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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Guyana Ministry of Governance Team visits bauxite mines at region 10
Minister of Governance Raphael Trotman, accompanied by Audwin Rutherford, MP. Region 10 and a team made up of senior representatives of the Guyana Geology & Mines Commission (GGMC), the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC), the Ministry of Social Protection and the Assistant Regional Executive Officer, Region 10 paid an official visit to Region 10, Upper Demerara Upper Berbice. During their two-day visit the team held discussions with the management of the Bauxite Company of Guyana Inc., toured RUSAL’s plant operations, the KURUBUKA – 22 Mines and held an onsite meeting with employees of the Company, a release from the Ministry of Governance said. The minister reiterated to the management of the bauxite company that the government expects that all investors respect the laws of Guyana, respect...
UC RUSAL announces new sales appointment
UC RUSAL, a leading global aluminium producer, announces the appointment of Christophe (Chris) Hoet as Director of Asian Sales. Chris Hoet joins RUSAL following a similar role within Vale, where he was Regional Director Sales & Marketing Base Metals, Asia Pacific. At RUSAL, he will be responsible for leading and developing the Company’s Asian sales portfolio, reporting to Steve Hodgson, RUSAL’s Sales & Marketing Director. Chris will replace Geoff Watson, who is retiring from RUSAL after nearly 5 years in this role. ‘Asia represents a strategically important market for RUSAL and Chris’s appointment continues our commitment to building enduring partnerships in the region, founded on the strong technical and commercial capabilities established under Geoff’s leadership’ Steve Hodgson, RUSAL’s...
Vedanta Resources Plc hosts first Sustainable Development Day
Vedanta Resources Plc will today host its first Sustainable Development Day in London. As part of the Group's ongoing commitment to safety and sustainability as a key business imperative, Vedanta is hosting this event to explain how it is embedding sustainability across its operations and to provide an update on progress in the past year. Tom Albanese, Chief Executive Officer, and other senior management will be presenting. The presentations from the event and the Group's 2014-2015 Sustainable Development Report will be available on our Vedanta website.
Ball Corporation reports notable achievements on its sustainability journey
Ball Corporation recently released its 2014 global sustainability data, indicating noteworthy improvements toward its corporate and operational sustainability priorities and goals since issuing its biennial sustainability report last year. "For Ball, sustainability is an integral part of who we are," said Bjoern Kulmann, Ball's director of sustainability. "Each and every day, our employees around the world remain focused on maintaining the careful and deliberate balance of our economic, environmental and social impacts so we remain successful for another century. Our achievements in 2014 are a direct result of their ongoing dedication to and engagement in Ball's sustainability efforts." The 2014 U.S. beverage can recycling rate remained at a historic high of 67 percent. To drive recycling...
AlumaBridge's first aluminum bridges go up in Quebec, Florida
AlumaBridge's big claim to fame is creating a better bridge, made out of aluminum, which is lighter, stronger, and more durable than traditional options. Travelers should get their first chance to test it out later this summer. The Ann Arbor-based company’s first bridge is being built in Quebec, Canada. AlumaBridge completed the fabrication of its bridge deck sections late last year. Those pieces are currently being constructed by the Quebec Ministry of Transportation. "It should be open to traffic by the first week of August," says Greg Osberg, president & CEO of AlumaBridge. The 1-year-old company uses aluminum as its principal material for prefabricated pieces of bridging. The idea is the specially fabricated aluminum pieces will extend the life of aging bridges much beyond the current...
Aluminium market under long liquidation, open interest drops 8.73%
Aluminium settled down -0.47% at INR 105.65 on the possibility of a Grexit increased, allowing market panic to grow. Also pressure seen after China imported 6,738 mt of primary aluminum in May, down 71.98% YoY, customs data showed. Also pressure seen after last ditch Greek debt negotiations broke down over the weekend, bringing the country a step closer to a debt default ahead of a looming deadline for a repayment to the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday. Despite the deposit reserve ratio and interest rate cut by the PBOC, CSI 500, IH 50 and IF 300 indexes plummeted as a large number of financiers closed positions, though clawed back some losses at the end of trading. This depressed market confidence. The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) expects to ease market panic. The...
Chinese imports of primary aluminium ingot likely to rise in coming months
Chinese imports of primary aluminium ingot are likely to rise in coming months after the price of the metal fell on the global market, prompting end-users to buy, industry and trading sources said on Thursday. The weak London Metal Exchange (LME) price is opening a rare arbitrage opportunity for Chinese investors to sell aluminium futures in Shanghai and buy on the LME, which may result in some imports, the sources said. Imports of primary aluminium fell 79 per cent in the first four months of 2015 compared with a year before. Spot primary aluminium ingots have been offered at premiums of about US$105-$130 per tonne to Chinese buyers, down nearly two-third from January
Weather affects bauxite shipment in Fiji
Xinfa Aurum Exploration Fiji has already made two shipments of bauxite this year. It is expected to make a total of 10 shipments this year. Company managing director Derek Qiu said the number of shipment per year mainly depends on the weather conditions. “We don’t mine on wet weather conditions but it would affect our shipment,” Mr Qiu said. He said the mining explorations also depended on the weather conditions in the North especially in Bua. The vessels that take the shipments keep changing and its loading capacity vary from 60,000 to 80,000 tonnes. Works on the new site started off on a slow pace this year compared to last year. Xinfa expects 400,000 tonnes of bauxite to be extracted from the new site at Nawailevu north in Bua. A total of 79,500 metric tonnes of bauxite were shipped...
Mango Bikes launch new Point R aluminium road bike range
Mango Bikes, a direct-sales specialist in customisable fixed wheel and singlespeed bikes, has just launched its brand new Point R road bike, with an aluminium frame, carbon fork and four models priced from £429 to £619. We’ve just got back from having an exclusive first look at the new bike which will be in stock at the end of next month. Mango started life in 2012 with a vision of supplying university students with a low-cost and customisable form of transport, first with a singlespeed and then a geared version based on the same frame, and available with drop or flat handlebars. With this new Point R, and the women’s step-through bicycle we saw at the recent Spin London urban bike show, it's clear the young company has ambitions to cater for a wider audience, and specifically those...
Rexam supports innovative start up, acáo, to launch new vegan ‘smart drink’
Rexam has partnered with acáo, the forward-thinking German drinks start-up, to launch a new organic vegan ‘Smart Drink’ in Rexam’s stylish 250ml slim cans. Patenting the ‘Smart Drink’ as a new generation of beverage, acáo, made from 100% natural ingredients, offers consumers a healthy alternative to an energy drink. Made using blends of organic fruit juices, acáo replaces additives with infusions of guarana berries to give a natural stimulant. Aimed at a health conscious audience with a vested interest in well being, the elegant 250ml slim cans are perfect for on-the-go consumption. The cans use Rexam’s HD printing to bring to life a detailed illustration of the brands mascot, the Macow Parrot, resulting in a striking can with strong stand out on shelf. The value added matt-over varnish...
Novelis Brazil unit aims big expansion in export markets
Novelis’ Brazilian unit has decided to concentrate more on export markets, in an attempt to offset declining demand growth in domestic market. According to Tadeu Nardocci, President-South American operations, Novelis, the company plans to expand its presence in the export markets of South America and Africa, where the company already exports aluminum sheet and coils. As per the company, depreciation of Brazilian currency against the dollar will favor exports out of the country. Currently, the local currency is valued at Real 3.10/$1. The increased exports will help the company achieve greater competitiveness. In addition, it will also complement Novelis’ portfolio in the US, Mexico and some African countries. The company notes that domestic demand for rolled aluminum has plunged heavily...
Oman firm on track to double aluminium production
Oman-based National Aluminium Products Company (Napco) said its expansion plan to double capacity is on track with equipment beginning to arrive in the sultanate ahead of schedule. The premier extruder of aluminium profiles in the GCC is planning to launch new products and services, in a bid to broaden its regional and international market reach. Napco has ordered two fully automated extrusion presses from Spain’s Tecalex and a vertical powder coating line from Trasmetal, Italy, to double its current capacity of 18,000 tonnes per year. The company is now receiving the commissioned machinery components which will continue to arrive until October, said a statement from the company. The teams from Tecalex and Trasmetal will be present for assembling the machines, while local suppliers will...
Tiwai aluminium smelter to give notice today to Meridian Energy
Rio Tinto's aluminium smelter in New Zealand, which has suffered losses in two of the last three years, faces a July 1 deadline to decide whether to extend its power supply contract with utility Meridian Energy. The decision could determine the future of the 350,000-tonne-per-year smelter, which is the country's single biggest energy consumer, beyond 2017 following a battle by the plant's owners to slash its power costs. The smelter has struggled with weak aluminium prices and a high New Zealand dollar for several years, and has been seeking cheaper power, even though it returned to an underlying profit of NZ$56 million in 2014 after two years of losses. The plant was given a NZ$30 million subsidy in 2013 by the government to bridge the price gap between Meridian and the plant's owners,...
Alcoa to Close Poços Smelter in Brazil
Lightweight metals leader Alcoa today announced that it will permanently close its Poços de Caldas primary aluminum smelter in Brazil on June 30, 2015. The smelter has been curtailed since May 2014 and the underlying market conditions that led to the curtailment have not improved. “The closure of the Poços smelter permanently removes a high-cost smelting facility from the Alcoa system and is another step in creating a more profitable Primary Metals business,” said Alcoa Global Primary Products President Bob Wilt. Once the Poços smelter is closed, Alcoa’s total global smelting capacity will be reduced by 96,000 metric tons, to 3.4 million metric tons. The Poços mine, refinery, aluminum powder plant and casthouse will continue normal operations. As a result of the closure, Alcoa expects to...
China aluminum alloy wheel exports down in May, but up during Jan - May
China exported 67,900 tonnes of aluminum alloy wheels in May 2015, valued at $340 million, down 3.3% and 3.1%,, respectively, from a year ago, data from the China Association of Automobile manufacturers (CAAM) showed. The average export price was $5.00/kg in May. Export volumes and value totaled 323,700 tonnes and $1.63 billion, respectively, during the first five months of the year, up 3.0% and 3.9%, year-on-year.
Napco CEO wins top Aiwa award
Oman-based National Aluminium Products Company (Napco), one of the leading extruders of aluminium profiles in the GCC, announced that its CEO has been recognised for an award from Alam al-Iktisaad Wal A’mal (Aiwa), the sultanate’s leading Arabic business magazine published by United Media Services. Robert Holtkamp received the ‘Most Outstanding Corporate Leader’ award at the 5th edition of the award ceremony which was held in Oman recently, said a statement from the company. He won the award for displaying exceptional foresight in spearheading the company’s growth and expansion in just a short span of time, it said. Under Holtkamp’ leadership, Napco registered a 4 per cent increase in revenues in 2014 to RO19,407 ($50,368) over previous year sales - despite taking charge in the second...
Aluminum Association updates on North American aluminum shipment
Shipments of Aluminum Extruded Products (extruded shapes, pipe & tube, and rod & bar) by U.S. and Canadian producers totaled an estimated 444.9 million pounds during May 2015, an increase of 5.7 percent over the May 2014 revised total of 420.9 million pounds. Compared to the previous month, shipments declined five-tenths of one percent from the April 2015 revised total of 447.1 million pounds. Year-to-date shipments through May 2015 totaled 2,192.6 million pounds, up 9.0 percent over the 2014 year-to-date total of 2,010.7 million pounds. Shipments for 2014 are revised to 4,894.6 million pound. Aluminum net shipments (including exports) by domestic U.S. and Canadian facilities totaled an estimated 1,934 million pounds during May, down 3.0 percent from the May 2014 total of 1,994 million...
China primary aluminum imports to rebound in June
China imported 6,738 mt of primary aluminum in May, down 71.98% YoY, customs data showed. Imports totaled 46,723 mt January-May, plunging 78.01% YoY. The SHFE/LME aluminum price ratio slid from 7.5 in early April to 7.0 in early May, unfavorable for imports. However, imports might rebound in June as the SHFE/LME aluminum price ratio has been rising since May and overseas aluminum premiums fell sharply.
