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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Capacity curtailment and value-add portfolio transformation raises Alcoa’s 1st quarter revenue
Alcoa kicks off the earnings season with the declaration of its 1st quarter results. The result beats market analyst’s expectations as far as revenue and income are concerned. Alcoa is going through a major transformation stage as it is shifting its priority towards creating a value added portfolio. However, the smart strategy towards the primary smelting and downstream segment has turned out to be profitable for the US aluminium giant as it reported first quarter 2015 net income of $195 million, or $0.14 per share compared to a loss of $178 million, or 16 cents a share in 2014 first quarter. Excluding special items, net income reported was $363 million, or $0.28 per share. Revenues rose 7 percent to $5.8 billion, from $5.5 billion in the first quarter 2014. The increased revenue and...
Two new aluminium-intensive Suzukis to hit the Indian market soon
Close on the heels of launching the country’s cheapest fully faired motorcycle, the Gixxer SF, Suzuki has announced that two new liter class bikes will be introduced to Indian motorcyclists this year. Building on the popularity of the Hayabusa and the Intruder would be the GSX-S1000 naked and the S1000F, which is a faired iteration of the streetfighter. To be launched internationally in June, both models could land here in the same month. Built around a twin-spar aluminium frame which is lighter than the current GSX-R1000, both these Suzukis come equipped with KYB inverted front forks and a single, link-type rear monoshock. The instrument cluster is a white back-lit screen that reads out speed, revs, has an odometer, dual tripmeters, gear position indicator, coolant and ambient...
Indian Government proposes 2-stage bidding process under Mines Bill
The Centre today proposed a two-stage bidding process to the states for auctioning major minerals like bauxite ore, with the highest revenue share offered in the first round becoming the base price for e-auction. In the first round, technically qualified bidders will be asked to quote the percentage of revenue they will share with the state government. "The highest initial offer submitted by a technically qualified bidder shall be the floor price for the second round of electronic auction," according to the draft rules for auction of major mineral bearing mines released today. While the state government will be authorised to conduct the auction, the Union government has sought comments of the stakeholders on the draft rules it has framed for the process. "The last date for receipt of the...
Preparations are on for the new coil processing division of ThyssenKrupp
A two year £4.0m investment programme is taking shape at the Vetchberry Steels, the coil processing division of ThyssenKrupp Materials (UK) Ltd. Following the relocation of a newly installed 1650 mm wide coil cut to length li ne which will form the nucleus of a dedicated sheet and blanks production centre for stainless steel and aluminium, the ground work is getting underway for a new 1850 mm wide coil slitting line. Adrian Palmer, operations manager for the business explains: “The new line, built by Georg in Germany and the UK, requires a looping pit as deep as a three-storey block of flats is tall.” Preparation involved sinking 132 concrete piles 15 metres deep to support the excavation, and around 100,000 gallons of subterranean spring water has been environmentally recycled. The work...
Noranda Aluminum Holding Corporation discloses insider transaction
Noranda Aluminum Holding Corporation, Rolfe Ronald S, Director of Noranda Aluminum Holding CORP had purchased 086 shares on March 26, 2015 in a transaction. The price per share was $3.04 and the total amount of the disclosed transaction was $261.The Insider information was disclosed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in a Form 4 filing. This information is based on open market transaction at the market prices. Noranda Aluminum Holding Corporation : Volatility spiked in the counter of Noranda Aluminum Holding Corporation but the bulls managed to end the day with appreciating gains. The share price opened at $3.18 and hit an intraday high of $3.36; however, hefty profit booking made the counter give up most of its gains and the shares ended the day positively at $3.35, with a gain...
67 year old raises thousands of pounds for charity simply by recycling cans
One man is believed to have collected nine million cans across a span of 24 years, send them for recycling and donate the entire earnings to charity. Peter Raffle, a 67-year old retired ICI worker, never fails to pick up a discarded can whether it is aluminium or steel no matter where he is. Peter says, “I like to think it is helping in many ways - clearing litter, recycling and helping charities.” The Ingleby Barwick pensioner is currently donating to South Cleveland Heart Fund that aims to raise £1m to enable them to upgrade an MRI scanner and replace another. He believes over the years he has generated several pounds for several different charities. Peter himself has aortic stenosis which is his motivation to donate to this fund and has raised £270 till now just by recycling cans. “I...
Alba CEO Tim Murray named among top 100 CEOs in the GCC
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba), one of the leading aluminium smelters in the world, today announced that its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Tim Murray, was named as one of the top 100 CEOs in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) at the Top CEO Awards held recently in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Murray was also amongst a group of top 5 CEOs in Bahrain, which included also Batelco Group's former CEO, Alan Whelan, Bahrain Islamic Bank CEO, Mohammed Ebrahim, Al Salam Bank CEO (and an Alba Board Director), Yousif Abdulla Taqi, and United Gulf Bank CEO, Rabih Sokaireh. The Top CEO Awards -- organised by Trends magazine and INSEAD Business School, in association with Hawkama, the regional institute for corporate governance -- honours the very best in GCC business leadership. It recognises top...
Triyards secures $100 million project to build high-speed aluminium craft
Triyards, the Singapore-based shipbuilder has received orders worth $100 million for a three-pronged project including a liftboat, a high-speed aluminium craft along with a fabrication project. Strategic Marine, a subsidiary of Triyards will be responsible for building the aluminium craft along with the integrated logistics support work, the company announced. Triyards CEO Chan Eng Yew said: "Our fast-growing contract wins across a diverse product range demonstrate the industry's high regard for our fabrication capabilities in both steel and aluminium vessels. Not only are we able to deliver on our exclusively designed liftboats, we are also gaining traction in securing other types of vessel orders." The new high-speed aluminium craft is expected to be completed and delivered in four...
Alcoa secures new gas supply agreement to power its alumina refineries in Western Australia
Alcoa of Australia Limited has secured a new 12-year gas supply agreement to power its alumina refineries in Western Australia. Commencing in 2020, the agreement is for an initial supply of 120 terajoules per day of natural gas. Combined with a number of smaller agreements, this means Alcoa of Australia has now secured approximately 75 percent of its Western Australian natural gas requirement to replace existing long-term contracts which expire at the end of the decade. The agreement is conditional on a consortium comprising Brookfield Asset Management Inc. and Macquarie Capital Group Limited completing the acquisition of Apache Energy Limited’s Western Australian oil and gas assets from Apache Corporation. As part of the gas supply arrangements, Alcoa of Australia will make a prepayment...
Queensland Bauxite receives notice of initial substantial shareholding from CBTIC
Queensland Bauxite has received a notice of initial substantial shareholding from China Bauxite Trading & Investments Company (CBTIC) with a 9.1% interest. CBTIC had invested $910,000 in the company through a placement priced at $0.014 per share, giving it 65 million shares in QBL. Proceeds from the placement will be used to finance further development of the potentially 2015 producing South Johnstone Bauxite project. CBTIC was founded by Yongjin Li who spent 15 years working for China Non Ferrous Metal Corporation (CNNC), the former parent company of CHINALCO, CNMC, JNMC and Minmetals. Li spent 15 years working for CNNC and was a Project Manager in charge of importing and exporting of non-ferrous metal for their alumina refineries. He also held the position of marketing manager with Sino...
Shanghai aluminium drops on prospect of cheaper power in China
Shanghai aluminium dropped on Thursday after the Chinese government announced measures to cut power prices, which traders bet would lower the production costs of local aluminium and depress prices. Aluminium traded on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell more than 2 percent before trimming losses to 13,140 yuan ($2,118) a tonne by 0218 GMT, still down 1.8 percent. Increases in production have weighed on prices that were already struggling due to oversupply. "What the government announced overnight is a cut to the price of power. The beneficiaries, in terms of power users, are obviously aluminium among other sectors," said analyst Lachlan Shaw of UBS in Melbourne. China is to cut the price of electricity supplied to the grid by thermal power generators following a decline in coal prices, the...
Alcoa announces its first quarter results for 2015
Lightweight metals leader Alcoa today reported strong first quarter 2015 profits. The Company’s strategy of building its value-add portfolio and creating a globally competitive commodity business is delivering results. Alcoa reported first quarter 2015 net income of $195 million, or $0.14 per share, including $158 million in restructuring-related charges (approximately 90 percent non-cash), mostly to optimize the Company’s portfolio. Year-over-year, first quarter 2015 results compare to a net loss of $178 million, or $0.16 per share. Excluding the impact of all special items, first quarter 2015 net income jumped to $363 million, or $0.28 per share, from $98 million, or $0.09 per share, in the year-ago period. First quarter 2015 revenues rose 7 percent to $5.8 billion, from $5.5 billion in...
South32 announces new members for the board
South32, BHP Billiton’s the awaiting spin-off company, add more new board members to the team in preparation of the early June release on the ASX. In an announcement made by the nascent company on Tuesday, they will be expanding their board from four to eight members adding four non-executive directors. Wayne Osborn, Frank Cooper, Peter Kukieiski and Futhi Mtoba have been considered for the new positions subject to BHP shareholder approval and will be confirmed at the May 6 meeting which will also discuss other specifics of the demerger. Among them Dr. Futhi Mtoba is the only female director with the history of being the first woman chairman of Deloitte, Southern Africa. Mr. Osborn and Cooper are Australians where the former is currently a director in Wesfarmers, Iluka and Alinta while...
Prime Minister seeks intervention from Odisha CM to grant the Pottangi bauxite mine
Nalco’s deteriorating condition has caught the attention of India’s Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, who has sent a letter to the Chief Minister of Odisha, urging him to intervene to improve the company’s situation. Difficulty of viable bauxite procurement has been one of the biggest complaints of the Central PSU. Nalco has been eyeing the Pottangi bauxite mines in the state for quite long but has not yet managed to acquire it. Modi tell Patnaik that he needs to intervene to speed up mine allotment to the company. The mine is question had been reserved by the Union government as far back as 2007, and even the State government had given its approval in-principle for the Koraput district mine in 2012. However, there were certain conditions imposed by the state that had to be followed by...
Financial crisis hinders recycling in UWI, Barbados
According to a study conducted in Barbados, the failing financial conditions are affecting the waste recycling efforts of University of West Indies (UWI) as well as Barbados in general. The study was conducted between April 30 and December 30, 2013 with a conclusion that read “the major waste management challenge affecting the UWI and Barbados as a whole was limited financial resources”. The recycling rate of the Cave Hill campus of the University, where the study was conducted, is higher than other campuses like Trinidad and Jamaica because a major initiative was taken by the authorities building 18 recycling stations across the campus for recycling plastics, glass and aluminium cans. The stations were located near high traffic areas like the major teaching and recreational areas. This...
150,000-tpy aluminum extrusion project to enter trial in China Henan soon
Luoyang Huazhong Aluminum Co. will put its 150,000-tpy aluminum extrusion project in Henan on trial soon, local media reported today. The project represents 1.77 billion yuan ($290 million) in total investment and will generate 4.2 billion yuan in sales revenues once fully operational, it said.
6th Apr, 2015: North American Aluminum scrap prices held steady
The North American Aluminum scrap prices remained unchanged on ScrapMonster Price Index as on April 6th, Monday. 1100 Scrap prices remained flat over the day. The prices of 3003 Scrap too were flat at $0.78 per Lb. The prices of 356 Aluminum Wheels, 6063 Extrusions and 6063 Extrusions/Fe too were unchanged. Meantime, prices of 5052 Scrap and 6061 Extrusions remained flat at $0.75 per Lb and $0.71 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 6th April. Chrome Wheels and E.C Aluminum Wire prices remained flat over the day. Litho Sheets and MLC Clips remained flat at $0.73 per Lb and $0.67 per Lb...
EGA donates aluminium AED547,000 for Dubai Autism Centre
To support the educational needs of children with autism in the UAE, Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) has donated 60 tonnes of aluminium towards the construction of a new custom-built facility for the Dubai Autism Centre (DAC). A long-term supporter of autism causes, EGA has worked with the Centre through its subsidiary Dubai Aluminium ( DUBAL ) since 2009, providing funding for treatment and equipment as well as supporting DAC?s annual autism awareness drive. EGA?s donation equates to a value of AED 547,000 in building material, which will be used in 52 doors, 3,640 square metres of curtain walling and 6,115 square metres of aluminium cladding. EGA also played an instrumental role in engaging UAE aluminium downstream industry players in the manufacture of the end products. Gulf Extrusion,...
