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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Rio Tinto offers Australian miners free laser tech for high quality bauxite
Global mining giant Rio Tinto plans to share their non-confidential laser mineral analysis technology free of cost with the upcoming exploration companies in Australia to facilitate the discovery of high quality mineral reserves in the country. The technology was developed by geoscientists at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Ore Deposit Science (CODES) over the last decade, under the guidance of Professors David Cooke and Bruce Gemmell at the University of Tasmania, and was supported by AMIRA International research projects. Rio Tinto was one of the companies that helped finance this research and it adapted the technology for its Bundoora Research laboratories in Melbourne, and has been testing it on its own mineral projects for the last two years. The technology uses the changes in the...
Rio Tinto half-year net profit plummets
Mining giant Rio Tinto on August 6 reported a 82% drop in its first-half net profit as a supply glut and slowing demand in key market China sent iron ore prices plunging. The Anglo-Australian firm, which reports in US dollars, said net profit was $806m in the six months to June 30 from $4.4bn in the same period last year. Its underlying profit, the measure preferred by the company, was down 43% to $2.9bn. "This is a robust set of results, given the tough operating environment," Rio Tinto CE Sam Walsh said in a statement. Mr Walsh said the miner’s focus on cost-cutting had reaped savings of $641m in the six months, and it was now increasing its target to $1bn. The world’s second-largest miner is heavily reliant on iron ore, a crucial steel-making component, and added that it was expecting...
Shutdown looms for Balco rolling mill at Korba
Vedanta-controlled Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (Balco) would shut down its rolling mill at Korba, Chhattisgarh, as the crises in the company reportedly deepened following recession in the sector. The rolling mill was commissioned in 1981-82. Besides the rolling mill, the company houses ingot and wire-rod mills in the facility. The closure of rolling mill would affect about 500 employees. A Balco official, confirming the report, said, “The management has decided to shut down the rolling mill that has been the most loss-making unit.” The move was inevitable since continuing with the mill, which had been recording heavy losses for the past four years, would have pushed Balco on the verge of closure, the spokesperson added. Since the other two mills were running in profit, the management...
Recycling Aluminium enters into an Equity Transfer Agreement with JX Electronic
Recycling Aluminium, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Mianyang Xinhuan Aluminium, entered into an Equity Transfer Agreement with JX Electronic. Pursuant to the agreement Recycling Aluminium agreed to acquire and JX Electronic agreed to sell 30% equity interest in Xinhuan Aluminium, for a cash consideration of RMB1,500,000. Upon completion, Recycling Aluminium will legally and beneficially hold 30% equity interest of Xinhuan Aluminium, with the right to appoint two out of the three members of the board of directors of Xinhuan Aluminium. Accordingly, Xinhuan Aluminium will become an indirect non-wholly owned subsidiary of the company. JX Electronic is a company which is controlled by Ms. Yu Yanyan and Ms. Yu Jiajia, associates of Mr. Yu Jianqiu, Chairman and controlling shareholder,...
Nalco aims INR 320 cr procurement from MSEs in 2015-16
National Aluminium Company (Nalco), the navratna PSU, has set a target to purchase goods and services worth INR 321.50 crore from the micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in 2015-16. In percentage terms, the sourcing of goods and services from the MSEs is 25 per cent of the total annual procurement of INR 1,286 crore fixed by Nalco for the current fiscal. The annual purchase value excludes steel, cement, coal and fuel. The MSEs from which the other items will be sourced includes the units owned by SC /ST entrepreneurs, who will be supplying the company Rs 1 crore worth of goods and services in the current fiscal. Such units will account for 0.08 per cent of the total procurement. In 2014-15, the central PSU had purchased goods and services worth INR 350 crore from MSEs. It also intends to...
NALCO puts diversification and expansion plans on fast track
The National Aluminium Co Ltd (NALCO) expressed interest to diversify into nuclear power production. The company is also looking to strengthen its raw material supply chain. It expects Odisha to give it green signal for a new bauxite mine in the next few months that will help it to start work on another 1 million tonne per annum alumina plant at a cost of about $867 million. NALCO, which has the capacity to produce 2.28 million tonnes a year of alumina from naturally occurring bauxite, is also in talks with officials in Modi's home state of Gujarat to set up another 1 million tonne a year alumina refinery there. Tapan Kumar Chand, the newly appointed chairman-cum-managing director of NALCO said, "You can't remain at the same place. If you don't grow, competitors will start growing and you...
Metro Mining signs non- binding off-take agreement with China Xinfa Group
Brisbane based Metro Mining Ltd and China’s Xinfa Group have signed an Off-Take Memorandum of Understanding aimed at pre-committing half of Metro’s Bauxite Hills Project production for the first five years. Xinfa Group Ltd is a long standing major shareholder of Metro Mining. Whilst the initial agreement is non- binding, Metro Mining CEO Simon Finnis says the companies aim to finalise binding contracts within four months. Metro Mining forecasts total annual production of up to 2 million tonnes from Bauxite Hills. Xinfa stands to secure 1 -1.2 million tonnes a year for five years. "This MoU shows the strong relationship and exceptional good faith between Xinfa and Metro Mining,” Mr Finnis said. Bauxite Hills is scheduled to be in operation from September next year. Mr Finnis says the...
Bhoruka Aluminium to announce first quarter results on Aug 13, 2015
A meeting of the Board of Directors of Bhoruka Aluminium Ltd will be held on August 13, 2015, to consider and take on record the Unaudited Financial Results for the First quarter ended June 30, 2015. Pursuant to provisions of SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations, 2015 "Code of Conduct to Regulate, Monitor and Report Trading by Insiders (Insider Trading Code) and Code of Fair Disclosure and Conduct- Practices and Procedures for Fair Disclosure of Unpublished Price Sensitive Information (Principles of fair Disclosure)" approved and adopted by the Board of Directors, the Trading Window for dealing in the securities of the company shall remain closed for the Directors and Others covered under the Code from the closure of business hours of August 03, 2015 and shall continue to...
Instacom rises 4.35% on proposal to buy major stake in aluminium fabrication company
Instacom Group Bhd ( Financial Dashboard)'s share price rises 4.35% this morning following a proposed a bonus issue of up to 657.1 million new shares on the basis of one bonus share for every three shares held to reward its shareholders. The company also announced the proposal to purchase a major stake aluminium fabrication company Neata Aluminium (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd for RM73.58 million yesterday. At 11.15am, the stock gained 0.5 sen to 12 sen. A total of 2.632 million shares were traded so far today. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, Instacom (fundamental: 1.25; valuation: 0.9) had proposed to acquire 5.3 million shares, representing a 43.6% equity interest in Neata Aluminium RM73.58 million from Golden Oasis Resources Sdn Bhd. Instacom had said the purchase will be funded...
Sapa sells automotive components company Autocar
Sapa has sold its 100-percent-owned company Autocar Tecnologie Srl to the Italian firm Il Telone. Autocar produces components, mainly in steel for roofs, doors and side pillars, for trailer OEMs and distributors in Europe. Acquired by Sapa in 2010, Autocar has annual turnover of approximately EUR 9 million and employs 48 people. The company is located in northern Italy, in Dubino. Il Telone, a privately owned company, purchased all the shares in Autocar from Sapa Profili, which is Sapa’s Italian subsidiary. The transfer of shares was effective on August 4. “Autocar is non-core business for Sapa, and therefore it makes sense for us to find a new home for Autocar and its employees,” says Luca Bertola, who is responsible for Sapa’s aluminium extrusion activities in Italy. “Our aim has been...
Solum develops fully recyclable aluminium crane pads
Solum has developed a range of aluminium outrigger pads, reducing the weight of the units and providing a fully recyclable product. The pads are available in three sizes, all 600mm wide and either 600mm, 1,200mm or 1,800mm long. They weigh between 13-38kg, enabling them to be lifted by one or two people within safety limits. A single 600mm x 600mm pad can spread a 20t SWL, while a five-unit arrangement of 600mm x 1,800mm pads can spread a 100t SWL. The pads have been tested by Lloyds British Testing and the performance verified. Bob Quinn, technical director at Solum, said: "We designed the Solum so it could be laid in a variety of configurations to accommodate a large range of loads, yet remain light enough to be man-handleable. Currently to get steel pads into place, the crane will...
ISRI’s Pickard named to the Industry Trade Advisory Committee on Nonferrous Metals
The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) today announced that Chief Economist and Director of Commodities Joe Pickard was selected to serve on the Industry Trade Advisory Committee on Building Materials, Construction, and Nonferrous Metals (ITAC-9). Joe will serve as the representative of the U.S. scrap recycling industry. The Industry Trade Advisory Committees are joint partnerships between the Office of the United States Trade Representative and the U.S. Department of Commerce. They work by bringing together business leaders in order to develop U.S. trade policy regarding their respective industry. “It’s an honor to represent ISRI on ITAC-9 and I’ll be delighted to serve as a liaison between the scrap industry, the Commerce Department, and the Office of the U.S. Trade...
Aluminum Corp of China stock getting oversold
In trading on Thursday, shares of Aluminum Corp of China Ltd. entered into oversold territory, changing hands as low as $8.44 per share. We define oversold territory using the Relative Strength Index, or RSI, which is a technical analysis indicator used to measure momentum on a scale of zero to 100. A stock is considered to be oversold if the RSI reading falls below 30. In the case of Aluminum Corp of China Ltd., the RSI reading has hit 29.8 - by comparison, the universe of metals and mining stocks covered by Metals Channel currently has an average RSI of 37.5. A bullish investor could look at ACH's 29.8 reading as a sign that the recent heavy selling is in the process of exhausting itself, and begin to look for entry point opportunities on the buy side. Looking at a chart of one year...
Pahang’s bauxite mining areas under AELB’s scanner
The Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) has taken samples of water, soil and bauxite in mining areas in Pahang said to be unleashing radioactive elements for analysis. Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob said the samples were taken last Aug 3 at the river and beach in Pengorak and the result would be known in a month. "We will wait for the result of the analysis before taking any action," he told reporters at the state executive council meeting at the Pahang Foundation here today. Adnan said the Department of Environment (DOE) had taken samples of water in the affected areas on several occasions, but did not detect the presence of any radioactive elements. "We do not deny the problem, but the government has taken measures to address the problem." "We cannot stop the mining activities...
Test run underway at Vietnam’s Nhan Co refinery plant
The Nhan Co refinery plant in the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong, Vietnam is running test productions through the end of September, said Head of the project’s management board Nguyen Thanh Liem on July 30. Constructed within a 65-hectare mine, the plant is designed to process more than 1.8 tonnes of ore each year. Ore reserves at the mine are estimated at around 60 million tonnes, capable of supplying bauxite for the aluminium production plant for 30 years. The plant was initiated by the Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Holding Corporation Limited (Vinacomin) on September 15, 2013 at a total cost of 900 billion VND (41.2 million USD). It consists of an ore refinery plant and a 5-kilometre conveyor belt covered by corrugated iron to protect the environment. Once fully...
Aziana Ltd.’s Manantenina Bauxite Project sale not to proceed
Aziana Limited informed their shareholders that the prospective sale of its Manantenina Bauxite Project will not be proceeding. The prospective buyer has today notified the company in writing of its intentions not to proceed. The company will continue to seek a commercial outcome for the project going forward and will reengage with parties who have previously expressed an interest in Manantenina. Aziana operates in two segments: USA and Madagascar. The USA segment is engaged in oil and gas production and exploration within the United States. The Madagascar segment is engaged in mineral exploration within Madagascar.
LME Aluminium hits six years low on supply concern
Global glut caused benchmark aluminium to crash on London Metal Exchange hitting a six years low at $1,576 a tonne. The metal widely used across packaging and transport sectors recouped some losses closing at $1,592.50, down 0.2 per cent. Primary aluminium exports from China surged 66 per cent in the first half of the year from the same period last year to reach 20,412 tonnes. However, what is more worrisome is the export of semi-fabricated aluminium products which has jumped a significant 44 per cent to reach 2.22 million tonnes. Vivienne Lloyd, analyst at Macquarie, expressed concern over China’s releasing of its aluminium surplus. He said, "It needs to fall towards $US1,500 to convince people smelter closures are necessary." Presently, aluminium stocks in LME approved warehouses stand...
NMDC and Nalco stocks look attractive after a year-long decline
After a sharp fall over the last one year, stocks of state-owned mining companies -NMDC and Nalco -look attractively valued for investors who prefer to buy companies with good dividend yields. Cash on the books of NMDC as on March 31, is almost half of its market cap, while in case of Nalco it is little over 50 per cent. In addition, both these firms have a strong dividend-paying history. In 2014-15, NMDC paid 56 per cent of its profits in dividend, while Nalco paid around 35 per cent in dividend. A weakness in the global iron ore and alumina prices was the key reason for the sharp fall in the stocks of these two companies. As a result, NMDC and Nalco, which supply products mainly in the domestic market, were forced to take price cuts. NMDC's stock is down 40 per cent in one year, while...
