 0.33% at 107.15 trying to rebound as the Chinese government bolsters support for the economy. While last week prices dropped to a six-year low amid speculation that an expanding glut and weak demand will weigh on the Chinese market. Still outlook remain weak as Standard & Poor’s warned it was likely to revise the credit ratings for some miners over the next week after cutting its price forecasts for aluminum along with some other metals and said it expected prices to remain volatile. S&P cut its aluminum price forecasts by 18 percent to $0.70 a pound for the rest of 2015, and by 12 percent to $0.75 for 2016. It cut its outlook for copper prices by 11 percent to $2.40 a pound for the rest of this year, 2016 and 2017. Activity in China's manufacturing sector contracted...
CFTC to meet with Alcoa on LME warehouse reform
The chairman of the US commodities regulator and an executive from aluminium producer Alcoa Inc will meet this week to discuss metals warehousing reform, a spokesman for the agency said on Tuesday. The meeting between US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) chairman Timothy Massad and Alcoa Chief Financial Officer Bill Oplinger will take place on Wednesday afternoon. The meeting comes as the aluminium company has ramped up public criticism of the regulator's intervention in the London Metal Exchange's (LME) warehousing reform plan. The dispute highlights aluminium producers' concerns about the impact of LME rule changes on sinking prices. Recent LME reforms have increased the rate at which metal must be delivered out of warehouses, a response to controversial financing deals, and...
Falling premiums hit big aluminium trading houses
More than the aluminium prices that have declined to six-year lows, it is the sharp fall in “premiums” that is hurting the big trading houses like Glencore and Noble Group. Commodities trader and miner Glencore recently cited the “tough metals trading conditions, particularly aluminium and nickel affected by the collapse in physical premiums” as the main causal factor behind the declining earnings of its marketing division. Noble Group’s metals division has been hit badly too. The Asian commodities trader’s profits before interest and tax in its metals and mining segment fell 98 per cent in the first half of the year. Company officials said the division “had a very difficult quarter as premiums for metals in key distribution locations weakened sharply, impacting the overall business and...
Aluminium falls by 1.4% on global cues
Aluminium prices were down 1.45% to INR 105.60 per kg in futures trading today after speculators trimmed positions amid a weak trend overseas and sluggish demand from consuming industries in the spot market. At the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), aluminium for delivery in September shed INR 1.55, or 1.45% to INR 105.60 per kg in business turnover of 597 lots. On similar lines, metal for delivery in October was down by INR 1.15, or 1.07%, to INR 106.75 per kg with a volume of 55 lots. Analysts said off-loading of positions by speculators, tracking a weak trend at the London Metal Exchange (LME) after the official purchasing managers index for manufacturing in China showed its worst reading since August 2012, cementing a broader picture of falling demand in China, weighed on aluminium...
Noranda Aluminum Holding jumps 45.76% on August 31
Noranda Aluminum Holding was among the biggest gainers on the Russell 2000 for Monday August 31 as the stock popped 45.76% to $3.95, representing a gain of $1.24 per share. Some 910,934 shares traded hands on 3,325 trades, compared with an average daily volume of n/a shares out of a total float of 1.43 million. The stock opened at $2.81 and traded with an intraday range of $4.16 to $2.81. After today's gains, Noranda Aluminum Holding reached a market cap of $5.65 million. Noranda Aluminum Holding has had a trading range between $39.48 and $2.16 over the last year, and it had a 50-day SMA of $n/a and a 200-day SMA of $n/a.
Dollar strength is reshaping aluminium industry, Norsk Hydro says
The global currency war that has driven the dollar up almost 20 per cent against peers over the past year is changing the aluminum business, according to Norsk Hydro ASA, Europe’s third-largest producer. At a time of plunging aluminum prices, the dollar’s strength is helping producers such as Hydro and others, including Canadian and Russian companies, whose costs aren’t tied to the U.S. currency, Eivind Kallevik, chief financial officer of the Oslo-based company, said in an interview at his office Friday. “It has improved the competitiveness of many of the producers in these countries,” he said. “It’s more demanding for those with a dollar-based economy, who obviously are in the U.S. but also in the Middle East, where currencies are pegged to the dollar. And the Chinese that have...
China primary aluminium import to continue growing in August
China imported 15,538 mt of primary aluminum in July, up 118.72% MoM and 10.24% YoY, customs data showed. Year to date imports through July totaled 69,365 mt, down 71.25% YoY. Aluminum premiums in Asia held between USD 100-120/mt. The SHFE/LME aluminum price ratio climbed from 7.0 in May to 7.4-7.5 in June, favorable for imports. The price ratio continued rising in July and August, hitting 7.8 at one point. This will further boost primary aluminum imports.
Shandong to ban new aluminium capacity by 2020 in favour of aluminium processing
Shandong Province, one of China’s major aluminum producing regions, has vowed to ban new aluminum capacity by 2020 and focus on high value-added aluminum products. Aluminum capacity in the province totals 9.33 million tonnes, while aluminum production is 6.72 million tonnes, leaving an utilization rate of 72.02%, cnmn.com added. In response to overcapacity, local aluminum smelters are setting foot into higher value-added products, such as aluminum semis used in aircrafts and cars.
Russia's Rusal delays decision on dividend, core profit jumps
Russia's Rusal has decided to delay a decision on its possible first dividend since listing five years ago though its second-quarter core profit more than doubled thanks to cost cuts and a weaker rouble. The rouble's decline supports the world's top aluminium producer by partially offsetting weak aluminium prices, which are already at six-year lows and, according to Rusal, will remain under pressure due to a glut of exports from China. "We expect that (the) aluminium market is likely to remain challenging for the remainder of the year," Chairman Matthias Warnig said in a statement. Rusal's core profit, or adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), soared to $568 million for the three months to June from $220 million a year earlier, topping analysts'...
Sandusky seeks to spruce up former Thakar Aluminum site
Sandusky officials want to determine if any dangerous chemicals exist at a former industrial site producing aluminum. During a recent meeting, city commissioners gave the go ahead for staff members to pursue an environmental evaluation at 1364 Olds St. — a longtime vacant property previously home to Thakar Aluminum Corp. It is possible an assessment could start and end before 2016 begins. After an appraisal occurs, city officials could leverage an unknown amount of funds to clear, raze and clean the 26-acre industrial site. The goal “is to identify recognized environmental conditions and to relieve the city from future environmental liability should the city consider acquiring the property,” city chief planner Angie Byington said. Similar efforts have recently occurred across Sandusky,...
Dubai's DIC completes sale of alumina supplier Almatis
Dubai International Capital (DIC), the private equity arm of Dubai Holding, has announced that it has completed the sale of Almatis, the supplier of premium alumina for the refractory, ceramic and polishing industries to OYAK, Turkey's largest private pension fund. The completion of this sale follows receipt of all relevant regulatory approvals. Taco Gerbranda, CEO of Almatis, said: "We are grateful to DIC for their support and the strong partnership that we formed during their ownership period. "This partnership was critical in allowing us to undertake very ambitious strategic steps that ensured the longer term stability of our company by extending our global presence, increasing capacity and becoming vertically integrated, with the single objective to better serve our customers. Today...
Vedanta crisis: Odisha to nudge Nalco, Hindalco for interim bauxite supplies
Waking up to acute raw material crisis faced by Vedanta to run its Lanjigarh alumina refinery, the state government has decided to push aluminium producers like National Aluminium Company (Nalco) and Aditya Birla Group promoted Hindalco Industries to make arrangements for interim bauxite supplies. "The state government has called both Nalco and Hindalco for a meeting next Friday. We will discuss the possibilities of bauxite supplies to Vedanta refinery by the two aluminium manufacturers. Since bauxite mining by state owned Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) would take two to three years to commence, we are looking at options for immediate supplies to the Vedanta unit", said a senior government official. Vedanta has already kicked off the exercise to shut down its one million tonne Lanjigarh...
China alumina imports to fall in Aug after 144% growth in July
China’s alumina imports will fall in August as Chinese alumina is becoming more attractive in prices, Shanghai Metals Market foresees. Sharp depreciation of yuan has made imports more expensive, which will discourage import activity. Calculated at a CIF price of $ 305 per tonne and USD:RMB exchange rate of 6.4, prices for imported alumina would be 2,380 yuan per tonne (including VAT and port charges). The price is higher than those for Chinese alumina Shanxi and Henan, SMM has learned. China imported 545,200 tonnes of alumina in July, up 144.16% from June and 17.68% from a year ago, customs data showed.
Alba to start construction of reduction line
Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) is to start construction of a sixth reduction line, which is expected to begin production in early 2019. The expansion will bring Alba's total production capacity to approximately 1,450,000 mtpa. The company recently marked its 10th year of operations of its fifth reduction line, which was inaugurated by His Royal Highness, Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa. The line expanded Alba’s annual aluminium production by adding 307,000 metric tonnes per annum (mtpa), making it the largest aluminium smelter in the world outside of Eastern Europe with a total output of 827,000 mtpa. To date, line five produces more than 345,000 mtpa of liquid metal as compared to its original capacity of 320,000 mtpa. Alba’s chief operations officer, Isa al Ansari, said:...
