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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300,000-tpy alumina project required to close on environmental protection drive
Sanmenxia Yixiang Aluminum Co. has been ordered to close its 300,000-tpy alumina project for failure to pass environmental protection inspections, the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) said in its website. The company has been fined 100,000 yuan ($16,209), and is not allowed to resume production until environmental protection equipment is installed. The MEP will enhance crackdown on projects that violate relevant environmental protection regulations, an official at the MEP said.
Queensland Bauxite agrees to investment by China Bauxite Trading
Queensland Bauxite has landed $910,000 in equity funding from a Chinese investment group in a placement at $0.014 per share to finance further development of the potentially 2015 producing South Johnstone Bauxite project. In cash strapped commodity markets, China Bauxite Trading & Investments Company (CBTIC) will make the investment, founded by a former China Non Ferrous Metal Corporation executive. QBL will issue 65,000,000 ordinary shares at $0.014 per share with attaching 5 million options exerciseable at $0.03 per share exerciseable on 28 February 2018 to CBTIC. This is at the same share price as the current non-renounceable issue on offer to QBL shareholders of one share for every four shares held at an issue price of $0.014 per share. The placement is being made under ASX Listing...
Odisha govt allows OMC to scrap 3 JVs on mining projects
The Odisha government has given permission to state-run Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) to scrap the joint venture projects inked with three private sector heavyweights to go for iron ore and bauxite mining in the state. The companies are: Anglo-Australian mining major Rio Tinto, Hindalco and the Vedanta group which has now been renamed as Sesa Sterlite. “We have given permission to OMC to cancel the joint ventures with the three companies if they wish to after the chief minister put his signature on the file in this regard,” state Steel and Mines Minister Prafulla Mallick said on Tuesday. Sources in the steel and mines department said the OMC decided to do away with the joint venture projects for different reasons. To begin with, Rio Tinto, though the one billion dollar project to mine...
Many Chinese listed aluminum smelters see huge losses for 2014
2014 was a tough year for aluminum smelters in China as chronic overcapacity pushed many into loss-making territory, finance eastmoney websitereported yesterday. 29 Chinese listed companies in industrial metals industry had released their forecasts for earnings in 2014, of which many aluminum smelters predict losses for last year. For example, Chalco expects to suffer a loss of 16.3 billion yuan ($ 2.64 billion), Yunnan Aluminum Co. sees losses of 400-450 million yuan, and Xinjiang Joinworld Co. expects it to lose 530-570 million yuan.
BIR Non-Ferrous World Mirror February 2015
The following article is based on the latest Non-Ferrous Metals World Mirror produced by the BIR world recycling organisation for the benefit of its members. US secondary aluminium prices have slid a further US$ 20-40 per ton as secondaries appear to be holding sufficient scrap and ‘are waiting to sell the finished ingot inventory for the next quarter’. Prices of UBCs and other alloys have mirrored a slight drop in the Midwest premium. Despite prices having fallen ‘dramatically’ in January, the aluminium scrap volumes generated and collected in Japan ‘have not been large enough’. Aluminium alloy prices are dropping more sharply than Zorba - the main raw material for ADC12 production. Conversely, there has been an improved supply and reasonable volumes of aluminium scrap traded in the...
New aluminium tank system for dust collection plants
A new tank system made of drawn aluminium tube for use in dust collection plants allows high pulse volumes and is corrosion resistant. The tank system incorporates tank and valve in one unit and thus reduces construction effort and installation time. The tank's innovative aluminium profile combined with the patented clamp construction at the outlet and the aerodynamic flow geometry allow high flow rates and high volumes per pulse. It is made of anodized aluminium, so compared to welded steel tanks, corrosion is no problem. The tanks are designed to comply with the requirements of the European pressure equipment directive 97/23/EG, module B1+D and AMSE. Regarding valve spacing and fastening angle, they can be fully adapted to up to lengths of 3 m and a maximum of 18 valves to meet the...
Aluminum Association reports North American Aluminum net shipments in Jan 2015
Aluminum Association reports Aluminum net shipments in North American (US & Canada) for the month of January 2015. Aluminum net shipments (including exports) by domestic U.S. and Canadian facilities totaled an estimated 1,928 million pounds during January 2015, down 1.9 percent from the January 2014 total of 1,965 million pounds. Shipments of aluminum mill products totaled 1,253 million pounds, 4.9 percent above a year ago while shipments of aluminum ingot for castings, exports and destructive were down 12.5 percent, totaling 675 million pounds. Compared to December 2014, January 2015 shipments increased 9.8 percent. Preliminary estimates indicate that during 2014, producer shipments totaled an estimated 23,107 million pounds, 3.9 percent above the 2013 total of 22,235 million....
GCC aluminium production increased by 31% in 2014
Collectively the five aluminium companies (EGA, Alba, Ma’aden, Qatalum and Sohar Aluminium) produced 4,928,143 tons of primary aluminium in 2014 compared to 3,748,616 tons in 2013, an increase of 31%. GCC Aluminium production constitutes 10% of the total world production. The main increase has come from Ma’aden Aluminum, A Saudi Arabia start-up which was successfully ramped up during the year, and EMAL Phase 2 project completion before the target date. The production for 2015 is expected to be more than 5 million tons. GCC remains to be one of the leading hubs for the aluminum business where 40% of its production utilized by the downstream aluminium industry in the Gulf for Regional and International market, while the balance of the primary aluminium production are exported to different...
The first Gulf Aluminium Casthouse Conference ends successfully in Doha
The first Gulf Aluminium Casthouse Conference or GulfCast, held on the 2nd and 3rd of March 2015, at the Sharq Village & Spa in Doha came to a successful end on Tuesday. The conference was organized by Qatalum under the patronage of His Excellency Dr Mohammed Bin Saleh Bin Abdullah Al-Sada, the Minister of Energy and Industry. Eminent people from the aluminium industry like CEO of Alba Tim Murray, Secretary General of GOIC Mr. Abdul Aziz Al Ageel, CEO of Muntajat Mr. Abdulrahman Ali Al Abdulla and top officials from Qatalum attended the conference. The two days were divided into three sessions – morning, afternoon and evening with each session focusing on key areas of interest in the aluminium industry. The Day One saw ten presentations spread across the three sessions, which included...
Kobe Steel considers $800 million U.S. aluminium plant for car supplies
Kobe Steel Ltd., supplier of aluminum sheet to half of the nation’s auto industry, is considering building a ¥100 billion plant in the U.S. to expand sales to Japanese carmakers operating in North America. The prize is an expected tenfold increase in demand for aluminum sheet in the U.S., where stricter fuel economy standards have ignited a race among carmakers to save weight and boost the efficiency of new models, driving up demand for the lightweight metal. The size of Kobe Steel’s potential investment is larger than anticipated because the company may need to add capacity at the plant to process aluminum alloy, Senior Officer Hiroshi Kato said last week in an interview at the company’s Tokyo offices. Such an integrated plant would be three or four times bigger than originally planned...
Qatar Aluminium predicts 6% rise in aluminium demand as autos dominate
Qatar Aluminium Chairman, Abdulrahman Ahmed Al-Shaibi said in a Doha conference on Tuesday Automobile customers accounts for around 60% of the company’s products. The rising demand for automotive aluminium is pulling the overall demand for aluminium which is rising nearly 6% a year. The company says the falling oil prices are not affecting the demand for aluminium automotive parts and the company did not have to cut back on production. The initial drive towards aluminium use in automobiles was the fuel efficiency due to lighter weight. But as analysts predict that the lower oil prices could hamper the fuel efficiency benefit in aluminium cars in future as a result manufacturers are trying to push the recyclability factor. David Wilson, an analyst at Citigroup says, “At a 75 percent...
Alcoa Completes Acquisition of TITAL
Lightweight, high-performance metals leader Alcoa today announced that it has completed the acquisition of privately held TITAL. Alcoa closed the transaction, which was announced on December 15, 2014, after receiving all of the required global regulatory approvals. TITAL is a leading manufacturer of titanium and aluminum structural castings for aircraft engines and airframes. This acquisition strengthens Alcoa’s ability to capture growing demand for advanced aircraft engine components, in particular, those made of titanium. TITAL establishes titanium casting capabilities in Europe for Alcoa, and expands the Company’s aluminum casting capacity. Additionally, TITAL’s strong connections to European engine and aircraft manufacturers such as Airbus, SNECMA, and Rolls-Royce, will enhance...
ICSOBA announces details of its 33rd Conference and Exhibition
The International Committee for Study of Bauxite, Alumina & Aluminium (ICSOBA) is an independent non-profit association that unites industry professionals representing major bauxite, alumina and aluminium producing companies, technology suppliers, researchers and consultants from around the world. ICSOBA has great honor to announce the 33rd International Conference and Exhibition of ICSOBA. For the event ICSOBA cooperates with Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), the jointly held, equal-ownership company integrating the businesses of Dubai Aluminium (DUBAL) and Emirates Aluminium (EMAL). The conference will be held at the Rotana Al Murooj hotel in Dubai from 29 November to 1 December 2015. Objectives of the Conference are: • To review the status of bauxite, alumina and aluminium industries in...
Barstow city to get an aluminium remelt and casting plant soon
The city of Barstow will soon receive the promised aluminium remelt and casting house although in a much smaller scale, a city official revealed last week. Last March a megaproject was approved by the City Council, with a manufacturing complex of 3 million square-feet, costing $1.5 billion and the potential to employ more than 2,000 people. The project had to be dismissed because the high electricity costs in California would not allow the plant to run economically. The new project with a 500,000 square-feet manufacturing unit and employing roughly 450 people would cost a little over $120 million and will not be affected by the high electricity costs due to its comparatively smaller size. A new company named Mojave Aluminium Company will be responsible for developing the project, in the...
The Govt. of India holds back four coal mines to investigate price discrepancies
The Government will be reassessing four out of the 19 coal blocks that were bid for and sold in the first phase of the coal auctions to examine why the bids were so low in case of these mines. The four blocks are Gare Palma IV/1, IV/2, IV/3 and the Marki Mangli III. The Gare Palma IV/2 and IV/3 that were originally allotted to Jindal Power, remained with the company for a bid of INR 108 per ton, the lowest winning bid, as other bidders showed little interest in the blocks. Gare Palma IV/1 was won by Balco for a winning bid of INR 1,585 per ton while Marki Mangli III was won by BS Ispat for INR 918 per ton. The winning bids were very low in case of these four coal blocks when compared to other similar blocks, with bids reaching as high as INR 1,110 for coal blocks reserved for the power...
Shanghai aluminum prices to rise on expectations of positive policies
Shanghai aluminum prices are expected to rise on expectations of positive policies in China, Shanghai Metals Market’s interview shows. China is going to hold the 2015 NPC & CPPCC sessions soon, and favorable policies are expected to be rolled out during the meeting, which will provide an opportunity for domestic aluminum prices to rise, an analyst from Galaxy Futures told SMM in an interview. It has been more than 1 year since Indonesia’s export ban on bauxite, and it will be unreasonable for aluminum prices to stay below production costs for longer time, the analyst said. The analyst also added that market trading will also pick up with the returning of Chinese investors after the week-long holiday. During the Chinese New Year holiday, LME aluminum stabilized at $1,810 per tonne after...
Constellium to report 2014 fourth quarter and full year results March 12, 2015
Constellium N.V. will announce its 2014 fourth quarter and full year financial results on Thursday, March 12, 2015. A conference call and webcast to present the results will take place at 11:00 a.m. (Eastern Standard Time) on the same day. The conference call will be hosted by Pierre Vareille, Chief Executive Officer, and Didier Fontaine, Chief Financial Officer. Details of the conference call, webcast and accompanying presentation will be available on the Constellium Investor Relations page at the company website. The webcast can be accessed live at the video news wire site. To participate by telephone, please dial the following number and ask to be connected to the Constellium Q4 earnings call: USA: 1-866-376-8056 France: 0 805 102 319 Germany: 0 800 589 5393 Switzerland: 0 800 246 787...
Bauxite Residue Valorisation and Best Practices Conference to be held from 5-7 October, 2015, in Leuven, Belgium
Bauxite residue is a reusable resource. Its a material that can be a missed opportunity if not properly valorized. The current practice in some parts of the planet regarding bauxite residue management has to be revised. There is a need to change the modus operandi and become more aware and thoughtful about the environmental footprint of the aluminium industry. Bauxite Residue Valorisation and Best Practices Conference is an event that addresses this cause. It’s a call to transform this concern into an opportunity, in an event that aims to promote the development of high-quality research in this field by bringing together specialists from both academia and industry, presenting recent results and discussing the way ahead. For this purpose, the Organizing and Scientific Committees of the...
