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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Polish aluminium smelter Kety to pay higher dividend
Shareholders in Polish aluminium smelter Grupa Kety on Thursday voted in favour of a higher dividend for the 2014 financial year, Kety said in a statement. As a result, Kety will pay a dividend totalling 136 million zlotys ($36.41 million), up from 101 million zlotys the management had previously planned. Earlier this month, a pension fund owned by British insurer Aviva and Polish bank BZ WBK pressed Kety to raise its dividend payout to 136.1 million zlotys. ($1 = 3.7352 zlotys)
Aluminium falls in China with other major metals as manufacturing shrinks
Aluminum fell the most in almost a month as most industrial metals retreated after a gauge of manufacturing strength slid to a 12-month low in China, the world’s biggest consumer. Aluminum lost as much as 1.2 percent, the biggest drop since March 27. HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics’ preliminary Purchasing Managers’ Index for Chinese manufacturing was at 49.2 for April, below the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey and the second month of contraction. Factory data for the euro region are due later in the day. “The fundamental economy is not improving” in China, said Helen Lau, a metals and mining analyst at Argonaut Securities Ltd. in Hong Kong. “It is a little worrying. We’re close to the bottom. Before that happens, the government should continue with stimulus until there is a...
Constellium to build second Body-in-White finishing line in the U.S. to meet increased automotive demand
Constellium N.V. announced today that it has decided to build a second Body-in-White (BiW) finishing line in North America to further support the growing demand for aluminium from the U.S. automotive industry. The investment is expected to reach $160 million and is part of the previously announced $750 million strategic investment plan to increase Constellium’s BiW production capacity by 2022. The location of the 100,000 metric tons BiW finishing line which is due to start production in early 2018 has not yet been decided and will be announced in due course, pending final business considerations. “In light of current volume commitments from customers, we have decided to add further capacity and launch the construction of a second BiW finishing line. This move reflects the success of our...
Solomon Islands to impose 20% export duty on bauxite shipments
At the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) hearing, the Permanent Secretary (PS) for Ministry of Finance & Treasury (MoFT) of Solomon Islands has announced that the export duty on bauxite shipments will be raised by 20%. The statement was in response to the question posed by the Chairman Rick Hou concerning the value of substantial amount of soil that is exported. The PS stated, “Three shipment of bauxite have gone so far and government decide to impose 20% export duty payable to the government apart from royalties. For the first two shipments nothing was imposed because government just realized this and impose duty on the third shipment,” he added. Starting the third shipment, every other shipment of bauxite that leaves the country would have to pay 20% duty. The tariff has been agreed upon...
ISRI Joins in the celebration of Earth Day 2015
In recognition of the 45th Earth Day, the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) is joining individuals and organizations around the world in celebration of the earth and what can be done to preserve it. Earth Day, started in 1970, takes place annually on April 22 in a worldwide effort to save and nurture the environment of which recycling plays a crucial role. “Each year Earth Day provides us with an important reminder not only of the need to do our part to protect the earth, but also the positive impact the recycling industry has on the environment and energy savings,” said Robin Wiener, president of ISRI. “Together with our members, ISRI serves as an environmental steward to not only promote recycling at all levels, but also to educate future generations on the importance of...
New Vishay Intertechnology series of snap-in power aluminum capacitors
Vishay Intertechnology, Inc.today introduced a new series of miniaturized snap-in power aluminum capacitors with high capacitance from 820 µF to 47,000 µF in compact cases down to 20 mm by 25 mm. Designed for audio, industrial, and general power supply applications, 256 PMG-SI capacitors offer a long useful life, high ripple current, and low ESR. Featuring a cylindrical aluminum case with a pressure relief valve, insulated with a blue PET sleeve, the new Vishay BCcomponents snap-in capacitors released today are available in 17 case sizes ranging from 20 mm by 25 mm to 35 mm by 45 mm, with voltages from 16 V to 100 V. The devices offer a wide temperature range from -40 °C to +105 °C, useful life of 2,000 hours at +105 °C, ripple current to 4.85 A, and ESR down to 14 mO. As polarized...
China will remove exports taxes on rare earths, aluminium rods and bars on May 1
China will remove taxes on exports of rare earths, ferroalloys, tungsten, molybdenum and indium from May 1, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement on Thursday. The Ministry of Commerce had earlier flagged that taxes on rare earths would be scrapped from May. China will also remove taxes on exports of non-alloyed and alloyed aluminium rods and bars from May 1, the statement said. China is the world's top producer of most metals.
Falling commodity prices pull down Inalum’s sales by 10% in Q1 2015
Global commodity prices have pulled down the sales of PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium (Inalum) by 10% in the first quarter of 2015. The fall in sales and the steadily declining premium price in the global market over the past two months has prompted the decision that the company will not be exporting the commodity this year said the PT Inalum President Director, Winardi Sunoto. Premiums have plummeted to US$ 250 per ton this March and April compared to the lucrative premium of $400 per ton in the corresponding period last year. That has led the company to not ship any product abroad in the first quarter of this year partly contributing to the 10% decline in sales. The company which in normal circumstances exports 8,000 tons on a quarterly basis is looking for other options, mainly aluminium...
China Zhongwang 2015 first quarter net profit rises 15.9% to RMB580 million
China Zhongwang Holdings Limited, the second largest industrial aluminium extrusion product developer and manufacturer in the world and the biggest one inAsia, announced its unaudited consolidated results for the three months ended31 March 2015 (the "review period"). While quarterly revenue remained flat at approximatelyRMB3.59 billion, the Group benefited from the increasing share of high-end aluminium extrusion products in its product mix and achieved 2.5 percentage points year-on-year increase in gross margin to 29.3%. Net profit increased by 15.9% toRMB580 million. Mr. Lu Changqing, Executive Director and Vice President of China Zhongwang, said, "In the first quarter of 2015, we continued to step up our R&D in high-end aluminium extrusion and deep-processed products in a drive to...
Kentucky mill outage hurts Novelis' aluminum can sheet business
Leading aluminum can sheet producer Novelis Inc lost business to competitors after a three-week outage at its U.S. joint venture rolling mill in January, a company executive told reporters on Wednesday. Vice President and General Manager Tom Boney said at a roundtable discussion that the outage at the Logan Aluminum mill in Russellville, Kentucky "created quite a gap in supply. "Other industry participants were able to secure some of that business as well," Boney said, adding that there was no disruption to overall can production. "The industry was able to absorb that." Novelis and Tri-Arrows Aluminum own the mill. The Logan plant supplies more than one-third of the U.S. beverage can market, according to Novelis' website. The company incrementally ramped up beverage can sheet capacity at...
Aluminium recovery hit hard in Q1 packaging data
Changes to scrap metal protocols have led to a “concerning” shortfall in the amount of aluminium packaging recovered in the first quarter of 2015, some industry sources have claimed in response to provisional recycling data released today (April 22). And, changes to rules on energy-from-waste accreditation have also seen an estimated shortfall of 110,000 tonnes in the amount of recovery PRNs accepted over the first quarter. The findings come from interim packaging waste recovery data published by the Environment Agency today, which shows the amount of packaging recovered or recycled between January and March 2015. The data suggests that 14,871 tonnes of aluminium was accepted or exported in Q1, short of the estimated 18,871 tonne quarterly obligation that producers must meet for the...
Ball Corporation to build first beverage packaging plant in Mexico
Ball Corporation has announced plans to build a two-line beverage can manufacturing plant in Monterrey, Mexico, with construction starting in the coming months. Production is expected to start in the first half of 2016 and produce multiple can sizes. The majority of the capacity is contracted under a long-term agreement. Existing extruded aluminium aerosol manufacturing plant Daniel Fisher, president, metal beverage packaging, Ball North America, told FoodProductionDaily This is Ball’s first beverage packaging plant in Mexico. It will house two production lines and will be built in the Finsa Guadalupe Industrial Park in Nuevo Leon,” he said. “We also have an existing extruded aluminium aerosol manufacturing plant in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. “The plant will produce standard and specialty...
Global production of aluminium aerosol cans reaches new record in 2014
Despite the numerous trouble spots around the world and restrained economic growth in many areas, the production figures released by the international producers of aluminium aerosol cans have only been heading in one direction for years: upwards. The industry also reported positive results for 2014. After a series of records in recent years production grew again last year: by four per cent to 7.6 billion cans. The companies that are members of AEROBAL, the International Organisation of Aluminium Aerosol Container Manufacturers, account for about 70 per cent of total production worldwide. Gregor Spengler, Secretary General of Düsseldorf-based AEROBAL, is pleased with the results: "Disproportionately high growth compared with almost all important global economic indicators demonstrates the...
Sesa Sterlite Limited renamed Vedanta Limited
Sesa Sterlite Limited hereby announces that it has changed the name of the Company from its present name, 'Sesa Sterlite Limited' to 'Vedanta Limited'. The Shareholders of the Company approved the name change of the Company through Postal Ballot, results of which was announced on March 30, 2015. The name change to Vedanta Limited is now effective post issue of 'Fresh Certificate of Incorporation' issued by the Registrar of Companies, Goa, Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), Govt. of India. "The name change from Sesa Sterlite to Vedanta Limited promises a united and aligned identity, Vedanta, which positions us to create greater value for our domestic and global stakeholders, as a diversified natural resources group of companies. Vedanta embodies commitment to deliver world class...
Rusal may idle 200,000 tonnes of aluminium capacity
Top global aluminium producer United Company Rusal said on Wednesday it was reviewing its aluminium smelting operations and may idle a further 200,000 tonnes of capacity. Rusal, which has cut capacity by 800,000 tonnes in the past two years, said its first quarter aluminium production came in at 900,000 tonnes, down two percent on the previous quarter, but up two percent on a year ago. The Hong Kong-listed company said it expected calendar 2015 production to be flat on the previous year. Deputy CEO Oleg Mukhamedshin said in March that Rusal was considering shuttering some production due to the weak price outlook and a desire to shift production to cleaner energy sources. The company is looking to have almost all of its production using electricity from hydroelectric power plants. The...
Alba honoured with the 2015 Green Era Award
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba), one of the leading aluminium smelters in the world, was recognised for its outstanding environmental achievements and sustainable practices when it was declared a winner of the “The Green Era Award” for 2015. The Green Era Award is granted by the French “Otherways Association” to companies and firms from both public and private sectors who have made sustainability a key driver in their business strategy. Speaking on the occasion, Alba’s Chief Executive Officer, Tim Murray said: “We are extremely proud to win the Green Era Award, which affirms Alba’s commitment to best environmental practices. It recognises the Company’s on-going commitment to make a positive impact on the environment and the society at large.” Alba’s Chief Executive Officer, Tim Murray and...
Palaszczuk moves to quell bauxite project concern
The Palaszczuk government will meet traditional owners over last year’s decision to favour Swiss giant Glencore in the development of a bauxite deposit on the western side of Cape York. Development Minister Anthony Lynham yesterday said he was aware of concerns among some native title holders about the former Newman government’s decision to name Glencore as the preferred proponent for the state-held lease over a joint venture proposal with local Aborigines. Key Queensland independent MP Billy Gordon and the two Katter Australian Party MPs this week have called on the minority Labor government to review the decision, saying the tender process was flawed. Mr Gordon, the dumped Labor MP who represents the Cape York seat of Cook, has backed Glencore rival Aurukun Bauxite Developments, which...
Rio Tinto reports higher coal production for the first quarter of 2015
Rio Tinto reported higher coal production for the first quarter driven primarily by the improved performance of the Kestrel South mine in Queensland after a longwall ramp-up. Semisoft production also increased at Mount Thorley and Warkworth in NSW while at the Hail Creek facility in Queensland there has been a higher thermal production. Bauxite and alumina production saw a four and two percent rise respectively compared to the first quarter of 2014 with Weipa and Queensland Alumina both performing well in the quarter. Sam Welsh, chief executive of Rio Tinto is happy with the “solid production performance during the first quarter’’ and says the company is continuing its drive to improve efficiency in all avenues of business to drive further development. “By making best use of our high...
