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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Chalco to invest $400 million to explore bauxite in Guangxi
Chalco will invest 2.6 billion yuan ($400 million) to explore bauxite in Chongzuo, Guangxi – one of China’s bauxite-rich regions – local media reported. Feasibility report was completed last December, and groundbreaking might start as soon as this June, the media added. Once operational, the project will produce 2.58 million tonnes of bauxite annually, together with 800,000 tonnes of metallurgical-grade alumina, it reported.
Norsk Hydro annual reporting 2014: Better, bigger, greener
"After challenging years, the fundamentals in the aluminium market show some improvement - and our ambitious improvement strategy yields significant results turning Hydro into a strong player well positioned for a better, bigger and greener future," President and CEO Svein Richard Brandtzæg writes in his letter to shareholders. "The lowered cost of producing a ton of aluminium is not simply a result of shortsighted "cost-cutting", but a lasting result of systematic and determined improvement programs. As earnings outlook has improved, now is the time to prove the strength of our improvement culture: Stepping-up when you have to is one thing, but true culture is reflected through advancements also when not driven by external distress," Brandtzæg says. "Improvements will be supplemented...
Rio Tinto might be counting too much on aluminium for its recovery
Optimism that a recovery in profits at Rio Tinto Group’s aluminium division will counter a slump in iron-ore prices and underpin increased investor returns looks misplaced. When the world’s second-largest mining company reported a 9% dip in underlying profit last month, CEO Sam Walsh touted a turnaround at the unit which emerged from the value-destructive $38bn acquisition of Alcan in 2007. Profit from that business more than doubled to $1.3bn last year. "Aluminium has grown into a significant contributor to group earnings and cash flows," Mr Walsh told analysts last month. "We’re seeing significant improvement in the aluminium business, and I guess everybody is now seeing it." The outlook for aluminium is "souring" as a surge in Chinese exports of the lightweight metal used in everything...
ALG predicts an 11.5% rise in Ford 2015 F-150’s resale values
TrueCar Inc.’s ALG Division has provided statistics that suggests that 2015 F-150 from Ford has gone up 11.5% in resale value as fuel-efficiency seems to beat concerns regarding high repair costs. ALG, who has been setting resale values for cars for more than 50 years, has not been deterred by Ford’s extensive use of aluminium despite the concerns circulating in the industry that price of repairs will rise exponentially. Aluminium has been successfully used in luxury cars like Jaguar in the past, says ALG. In an interview, ALG’s vice president Eric Lyman says that a 2015 F-150 is expected to retain 58% of its value after three years, beating the previous edition’s score of 52%. “We are giving credit for the aluminum construction in the fuel efficiency we’re seeing,” Lyman said. “We are...
Orbite appoints RHI Canada Inc for refractory installation
Orbite Aluminae Inc. today announced that, the Company has appointed RHI Canada Inc. as its contractor for the installation of the refractory system for the decomposer and calcination units at its HPA production facility in Cap-Chat, Quebec. Following certain preparatory activities, refractory installation will commence on March 30, 2015, in line with the previously communicated schedule. Installation is anticipated to take approximatively 8 weeks. "RHI is the undisputed leader in the refractory systems market," stated Denis Arguin, Orbite's Vice President Engineering & Operations. "Based on the breadth and depth of their experience and skill set, we are confident RHI is the right partner for us to help complete our calcination system, a key step towards completion of our plant."
South Goa traffic cell calls for restricted movement for bauxite-laden trucks
South Goa traffic cell has lodged a complaint with the district magistrate to restrict the transportation of bauxite-laden trucks operating between the Naquerim-Betul and Vasco as it causes traffic congestions in the port area, especially during peak times. Trucks are said to make around 220 trips throughout the day on this route with the numbers often increasing. Currently their movement is utterly unrestricted, plying from morning to late nights without any monitoring from the mining department. Heavy-trucks cause severe bottlenecks on the streets, especially in the Navelim junction, Rawanfond junction, Arlem junction and Vasco port regions during peak hours. According to the traffic department, more than half their resources are allotted to oversee the traffic in these regions. Parking...
Venezuela aluminum plant Venalum forced cut to metal quality
Venezuela's state-controlled smelter Venalum, the largest primary aluminum smelter in Latin America, will no longer be able to meet purity standards due to its deteriorating financial situation, according to a company document seen by Reuters. Venalum wrote to warn clients on Wednesday that the iron content of its ingots will exceed established industry limits of 0.3 percent, rising to between 0.55 and 0.9 percent, forcing it to cut prices and making the metal harder for industry buyers to use. "Venalum is unable to manufacture and certify its Primary Aluminum at 99.7 percent (purity)," the document says, citing the company's "difficult financial situation." It did not elaborate. Venalum declined to comment when contacted by Reuters. Primary aluminum is a finished metal used by a host of...
Ukraine High Court decides to take over Rusal’s 68% stake in ZALK
Ukraine High Court has decided that they will nationalize the Zaporizhia (Zaporozhye) alumina and aluminium complex (ZALK) which was acquired by Russian giant Rusal 12 years ago holding a 68% stake at present. The news came via an announcement issued by the General Prosecutor’s office on Thursday. Rusal had abandoned the aluminium plant located in southeastern Ukraine years ago due to low aluminium prices, and the debate surrounding the ownership of the plant had been raging for many years. Ukraine government has started a drive to reclaim all the assets built on Ukrainian territory owned by Russia, after Russia did the same post the Crimea annexation last year, resulting in increased tension between the two countries. According to the prosecutor, the disputed plant is worth 380 billion...
Japan aluminium stocks climb for 11th month, hit record
Aluminium stocks held at three major Japanese ports climbed for an eleventh month to hit a record high at the end of February due to robust imports. Aluminium stocks held at Yokohama, Nagoya and Osaka grew 0.8 percent in February from a month earlier to 453,400 tonnes, Marubeni Corp said on Thursday. The trading house collects data from those key ports. That broke the previous record set in January, the highest level in data going back nearly 15 years. Behind the higher imports are slack demand elsewhere in Asia and China's increased exports of cheaper aluminium products. "We heard that the inflows (to these ports) were still higher than the outflows in February, reflecting high level of imports," said a Tokyo-based trader, who declined to be named. "But an expansion pace of the...
Rusal starts bauxite mining in Guyana
UC Rusal commenced mining operations at its $25 million Kurubuka-22 project, which is located near Kurubuka in Guyana. The bauxite deposit is estimated at 30 million metric tons (mt). Development began in 2013 with construction of the mine, infrastructure development, building of access roads, barge loading facilities at the Berbice River, and a factory that allows the maintenance of a full production cycle from mining to dry bauxite barge loading. Optimization of logistics costs has been reached thanks to a reduction of transportation distance from the mine to a sea reloading point. President of Guyana Donald Ramotar and Vladislav Soloviev, CEO of Rusal, attended the opening ceremony. “The development of the Kurubuka-22 mine is in line with Rusal’s strategy to strengthen vertical...
Constellium reports full-year and fourth quarter 2014 financial results
Constellium N.V. today reported results for the full year and fourth quarter ended December 31, 2014. These results do not include the acquisition of Wise Metals, which closed on January 5, 2015. • 2014 Shipments of 1.1 million metric tons, up 4% versus prior year • 2014 Revenue of €3.7 billion, up 5% • 2014 Adjusted EBITDA of €275 million, including a €23 million unfavorable impact of higher metal premiums, down 2% from €280 million in 2013 • Adjusted free cash flow remains positive despite higher capital expenditures related to previously announced projects • 2014 Diluted EPS of €0.48; EPS excluding unrealized losses on derivatives of €0.84 • Automotive rolled product shipments up 37% in 2014 versus 2013 • Automotive extruded product shipments up 28% in 2014 versus 2013 • Wise Metals...
Clean Sky program pushes for more efficient aircraft recycling
The aviation industry is constantly evolving so that it can design lighter aircraft, reduce consumption and emissions and put in place more efficient recycling systems that allow the valuable materials used to build aircraft to be reused. This is the research context in which the European SENTRY project is positioned; it is an initiative being led by the Basque IK4 R&D Alliance, and is part of the ambitious Clean Sky programme a public-private partnership between the European Commission (EC) and the Aeronautical Industry, set up to bring significant step changes regarding the environmental impact of aviation. The project sets out to conduct the differentiated recycling of alloys used to manufacture aircraft test panels built into a fuselage so that the materials used do not get diverted...
Aluminium likely to flood markets as hoarding metal stops being beneficial
A deluge of aluminum, held as collateral in financing deals, could be released back onto global markets as surging Chinese exports of the metal cause surcharges for physical material to extend their dramatic slide. Premiums - which lurched lower for the first time last month after years of hitting record highs - are also facing pressure from market reform aimed at untangling controversial storage practices and the prospect of higher U.S. interest rates. The surcharges, paid by buyers on top of the London Metal Exchange cash price to obtain immediate delivery of metal, had soared by up to nine-fold since 2009. This was partly due to expensive backlogs at LME-registered warehouses of up to two years to get access to material. They have already shed 10-15 percent in Asia, Europe and the...
Aluminium rises by 0.2% on global cues
Aluminium futures rose by 0.23% to INR 111.05 per kg today as speculators enlarged exposures on pick up in spot demand and a firming trend in base metals overseas. At the Multi Commodity Exchange, aluminium prices for delivery in March traded higher by 25 paise, or 0.23%, at INR 111.05 per kg in a business turnover of 136 lots. Similarly, the metal for delivery in March traded higher by 20 paise, or 0.18%, to INR 111.95 per kg in 69 lots. Analysts said rising demand from consuming industries at domestic spot markets and the metal's strength at the London Metal Exchange (LME), where it rebounded from 10-month low before industrial output data from the world's largest metals consumer China, mainly influenced aluminium prices at futures trade here. Globally, aluminium for delivery in three...
Press Metal Phase 3 expansion progressing well and on schedule
The Phase 3 of the Press Metal Bhd’s aluminium smelter in Samjalu Industrial Park is showing good progress while maintain the high environmental standards, revealed CEO Datuk Paul Koon to a local newspaper on Thursday. Land clearances have almost come to a close while construction is progressing smoothly and on schedule to increase the capacity of the metal production which will prove beneficial at a time when demand for the metal is growing, says Koon. “The demand for aluminium continues to grow. Although Malaysians are concerned with low oil price and implementation of Goods and Services Tax, almost 90 per cent of our sales are for export markets,” he said in an email interview. After the expansion, Press Metal hopes to double its aluminium smelting capacity to 640,000 tons from the...
CNA ventures into bauxite mining; plans investment
In a bid to enhance diversification, the CNA Group has expressed interest in bauxite venture signing a non-binding MoU with a bauxite mine and processing plant in Shanxi, China for a five percent stake in the company. The fruitfulness of the venture will only come forth in due course said the company on Thursday. Chief executive of CNA, Michael Ong says the move can be termed as a "new strategic direction to develop revenue streams from investments to balance cyclical project revenues". An agreement with Liul inxian Senzetengfei Aluminium Industry Co will provide the necessary technological and engineering expertise needed to carry out the business within China. CNA revealed that the mine has reserves worth an estimated $600 million and is generating income of $10 million per year and...
Rolls-Royce says SUV will use aluminum spaceframe unrelated to BMW
Rolls-Royce CEO Mueller-Oetvoes has released preliminary details about the company’s first ever SUV. In an interview with automotive media, Mueller-Oetvoes says the SUV is going to benefit from a newly developed aluminum spaceframe which won't be shared with BMW. He added the technology will then be implemented on all models so expect many of the components and body panels to be manufactured from aluminum which should shave off some considerable weight. Some of the bits and pieces are going to be sourced from the BMW X7 which is believed to go on sale sometime in 2018, just like Rolls-Royce's still unnamed SUV. The British luxury marque is about to finalize the model's design and according to Mueller-Oetvoes we will see test mules in the following months. He went on to specify that it...
Sapa endorses aluminium heat exchangers in India
Sapa demonstrated at ACREX India 2015 how it turns its global aspect into an asset for local service and technical support in aluminium heat exchangers. Every year, ACREX brings together players working in the air conditioning, ventilation, refrigeration and building services industries. It is the largest exhibition of its kind in South Asia. Arranged in Bangalore, the exhibition provided Sapa with an opportunity to show how its competencies within both extruded and welded aluminium tubes can improve a customer’s end product – and its manufacturing processes, too. In India, Sapa also pointed out the benefits that local customers can receive from Sapa's global network. While the company targets customer support and relations at a local level, it uses its global aspect as an asset in terms...
