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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China's Yantai Port group co-invests in Guinea bauxite port
China's Yantai Port Group, together with three other firms in China, Singapore, and Guinea, invested an undisclosed amount in the port in Boke, Guinea, in West Africa to further develop Guinea's bauxite trade. The three companies are Shandong Weiqiao Pioneering Group, Singapore's Winning International Group, and Guinea's Boke Mining Company. The port's first berth is scheduled to open on 20 July, and Yantai Port Group will be in charge of the construction and operation, local media reported on 14 April. The port project aims to build two bauxite berths, one heavy cargo berth, as well as loading belts. According to the local media, the port's annual capacity is designed to handle 10 million tonnes, and is expected to rise to 30 million tonnes per year by 2017. The project started in...
UAE has no plan to increase aluminium production capacity
Gulf producers to account for 10% of global output due to new smelters and expansion of existing ones The volume of aluminium production in the Gulf region is expected to increase to five million tonnes in 2015, accounting for around 10 per cent of total global output of 55.01 million tonnes, due to new smelters and the expansion of existing ones. In 2014, the Gulf region produced 4.83 million tonnes while 53.06 million tonnes were produced globally. Saeed Mohammad Al Tayer, Vice-Chairman of Emirates Global Aluminium and MD and CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa), after inaugurating the fourth edition of Aluminium Middle East 2015 on Tuesday, told Gulf News that UAE has no plan to increase its production capacity of 2.4 million tonnes this year. “That is the maximum...
Orissa Chief Minister opposes Nalco disinvestment move
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has opposed the central government's plan to offload 10 per cent stake in navratna firm National Aluminium Company (Nalco). "Nalco is a very profit making PSU. I don't think disinvestment should happen there," Patnaik said in his reaction to the Centre's proposal to dilute stake in the PSU. Echoing similar views senior Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader and party spokesperson Amar Prasad Satapathy said, "We have been opposing divestment of Nalco and will continue to do so. We are unable to make out the motive behind divesting a profit-making company. Our party would oppose the decision and stage protest against it." Nalco is amongst 13 PSUs lined up for disinvestment by the central government for divestment. Presently, government of India holds 80.93 per cent...
“Outotec is actively involved in providing solutions to the red mud problem, as well as in SPL treatment technologies” Manfred Beilstein, Director of Sales & Process Engineering, Outotec, Germany.
Outotec is a global leader in minerals and metals processing technologies, and has developed many breakthrough technologies over the decades. The company provides complete solutions for anode paste plants, rodding shops, carbon recycling, bath treatment, and casthouses, as well as plant upgrades. Manfred Beilstein has over 30 years’ experience in the Aluminium industry, especially in anode paste plants and Rodding shops and currently serving as the Director of Sales and Process Engineering at Outotec, Germany. AlCircle team had interacted with Mr. Beilstein during Aluminium Middle East 2015 and he shared his input on Outotec’s services to the aluminium industry. Excerpts from the interview: AlCircle: Tell us in brief about the products and services that Outotec offers to the aluminium...
Emirates Global Aluminium expects production to remain stable despite price drop
Despite the drop in the price of aluminium this year, Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) foresees its production will be stable at 2.4 million tonnes a year for the next three years. Walid Al Attar, EGA’s chief marketing officer, told Bloomberg News in Dubai that its output last year was 2.3 million tonnes. Mr Al Attar said the forecast “makes sense” if the London Metal Exchange approves certified warehouses in the Middle East. The LME has been under the spotlight over the past year amid complaints by users that bottlenecks at warehouses operating under LME rules have inflated premiums for the metal. EGA, the world’s fourth-largest maker of the metal, is in the process of building a US$3 billion alumina refinery as a boom in regional infrastructure projects spurs demand. The refinery is...
Innovation and creativity ‘alive and well’ in alufoil industry
Alufoil Trophy 2015 produces an outstanding selection of winners, with aluminium foil and closure concepts for the food, beverage and pharmaceutical sectors Once again companies from every part of the aluminium foil industry have embraced the opportunity presented by the Alufoil Trophy. With the diversity of the 57 entries, covering a wide range of products across all the entry categories, the judges had a demanding task but finally selected 12 worthy winners. The judges were led this year by Jean-Paul Duquet, global packaging eco design manager of Bel Group, who brought a wealth of experience in aluminium foil to the table, having had a long and distinguished background in the alufoil industry. He commented, “It is very refreshing to see so much creativity from the aluminium foil sector...
Southbound brewing company switches to low-carbon, Novelis evercan™ packaging
Novelis, the world leader in aluminum rolling and recycling, and Southbound Brewing Company, Savannah's first production microbrewery, today announced Southbound is the latest craft brewery to offer its beer in aluminum cans made from Novelis' evercan™ – the world's first and only certified high-recycled content aluminum can sheet. The news was announced today at the 2015 Craft Brewers Conference and BrewExpo America® in Portland, Oregon. "We founded Southbound to bring the innovation and excitement of the American craft beer revolution to Savannah and the Southeast," said Carly Wiggins, Director, Marketing and Sales, Southbound Brewing Company and Membership Chair of the Georgia Craft Brewer's Guild. "When we learned about evercan, the industry's only low-carbon, certified high-recycled...
General Cable (China) optimistic over aluminum alloy cable applications
Aluminum alloy cable will find wider applications in coming years, inengyuan.com quoted Johnson Xiao, Managing Director at General Cable (China) as saying. Aluminum alloy cable sales in China were estimated at 3-4 billion yuan ($ 490-650 million) in 2013, inengyuan.com reported. Based on experience overseas, the market promotion stage typically lasts 15-20 years, implying that aluminum alloy cable will become increasingly popular over time, Johnson Xiao said.
Marine team impresses at boat show in Shanghai
Professional visitors from nearly 60 countries visited the China (Shanghai) International Boat Show. Many spent time viewing the extruded aluminium solutions from Sapa Marine. This year was the 20th anniversary of the show, held April 9-12 at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition. Ship builders are constantly looking for production savings and ways to reduce weight to improve a vessel’s quality and efficiency. Sapa helps customers achieve these goals by combining its extrusion technology and friction stir welding techniques. In Shanghai, Sapa Marine stood out with its range of extruded aluminium solutions. Company sales staff and technicians provided support, giving visitors to the Sapa booth an introduction to the company’s products and technology, and laying a foundation for future...
Jaguar XE enters production at Solihull factory
Production of Jaguar's new XE premium saloon has begun at Land Rover's Solihull factory. The West Midlands based plant marked the beginning of production of the XE with the official opening of its state-of-the-art £500m ‘factory within a factory’. Jaguar says the car represents £2bn of product, infrastructure and technology investment,along with an additional £4bn worth of contracts committed to 55 UK based tier one suppliers. Together these suppliers, which cover the length and breadth of the country, have provided 55% of the components included in the new model. Jaguar Land Rover purchasing director Ian Harnett said: “Jaguar Land Rover is one of the UK’s success stories, not simply because it has seen an upsurge in demand thanks to sustained investment, but because it has been able to...
Auriant Mining AB announces management changes
Auriant Mining AB is pleased to announce the following management changes effective from April 14: Sergey Baykalov is appointed as an Acting Chief Operational Officer and Igor Pashkov is appointed as the Chief Geologist of the Company. Vladimir Churin (Chief Geologist from 2012 to March 2015) will continue to work with the Company as the Chief Geologist for Exploration and concentrate his efforts on leading the exploration activities at Auriant assets as well as at gold projects in Chukotka region that are under Auriant’s management. Sergey Baykalov, a highly qualified mine director with over 22 years mining experience, joined Auriant in 2012 as General Director of the Tardan mine. Previously served as mine director for a Solvay ferronickel mine in Guatemala, mine director for a Rusal...
Ghana policy to add value to bauxite before export
The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources plans to introduce a policy to ensure that no bauxite leaves Ghana in its raw state. The policy seeks to encourage exporters to process the mineral into alumina or alluminium before exporting it out of the country. Nii Osae Mills, the Sector Minister, who announced this on Tuesday during his turn at the meet-the-press series in Accra, said the policy is part of the Ministry’s efforts to add value to the country’s natural resources. He noted that minerals and metals are essential raw materials for industrialisation and also critical to the transformation of mining dependent economies. “Indeed, when properly managed, mining has the potential to contribute significantly to sustainable development,” he said. Nii Osae Mills said in 2014, the mining...
Middle East aluminium production growing at impressive rates
Aluminium production in the Middle East is growing at more than double the global average rate, and the trend is expected to continue, according to an industry expert. “The region is witnessing an 8.4 per cent annual growth in aluminium production compared to the global average of 3.5 per cent,” Reed Exhibitions’ group exhibition director Daniyal Qureshi, told Khaleej Times ahead of the fourth edition of the Aluminium Middle East event, which starts tomorrow. The UAE is the world’s fourth-largest aluminium producer. China ranked top followed by Russia and Canada in terms of production. The UAE produces almost half of the total aluminium production of the Gulf region. Last year, the country’s total production reached 2.4 million tonnes and exports worth $3.9 billion, according to Qureshi,...
S.Korea PPS pays sharply lower aluminium premiums as collapse accelerates
South Korea's Public Procurement Service (PPS) paid a premium of $223 per tonne in its latest aluminium tender, almost a third less than a month ago, highlighting an accelerating collapse in global premiums as supply swells. PPS's purchase of 2,000 tonnes of Australian aluminium for shipment by July 20 marked a sharp drop from its last purchase at a $315 per tonne premium for the origin in March. The state-run procurement agency also said on its website on Wednesday (www.g2b.go.kr) that it had bought another 2,000 tonnes of Indian aluminium for the same shipment at a $209 per tonne premium via tender, also down from its last purchase at a $308 per tonne premium. Both tenders closed on Tuesday. The two tenders come amid a flood of supply in Asia, which is likely to speed a downturn in...
North American Aluminum new mill orders surged 10% in March 2015
The statistics released by the Aluminum Association indicates that the new mill orders for the month of March 2015 have increased significantly by nearly 10% from the same month a year ago. The orders jumped 6.6% from Feb ’14 levels. The year-to-date new mill orders index was up by 7.0% in 2015. New orders for plates have declined by 10.3% in March this year when compared with the same month a year ago. The Mar ‘15 plate orders were also down by 5.8% from January levels. The heat-treatable sheet orders during the month of March this year surged higher by 125.7% from Mar ’14. Also, the orders climbed higher by 14.4% over the previous month. Non-treatable sheet orders were up by 7.7% year-on-year, but declined marginally by 0.2% from the previous month. New orders for extruded products and...
New Zealand Aluminium Smelters calls for cheaper power
Electricity demand would require about a decade to recover back to present levels, if the Tiwai Pt smelter in Southland closed, a government report says. New Zealand Aluminium Smelters (NZAS) is the largest single electricity user in the country, accounting for almost 13 per cent of national electricity usage in 2013. NZAS and Meridian Energy agreed a new power deal in August 2013, which included Meridian cutting its electricity charges, after a lengthy standoff was ended with the help of a $30 million Government subsidy. However, the smelter can terminate the contract completely from January 2017 provided it gives 15 months' notice. The smelter is complaining that it pays some of the highest prices for power in the world and wants a better deal, yet again. A Ministry of Business,...
Japan aluminium stocks rise to record high for12th month
Aluminium stocks held at three major Japanese ports climbed for a 12th month to hit a record high at the end of March due to high level of imports and slow housing sector demand. The increase came as a surpise as Japanese buyers have reduced purchase volumes of January-March deliveries and some firms made efforts to cut inventories ahead of the end of the 2014 fiscal year. For many Japanese companies, the business year ends on March 31. "We were surprised to see another month of increase as traders and users were trying to reduce stocks by the end of March," said a trader. Aluminium stocks held at Yokohama, Nagoya and Osaka grew 0.8 percent in March from a month earlier to 457,000 tonnes, Marubeni Corp said on Monday. The trading house collects data from those key ports. That broke the...
Outotec to deliver technology to aluminum smelter in the United Arab Emirates
Outotec to deliver technology to aluminum smelter in the United Arab Emirates. Outotec has been awarded an order by Emirates Aluminium Company Limited PJSC (EMAL) to deliver anode carbon plant technology for an expansion at EMAL's aluminum smelter complex at Al Taweelah in Abu Dhabi. The contract value exceeds EUR 10 million, which has been booked in Outotec's first quarter order intake. Outotec will provide the technology, engineering, supply and installation of equipment and systems for the expansion of EMAL's existing green anode plant. After the expansion, scheduled to be commissioned in mid-2016, the plant will be capable of producing considerably larger anodes, which are required for EMAL's ongoing efforts to increase the amperage and thus the output of the electrolysis. "Outotec...
