AL Circle Analysis: Guinea’s 150Mt bauxite cap, China’s import swings, US tariffs draw aluminium Q4’26
The global aluminium supply chain is facing a series of changes that extend from bauxite mines and alumina refineries to smelters, regional premiums and finished-metal trade. In 2026, the market’s direction is being shaped not only by production volumes but also by freight costs, export restrictions, shifting Chinese demand and tariffs. Developments across Guinea, Australia, China, Europe and North America point to a market where access to supply is increasingly as important as the availability of raw materials. Bauxite supply: Guinea’s cap meets a well-stocked China, but is it stable? Guinea remains central to the seaborne bauxite market, with its shipment connections to China demonstrating the importance of reliable logistics. A new sea-rail route has enabled a Guinea bauxite shipment...
EU approves Germany’s power relief instrument: Could aluminium producers save €459m annually?
Germany’s aluminium industry could receive some relief from persistently high electricity costs after the European Commission, under the European Union (EU) approved the country’s industrial electricity price scheme for 2026–2028. The measure is intended to ease the burden on energy-intensive businesses, strengthen industrial competitiveness and support Germany’s position as a manufacturing hub. The stakes are particularly high for aluminium producers. Electricity can account for 30–40 per cent of primary aluminium production costs, making power prices a critical factor in operating margins and investment decisions. Explore- Most comprehensive and forward-looking industry-focused report — Global Bauxite & Alumina Market Forecast to 2036: Supply–Demand, Trade Flows & Price Outlook...
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Alcoa continues reshaping upstream business, 443,000 metric tons of Suralco’s refining capacity to be curtailed
Lightweight metals leader Alcoa today announced that it plans to curtail 443,000 metric tons per year (mtpy) of alumina refining capacity at Suralco in Suriname. In addition, the Company and the Government of Suriname have agreed to pursue a transaction for a Government-owned entity to acquire the Suralco operations. The curtailment and potential transaction are in line with Alcoa’s recent announcement to review upstream capacity for possible curtailment or divestiture and the Company’s strategic goal to create a globally competitive commodity business. The curtailment, which represents one digester, is expected to be complete by April 30, 2015. “Reducing the production of the refinery will assist in extending the life of the operations as we continue to work with the Government of...
Upward trend in German aluminium production; stable volumes expected in 2015
The German aluminium industry clearly outpaced economic growth as a whole last year and it is also expecting the economic trend to be stable in 2015. Aluminium producers (+ 3.7 per cent), manufacturers of semi-finished products (+ 2.2 per cent), aluminium casters (+ 12.1 per cent) and converters (+ 3.9 per cent) all increased their production significantly in 2014. “The use of aluminium will grow continuously worldwide, but also andparticularly in Germany,” is how Heinz-Peter Schlüter, President of Düsseldorf-based GDA Gesamtverband der Aluminiumindustrie, describes the medium-term prospects of his sector. “Thanks to the high innovation potential of the markets in Germany, the competitiveness of the aluminium industry will continue to grow,” says GDA Executive Director Christian Wellner...
BHP flags $US738m demerger costs
BHP Billiton expects to incur one-off costs of around $US738 million on its $US15 billion ($A18.5bn) spin-off of non-core aluminium and manganese assets into South32, but has flagged further reductions to its cost base following the transaction. Investors responded well to the news. By 4.15pm (AEDT) BHP shares were 1.26 per cent higher at $29.77, against a benchmark index lift of 0.77 per cent. The charge comprises of stamp duty and cash tax of $US339m, South32 set up and separation costs of $US254m and execution costs of $US145m, including financial advisor costs of $US30m. BHP chief executive Andrew Mackenzie said the demerger of non-core aluminium and manganese businesses will materially simplify the miner's portfolio in a single step and, in the longer term, "allow [BHP] to further...
Cadillac CT6 to use 64 percent of aluminium in its construction
Cadillac CT6, the aluminium intensive luxury sedan, launches an ad campaign with the tagline “Dare Greatly” and the car is attempting to embody that motto. The car will feature a range of turbocharged engines, with coveted turbo V8 supposedly in the list, a possible plug-in Hybrid and streaming rearview mirror making it seem like quite the tech showcase. Although engineers have used some high-strength steel for reinforcing the cabin and B-pillar, aluminium plays a vital role in the car construction, a metal that has become almost mandatory in the luxury field recently. Nearly 64 percent of the CT6 is aluminium including the entire exterior. The company claims that extensive use of the light metal has helped shave off 198 pounds of weight as compared to steel.
ISRI updates on Superfund Recycling Equity Act (SREA)
The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) today announced that the ordering period opens on Monday, March 16, for the Superfund Recycling Equity Act (SREA) Reasonable Care Compliance Program Reports. Beginning March 16 and running through April 30, ISRI members have an exclusive opportunity to sign up for due diligence reports on the scrap consuming facilities to which they ship recyclable materials. The reports help ISRI members demonstrate the due diligence required by law in order to be exempt from SREA. “The SREA Reasonable Care Compliance Program Reports help save ISRI members both time and money,” said Robin Wiener, president of ISRI. “Members are spared from having to dig through public records before determining whether or not to ship to a customer. I strongly encourage...
Uncertainties surrounding Hindalco affecting its market performance
Hindalco stocks were seen to slide on Monday by as much as 6 percent in an otherwise dull trading session ending the day at INR 126.90 on the BSE, still down by 3.4 percent. Reasons for the weak performance in the market is attributed to the uncertainty surrounding the company, with coal blocks like Dumri put on hold by the government as well as the CBI probe surrounding the Talabira-II mine controversy. There are even reports that the CBI has filed a fresh First Information Report (FIR) against the company and has started probing into diversion of coal from Talabira-I mine. Market experts say that whenever there is re-examination surrounding a company, it raises doubts and investors do not appreciate uncertainties and doubts. The coal issue has been highly controversial involving...
Ford’s aluminum F-150 pickup truck is selling fast
The latest generation of Ford’s single most important vehicle model is being snapped up almost as fast as it arrives at dealerships. Ford F 1.85% executives will swear they were highly confident all along that shoppers — especially loyal owners of Ford F Series pickups — would rush to buy the automaker’s new aluminum-body truck. Now that their confidence has been rewarded, Ford is breathing a joyful sigh of relief. New-model introductions are never a sure thing — even slam-dunks occasionally carom off the rim. However, signs increasingly are positive that the latest generation of Ford’s single most important vehicle model, the F-150 pickup truck, is being snapped up almost as fast as it arrives at dealerships. On Friday, production began at Ford’s Kansas City assembly plant. Ford’s...
Aleris to announce fourth-quarter and full-year 2014 financial results on March 27
Aleris is scheduled to announce fourth-quarter and full-year 2014 financial results on Friday, March 27, 2015. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Steve Demetriou and Chief Financial Officer Eric Rychel will host an earnings conference call to discuss the company's fourth-quarter and full-year 2014 results and take questions from analysts at 9 a.m. ET on Friday, March 27, 2015. Conference Call and Slide Presentation • Live dial-in number: 1-866-364-3817 or 1-412-902-4207 for international callers • Please ask for the Aleris Call (Please dial in 10 minutes before conference call start time) • Live webcast: http://www.videonewswire.com/event.asp?id=101868 • Analysts who wish to ask a question following the prepared remarks should press "star and 1" on their push button phone during the...
Altech appoints ATEA group as its composite supply partner
Highlights • Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed for partnership with Atea • Atea to supply and install dual-laminate anti - corrosive composite materials for Altech’s high purity alumina (HPA) plant • Extensive expertise in design and construction of plant materials and equipment for extreme operating environments in Asia • Manufacturing plant in Penang, Malaysia Altech Chemicals Limited is pleased to announce that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Atea Environmental Group (Atea) appointing it as the partner for the supply of dual-laminate anti-corrosive composite plant and equipment for Altech’s proposed high purity alumina (HPA) plant. Dual-laminate composite materials are highly specialised fluoro-plastics that can withstand hydrochloric acid duty at elevated...
Rio Tinto adds 15 new apprentices at Weipa bauxite operation
Fifteen new apprentices have picked up their tools and launched their careers in the mining sector with Rio Tinto’s Weipa bauxite operation. The recruits will develop skills in fields such as diesel fitting, fitting and turning, electrical, and boilermaking over the next three to four years to gain a nationally recognised trade certificate. Four of the apprentices are Aboriginal people, including the recipient of this year’s Ely Apprenticeship, Yupungathi traditional owner PJ Ahmat. The Ely Apprenticeship is awarded each year to a local Aboriginal person who has a connection to one of the six traditional owner groups represented in Weipa’s Ely Bauxite Mining Project Agreement, or to someone who has a historical connection with the communities of Mapoon, Napranum or New Mapoon. The...
Discount on Bauxite Levy to be repealed under Jamaican Budget 2015-16
In Jamaica’s Budget for the financial year 2015-16, the government will repeal the discount given on the bauxite levy and companies will now have to pay full amount. Dr. Phillips told the House that there has been a positive wave in the international market that has also boosted the price of bauxite and alumina. As a result, the Prime Minister feels that the discount should be repealed so that the earnings from the levy can be used for overall growth of the country. "While we understand the reasons in the past, which both administrations have had to engage in to discount or relieve production companies of the requirements under the Bauxite Levy Act, the interim regime in respect of the bauxite levy which was negotiated in 2008/9 came to an end last December. The full levy is now due and...
Emirates Global Aluminium is strategic partner of Annual Investment Meeting (AIM) 2015
The UAE Ministry of Economy , organisers of Annual Investment Meeting (AIM), has announced that Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) has been named strategic partner of the 5th edition of the event which will be held at the Dubai international Convention and Exhibition Center from March 30 to April 1, 2015, under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE, and Ruler of Dubai. His Excellency Abdullah Bin Ahmed Al Saleh, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy - Foreign Trade sector, hailed EGA as a major supporter of the national economy and a global giant in the production of aluminium. "We consider its strategic partnership with AIM as a symbol of its support to innovation and this move will highlight the significance of industrial...
Nalco declares dividend at INR 322.15 crore
Public sector aluminium firm National Aluminium Co. Ltd (Nalco) has declared an interim dividend of INR 322.15 crore for the current fiscal on the paid up equity share capital of INR1,288.62 crore. The dividend of 25%—INR.1.25 per share of INR 5 each—was approved in the meeting of Nalco’s board of directors held at New Delhi on Thursday, a company release said in Bhubaneswar on Friday. Navaratna public sector undertaking (PSU) Nalco, which started its commercial operations in 1987, has been earning profits consistently and declaring dividends since 1992. In last fiscal, the company had declared a total dividend of INR 386.59 crore, it said. It may be noted that since inception, Nalco has paid a total of INR4,906 crore as dividend including INR 4,234 crore as share of Union government, the...
Aluminium industry bags more coal mines indicating rising demand for the metal in India
In the recent Indian coal auctions, aluminium bagged more coal mines than steel as a result of aggressive bidding from aluminium producers pointing to a rising domestic demand for the metal. While aluminium is an energy intensive metal to produce, steel needs to coal as a reduction agent to form the iron and carbon alloy. Steel plants collectively owned majority of coal mines, 83 percent of the total coal reserves available across the 31 auctioned blocks, but after the auctions they now own only 32 percent. Aluminium producers earlier had only one percent share in the total coal reserves but now they have ownership of 36 percent of available coal reserves. Demand for the lighter metal is seen to be on the rise according to market analysis and aided by the weaker dollar has had a positive...
Orbite receives notice of allowance for red mud monetization patent in the USA
Orbite Aluminae Inc. is pleased to announce that the United States Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") has issued a notice of allowance for patent application No. 14/371,364, pertaining to Processes for Treating Red Mud. Orbite had previously received a notice of allowance by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office ("CIPO"), as announced on January 8, 2015. Following the favorable opinion in terms of novelty, inventive steps, and industrial applicability received for its International Application, Orbite filed national phase entries in various countries and used the Patent Prosecution Highway, where allowed, to accelerate patent application examination and patent issuance. The US and Canadian Red Mud patent applications were treated under this accelerated process. Red mud is the waste...
Aluminum-alloy body Ford F-150s rolling off the Claycomo assembly line
The first new aluminum F-150 rolled off the assembly line at the Ford plant on Friday. The company now has more than 7,000 workers in the metro area. A more than $1-billion investment in the facility is paying off as the latest manufacturing technology is producing new pickup trucks. An aluminum-alloy body comes off the assembly line every 52 seconds. Five hundred new robots use riveting and structural adhesives to make what Ford calls a tougher, more durable truck. “Today this facility one of our most advanced in the entire world,” said Joe Hinrichs, Ford’s president of the Americas. “It has one of the largest hourly workforces of any plant in Ford Motor Company’s global network, with more than 7,000 employees.” Cameras on the robots take scans to ensure quality standards are met. And...
Asia Automotive Lightweight Procurement Symposium 2015 to be held from 6th-8th July in Shanghai
AluMag is organizing the only one of its kind symposium focusing on automotive lightweighting, supply chain and procurement management which will be held in Shanghai and Detroit in 2015 and Dusseldorf in 2016. The Asia Automotive Lightweight Procurement Symposium 2015 will take place from the 6th – 8th of July 2015 at the Jumeirah Himalayas Hotel in Shanghai featuring keynote speakers and exhibitors from Audi, DGS Druckguss, JSC, Novelis and Magna. There will also be other potential keynote speakers from BMW Powertrain, Daimler Trucks, General Motors of Shanghai, Tatasteel, Qoros, UACJ, Volkswagen and the like. The 2nd AluMag symposium is held in the days leading up to the ALUMINIUM China and China Diecasting shows, both taking place at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre which is...
Aleris attains qualification to supply aluminium plates to Boeing from Zhenjiang
Aleris announced today that its rolling mill in Zhenjiang, China has attained qualification to supply aluminum aerospace plate to Boeing. This achievement establishes Aleris as a qualified supplier of aluminum plate from its Zhenjiang mill for use in the production of various Boeing aircraft. Aleris' facility in Koblenz, Germany, has supplied aluminum aerospace plate to Boeing for decades. Aleris Zhenjiang, which opened in early 2013, was modeled after the Koblenz facility to meet the needs of both global and regional aircraft manufacturers by establishing a local supply of aluminum aircraft plate in Asia Pacific. "The achievement of the Boeing qualification represents the final major milestone in our strategy to serve the global aerospace industry from our new facility in Zhenjiang,...
