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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Vedanta Aluminium granted access to laterite deposits by the Orissa Govt.
Vedanta Aluminium Limited (VAL) will be granted laterite deposits by for their Lanjgarh in Kalahandi district the State Government announced on Friday. An agreement will be signed between the government and VAL to explore the laterite deposits which contain substantial amount of aluminium although special technology is needed to extract it from the laterite soil. VAL was running short of raw materials for the Lanjigarh refinery after permission to mine in the sensitive Niyamgiri Hills was denied by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF). The group had urged the government to provide alternate bauxite supplies and fast track its application for three laterite deposits in Koraput district. Vedanta has applied to 33 alternative bauxite mines like Karlapat, Sasbahumali,...
Airbus division 3D prints aluminium component for Eurostar E3000 satellite
Tianjin Huaruide Co. recently inked a 300,000-tpy aluminum alloy cooperation agreement with the government of Holingola, Inner Mongolia, local media reported. Under the agreement, the company will build 100,000-tpy aluminum alloy bar project, 100,000-tpy aluminum alloy wire project, and 100,000-tpy high-end aluminum alloy rod project. Investment will total 650 million yuan ($106 million).
China aluminium product output increases 21 percent in January- February 2015
According to the data released by National Bureau of Statistics, China's aluminum product output for the first two months grown by 21% compared from the same period of 2014 to 6.9 million tons. It is estimated that in 2015, global output of aluminum products will exceed demand by 460,000 tons, and the prices would slump by 6.4% in the next several weeks. As world's largest aluminum supplier, China's aluminum products export had increased by 80% to 860,000 tons, and the country continues expanding aluminum production.
Ess Dee Aluminium gains 19% at BSE
Ess Dee Aluminium has bounced back strongly in intra-day deals on the back of strong volume after registering a fresh 52-week low in early trade on the BSE. The stock hit a fresh 52-week low at Rs. 125.50 - down 8 per cent in early deals. The stock, however, soon recouped losses and bounced back into the positive zone. Renewed buying interest at the counter saw the stock surge to a high of Rs. 149 - up nearly 19 per cent in intra-day deals. The stock is now up 7 per cent at Rs. 146. The counter has seen trades near four-fold jump in volume with trades of around 282,000 as against the two-week daily average volume of around 73,000 shares on the BSE.
Aluminium market under long liquidation, open interest drops 11.43%
Aluminium settled down -1.74% at 110.05 as pressure seen after the report that Chinese buyers of primary aluminium are reluctant to book imports for the second quarter as they hold limited cash and as falling premiums prompt them to postpone purchases. While China is the world's top producer of aluminium, some end users buy the metal abroad under a rule that allows them to import duty free as long as products made from the cargoes are shipped overseas. Reduced buying will likely pile more pressure on premiums for primary aluminium ingots in Asia. Premiums, the surcharge paid by buyers on top of the London Metal Exchange cash price to obtain prompt delivery, have fallen in the global market in the first quarter from record highs, with some analysts predicting further drops. While Ms....
RET talks break down again between Federal Government and the Opposition
Talks between the Federal Government and the Opposition on the Renewable Energy Target have broken down again. The target is for 20 per cent of Australia's energy mix to come from renewable sources, like wind and solar, by 2020. Both parties agree the target is now too high because energy demand in Australia has dropped significantly since it was set but are yet to settle on how big the cut should be. The 20 per cent figure represents 41,000 gigawatt hours. Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane says the Government is prepared to set the target at 32,000 gigawatt hours. But Labor's environment spokesman, Mark Butler, wants a figure in the mid-to-high 30,000s and said there would be no deal if the Government did not lift its offer. "If that is the Government's final offer it's unacceptable and...
London Metal Exchange urged to act swiftly over 'broken' aluminium market
The giant corrugated white shed that dominates the quayside at Vlissingen in the Netherlands is just one of many dull metal boxes like it, dotted around the harbour city. Inside the vast hangar, shimmering under the fluorescent bulbs, are row after row of neatly stacked aluminum ingots. Mundane as they look, these huge storage sheds are behind a fierce row that has battered the reputations of Wall Street and industrial titans including Goldman Sachs, Glencore and JP Morgan Chase. The row has also reverberated through the City of London, sparking a revamp of the London Metal Exchange’s (LME) rules that govern its controversial metals warehousing system. The LME has been under pressure since last year’s investigation by a US Senate committee into the aluminium market that issued a damning...
NAPCO plans to tap newer markets, to launch more products and services
National Aluminium Products Company SAOG (NAPCO), one of the leading extruders of aluminium profiles in the GCC, successfully hosted its first annual invitational dinner recently at the InterContinental Muscat. The event, which was attended by the country’s leading architects, consultants, project managers and construction professionals, served as a key platform for the company to reveal its strategic roadmap towards development - its move to expand and the implementation of its vision for the next three years. The dinner also helped draw more awareness on the company’s operations and diverse product portfolio while also highlighting the exciting changes currently taking place in the company, which includes its recent change in management and improvement of policies to help serve their...
Sapa to step up its capabilities as a supplier of large profiles
Sapa is stepping up its capabilities as a supplier of large profiles, because more industries are looking into utilizing the benefits of extruded aluminium solutions in a bigger way than before. Local customers appreciate flexibility in their suppliers, and Sapa works with all sizes and shapes. The company can deliver extruded aluminium profiles from 5 to 750 millimeters in width, weighing from 30 grams to as much as 70 kilograms per meter – and as long as 26 meters. Big extrusion presses exert big force, and with the specific high pressure, aluminium profiles exhibiting all the key characteristics of the metal can still be extruded with thin walls. This helps in developing lightweight solutions for industries that previously depended on heavier materials, and it reduces material costs....
EU aluminium beverage cans` recyclingrate reached 69.5 percent in 2012
The overall recycling rate for aluminium beverage cans in the EU 27 + EFTA countries increased by 1.5 percent points to a new record level of 69.5 percent (70 percent) in 2012. When considering the collection of cans in the remaining European countries and Turkey, the result is that the metal of more than 27.5 billion cans remains in the European circular economy and is available again for the production of new aluminium products. The collected cans represent a total amount of 390,000 tons of recycled aluminium, preventing more than 3.12 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. The European Aluminium Association (EAA) considers this 70 percent result an important milestone in its path towards its voluntary recycling targets for used beverage cans set for the reporting years 2015 (75...
Canadian union files to stop expansion at Rio Tinto Alcan aluminum smelter
The union representing workers at Rio Tinto Alcan Inc.’s aluminum smelter in Kitimat has filed applications in B.C. Supreme Court seeking to overturn approvals for a $5-billion expansion, claiming the government was biased and the project poses health risks. Unifor says the government is allowing unsafe levels of air pollution by failing to require the installation of sulphur dioxide (SO2) scrubbers and it wants the court to overturn the approvals. Unifor also alleges the government approval was prejudiced because a Ministry of Environment employee was being paid by Rio Tinto Alcan at the time the decision was made. The company disputes both claims, saying modernization will make the plant cleaner, and the dual employment role was a standard procedure, needed because a massive number of...
Jaguar set to release a second generation XF in aluminium
Jaguar is ready to release its second generation XF in a public debut at the New York motor show on 1 April, but the world will get a sneak peak at the car when expert stuntman Jim Dowdell will perform 'a world first high-wire water crossing' in the all-new aluminium-intensive Jaguar XF using wires just over an inch thick. The new version of the car will use the same aluminium-intense iQ platform in the XE. Since the platform is scalable it can be easily used in the new car despite it being slightly larger than the current model. The makers are creating more leg room and boot space to address the customer complaints regarding the limitations in the present chassis. The use of aluminium will also shave off around 50-100kg from the car and even the engines will be replaced by the new range...
Ford to release a series of Super Duty aluminium trucks
After the success of the 2015 aluminium F-150, Ford has decided to build 2016 Super Duty trucks made of aluminium and will reveal more details about at the State Fair of Texas, said , a senior fleet executive to the attendees of the 2016 Model Year Advance Product Meeting in Irvine, Calif. On March 18, Don Borthwick, the Western Region’s regional sales manager told the attendees about Ford’s impending line of Super Duty trucks which includes F-250, 350 and 450 pick up trucks incorporating extensive use of aluminium. The plan to launch a series of aluminium Super Duty trucks was first announced by the company CEO, mark Fields on September 28 in a speech outlining the company’s global growth plans. At that time, he assured the audience that the use of aluminium will “improve capability and...
“Aluminum is being chosen over competing materials in the most innovative products available today,” Tom Boney, Chairman, Aluminum Association’s Transportation Group (ATG) and VP & GM, Automotive Value Stream, Novelis North America
The Aluminum Association’s Transportation Group (ATG) is an industry trade group based in Arlington, Virgin that promotes aluminum’s advantages in transportation applications and acts as a central resource for the United States’ automotive industry on aluminum issues. Tom Boney serves as the Chairman of The Aluminum Association’s Transportation Group (ATG) and is currently Vice President and General Manager, Automotive Value Stream, Novelis North America. Tom began his career in the aluminum industry in 1987 and joined Novelis in 2006 as plant manager in Oswego, New York and today he leads all aspects of the company’s North American automotive business, including sales/commercial activities, program development and launch, supply chain and logistics, demand forecasting, service and order...
Emirates Global Aluminium shines in Germany
Emirates Global Aluminium ("EGA"), one of the world's five largest primary aluminium producers, has again received international recognition for its commitment to excellence through continual improvement and innovation. This time, the accolade took the form of the DeutscherIdeenPreis 2015 - Ideas International Award, which was awarded to one of the suggestions submitted by EGA employees in the recent Deutsches Institut fuer Betriebswirtschaft (" DIB ", which translates as 'German Institute for Business Administration'). The winning suggestion, "Reduce riser voltage drop in new pot cells by welding aluminium strips", was based on the fundamentals, i.e. the power loss in a bolted joint is much higher than in a welded one. The basic unit of aluminium production is called a cell. Heavy...
Bernd Schäfer is the new Chairman of the GDA Aluminium Semis Division
Bernd Schäfer, Alcoa Global Rolled Products´ Commercial Vice President for Commercial Transportation and Industrial has been appointed new Chairman of the Aluminium Semis Division within the GDA - German Aluminium Association, Düsseldorf. He replaces Mr. Friedrich W. Brökelmann, who was for nine years the Chairman of the association. Mr. Frank Busenbecker, General Manager of Erbslöh Aluminium GmbH in Velbert, Germany, was elected Vice Chairman of the Division by the general assembly of the members. Bernd Schäfer has been employed in the aluminium industry since 1999 and with Alcoa since 2008. In his current function, Mr. Schäfer is responsible for the global strategic management and marketing of rolled products of the division "Commercial Transportation and Industrial". After completing...
Alufoil Statistics 2014 - A year of ups and downs for aluminium foil ends on optimistic note
Despite 2014 providing a very mixed set of results in the aluminium foil sector, overall, it was a satisfactory performance, in the face of continued economic difficulties and competitive influences, according to EAFA, the European Aluminium Foil Association. Total production in Europe reached 852,685 tonnes, just 0.3% below the previous year's total of 855,510t. Once again exports put in a strong performance, ending 2014 with a rise of 17.2%, from 84,126 tonnes (2013) to 98,668t (2014), helped by currency factors. In the EAFA region deliveries retreated by 2.2%, recording sales of 754,018 tonnes (2014) compared with 771,385t (2013). As anticipated, end of year de-stocking saw Q4 deliveries dip by 2.9% compared with 2013, to reach 200,420 tonnes (206,449t). But the rally in demand for...
China Zhongwang net profit up 16.5%, driven by aluminum extrusion business
China Zhongwang Holdings Limited posted 2.5 billion yuan in net profit attributable to shareholders of its listed company in 2014, up 16.5% from a year ago, it said in a statement filed to the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited. The company attributes the increase in net profit to growing revenues from its aluminum extrusion business, which rose 11.3% on the year to 15.91 billion yuan. It sold 744,802 tonnes of aluminum extrusions, up 14.0% from 2013, its financial report showed. The company reported 15.97 billion yuan in total revenues in 2014, up 11.6% year-on-year.
