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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MRAI: Bright future for nonferrous metals
Each year more vehicles pop up on roads in India and a growing number of them are produced domestically. This trend provided a reason for optimism within the Indian nonferrous metals sector, according to presenters at the 2015 Metal Recycling Association of India (MRAI) International Conference, held in Mumbai in February. Mohan Agarwal of Haryana, India-based Century Metal Recycling Pvt. Ltd. told MRAI attendees that India has risen to become the seventh largest automaker globally and the second largest producer of two-wheeled vehicles (motor scooters and motorcycles). With the motor vehicle industry as a major customer, Century Metal Recycling has grown in just nine years to operate seven secondary aluminum and zinc alloys plants in India with a combined 225,000 metric tons of annual...
Balco wins the coal block Chotia in Chhattisgarh in Tuesday’s auction
After aggressive bidding, Vedanta Group’s co-owned Bharat Aluminium Co won the Chotia mine in Chhattisgarh at the auctions held on Tuesday by the Indian Minstry of Coals, offering the highest bid of INR 3,025 per ton beating competitors like Hindalco and Ultratech Cement. The mine that boasts of good quality coal reserves with a capacity of providing one million tons per annum was previously owned by Prakash Industries before it was de-allocated and put up for auction. Imported coal of a similar grade would cost about INR 4,500 per tonne. On Wednesday, two more coal blocks will go on auction Tokisud North coal mine which was earlier allocated to GVK Power and up for auction for the power sector while the other is for the unregulated sector Gare Palma IV/5 in Chhattisgarh. Balco is...
Prime Minister under pressure from backbench to legislate aluminium renewable target exemption
Prime Minister Tony Abbott is under pressure from his backbench to introduce legislation making aluminium smelting exempt from the Renewable Energy Target (RET). The aluminium industry has successfully lobbied the Coalition to grant its smelters an exemption from the RET. Labor agreed to support it several months ago but the Government is yet to introduce legislation making the change. Queensland Nationals backbencher Ken O'Dowd said he asked Mr Abbott why on Friday night. "We want to save jobs in Queensland, jobs in Gladstone, and I think it's essential," Mr O'Dowd said. He said Mr Abbott took the question on board and he expected an answer soon. Mr O'Dowd also said he was assured the legislation will be backdated once it is introduced. "I've also inquired [whether it will] be backdated...
Metro Mining lowers cost on Bauxite Hill mine
A new prefeasibility study (PFS) on the Bauxite Hills project, in Queensland, has revealed that the project could deliver some two-million tonnes of direct shipping ore (DSO) product, over a 21-year mine life. Owner Metro Mining told shareholders on Tuesday that the DSO option allowed for the development of a mine at a lower capital cost and lower operating costs, compared with a mine producing a beneficiated bauxite product. A PFS by previous owner Cape Alumina found that the Bauxite Hills mine could deliver five-million tonnes a year, over a ten-year life. The study proposed that the Bauxite Hills mine would start production at 2.5-million tonnes a year of dry beneficiated bauxite, building to full capacity over a two-year period. Capital costs have been estimated at between...
North American shipments of Aluminum Foil drops but Can Stock rises in Jan 2015: Aluminum Association
Estimated shipments of Aluminum Foil by U.S. and Canadian producers totaled 70.6 million pounds during January 2015, a decrease of 11.8 percent from the January 2014 total of 80.1 million pounds. Compared to the previous month, shipments increased 29.6 percent over the December 2014 total of 54.5 million pounds. Preliminary shipments for 2014 totaled 983.9 million pounds, off 1.0 percent from the 2013 total of 993.5 million pounds. Shipments of can stock totaled 351.9 million pounds during January 2015, up eight-tenths of one percent over the January 2014 total of 349.2 million pounds. Compared to the previous month, shipments rose seven-tenths of one percent over the December 2014 revised total of 349.4 million pounds. Revised shipments for 2014 totaled 4,250.5 million pounds, off 2.6...
Eriez chief to present at recycling trade show
The head of magnetic separation and detection firm Eriez is to deliver a paper at the 15th International Automobile Recycling Congress. President and chief executive Tim Shuttleworth will present Profitability Clearing the Chinese ‘Green Fence’ at the event in Germany. It will focus on Eriez’ technology to increase purity levels while maintaining total metals recovery. “Chinese import regulations were boosted with the so-called ‘Green Fence’ initiative in 2013 wherein the Chinese set an upper limit of two percent waste in the metal commodities being imported. Without the right process, this level of purity can lead to lowered total recovery and loss of valuable metals,” said Mr Shuttleworth. “Eriez decided to apply a well-known processing technique from the world of mineral processing to...
Australian anode manufacturing foundry sets up solar power unit; saves 25% power
Cathodic Anodes Australasia, a manufacturing company at Kunda Park has recently installed a 320-panel solar power plant saving the business 25% on energy bills, says general manager Ross Gorfine. The company manufactures products made up of aluminium and zinc for rust and corrosion protection which requires melting of the metals – an energy intensive task. Ever since the company installed the solar power system six months ago, they have seen a significant savings on their energy bills. Sunshine Coast being true to its name gets an average of seven hours of sunshine a day making it an ideal location for the set up of the system. Gorfine says that they had been looking for a greener route for quite some time that would reduce their dependence on fossil fuels and decrease their carbon...
Metal Shark introduces aluminum 25’ bay boat, announces recreational fishing line
Louisiana-based shipbuilder Metal Shark has introduced the first model in its new series of recreational fishing boats, a 25-foot bay boat, at the Miami International Boat Show. Metal Shark is best known for the vessels it designs and builds for military, law enforcement, and commercial markets worldwide. The company’s largest clients include the U.S. Air Force, Army, Navy, and Coast Guard. While the 25 Gravois shares the sleek lines and amenities common among today’s high-end bay boat offerings, it is immediately notable for its all-aluminum construction. The boat is made from digitally-cut plates of military-grade 5086 aluminum alloy, and is custom-built to “military-spec” standards alongside Metal Shark vessels produced for the U.S. Armed Forces. “As a fully welded aluminum boat with...
Alba signs milestone agreement with APM Terminals Bahrain
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba), a leading aluminium producer in the world, is pleased to announce that it has signed a Service Level Agreement with APM Terminals Bahrain, a subsidiary of one of the world’s leaders in port infrastructure - APM Terminals, and operator of Khalifa Bin Salman Port, Kingdom of Bahrain. The Agreement was signed between Alba’s Adviser to the CEO, Jean-Baptiste Lucas and Marco Neelsen, Chief Executive Officer of APM Terminals Bahrain. The meeting was attended by Mark Hardiman, Bryan Webster and Yusif Sanad from APM Terminals Bahrain and Alba’s Manager Sales Europe, Boris Santosi and Head of Sales, Europe Hassan Habib. The milestone agreement will boost Alba’s strategy to enlarge its presence in the global markets as well as enhance its overall service levels to...
Brazil aluminum output dropped 26% in 2014
According to latest trade statistics, the primary aluminum production by Brazil during the entire year 2014 declined sharply. The country’s primary aluminum output dropped 26.2% during the year to 962,000 tonnes. This is when compared with the output of 1.3 million tonnes during 2013. During the month of Dec ’14 alone, the primary aluminum output has declined by 32% year-on-year. The country has been witnessing steady fall in outputs since the beginning of 2014. The output in Dec ’14 reduced to 70,900 tonnes when compared with the output of 104,300 tonnes in December 2013. Brazilian primary aluminum export volumes had declined sharply by 23.5% over the previous year in 2014, following closing down of smelting capacities by several producers in the country. The figures released by the...
Orbite selected for $4.5M grant from Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC)
Orbite Aluminae Inc. is pleased to announce today that it has been selected to receive up to $4.5M in non-dilutive funding from Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) to be applied towards Orbite's technology development, demonstration and commercialization related to the processing of red mud. Red mud is the waste product generated by the Bayer process, the industrial process used for refining bauxite to obtain alumina, the raw material for the electrolytic production of aluminium. A typical bauxite refinery generates one to two times as much red mud as alumina. This waste usually is stockpiled in open-air tailings ponds, although in some cases it has been disposed of in the ocean. Red mud represents a long-term environmental and financial liability for the entire alumina...
Romanian aluminum producer Alro Slatina widens losses in 2014
Romanian aluminum producer Alro ended 2014 with adjusted net losses of RON 141 million (EUR 31.7 million). The losses were 64% higher compared to 2013, according to the company’s preliminary results. The company’s turnover registered a slight year-on-year increase in 2014, to RON 2 billion (EUR 450 million). In 2013, the company posted a turnover of RON 1.95 billion (EUR 442 million) and adjusted losses of RON 86 million (EUR 19.5 million). “The energy taxes, the low aluminum prices on the international markets and the significant appreciation of the US dollar, during a very short period, in December, influenced our results. Thus we continued to report losses this year,” said Marian Nastase, president of Alro’s board. “We are confident however that the recent measures to decrease by up to...
Japan aluminium stocks rise for tenth month, hit record
Aluminium stocks held at three major Japanese ports climbed for a tenth month to hit a record high at the end of January, as robust imports met tepid domestic demand. Aluminium stocks held at Yokohama, Nagoya and Osaka grew 8.8 percent in January from a month earlier to 449,800 tonnes, Marubeni Corp said on Tuesday. The trading house collects data from those key ports. That broke the previous record set in December, the highest level in data going back nearly 15 years. "A high level of imports kept coming to Japan to look for buyers as demand elsewhere in Asia stayed slack and China is exporting cheaper aluminium products to neighbouring countries," said a Tokyo-based trader, who declined to be named. Chinese exports of aluminium products grew about 19 percent last year, a trend analysts...
Demand for aluminium rises in Ethiopia; local company thrives
A local aluminium manufacturer named Inter Africa Extrusion is applying for a prospecting license to explore the regions in Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples Regional State (SNNPR) after discovering aluminium through a recent survey. The company had teamed up with a Chinese firm to carry out surveys in some regions of SNNPR before submitting their request with the Ministry of Mines for an official exploration license. The General Manager of the company Haimanot Abate says, “We are well aware of the availability of aluminum in the area after the survey." The country is seeing an increased demand for the metal and the company that used to import aluminium from Gulf countries has turned to manufacturing it locally. In fact, Haimanot says they are not able to keep up with the demand...
Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing welcomes Alcoa as newest member
The Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CCAM) today announced that Alcoa, the global leader in lightweight metals technology, engineering and manufacturing, will join the research consortium that brings together world-class businesses, Virginia's top universities, and the NASA Langley Research Center. As an Organizing Industry Member, Alcoa will conduct proprietary research at CCAM's state-of-the-art facility in Prince George County, Va., and retain IP ownership of its developments as well as collaborate with member companies on research for new manufacturing techniques and processes. "Alcoa is driven by innovation – not only from our own scientists and engineers but also through collaboration and ideas shared by those outside our company," said Director of Technology Leighton...
Metro Mining to release pre-feasibility study for Queensland bauxite project
Metro Mining has been granted an ASX trading halt in relation to the release of a Pre-Feasibility Study and Reserve statement for its Bauxite Hills Project in Queensland. Yesterday, the company estimated a JORC2012 Indicated Resource of 30.3 million tonnes of direct shipping ore (48.4% total AI2O3, 15.5% SiO2) for the BH6 deposit at the project. Total DSO resource (Indicated and Inferred) at the Bauxite Hills project is now 61.5 million tonnes at a grade of 49.9% total Al2O3, 12.2% total SiO2. In addition, bauxite quality results confirm the DSO product is suitable for export. The halt will last until the earlier of the announcement being made or the start of trading on Thursday, 19th February 2015.
Alcoa Chairman and CEO Klaus Kleinfeld to present at BMO Capital Markets 24th Global Metals & Mining Conference
Alcoa announced today that Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Klaus Kleinfeld will present at the BMO Capital Markets 24th Global Metals & Mining Conference in Hollywood, Florida, on Monday, February 23, at 9:30 a.m. EST. Mr. Kleinfeld will discuss Alcoa's transformation strategy which encompasses growing the Company's innovative, value-add businesses to capture profitable growth, while simultaneously creating a globally competitive commodity business. The presentation and live video webcast will be available at Alcoa's website at 9:30 a.m. on February 23. Following the conference, the archived webcast will be available for replay on the same website.
China authority to tackle overcapacity in aluminum industry
China’s Ministry of Industry & Information Technology (MIIT) is mulling over plans to tackle chronic overcapacity in the country’s aluminum industry, Shanghai Metals Market has learned. Measures under consideration include: greater scrutiny of projects under construction; strict control over capacity expansions; encouraging vertical integration of regional power plants and aluminum smelters; pushing for fair pricing among on-grid power, captive power and local on-grid power networks; enhancing cooperation between upstream smelters and downstream processors; widening the field of possible applications for aluminum in construction, power, transportation and aerospace sectors; and encouraging domestic smelters to build aluminum smelting and processing facilities overseas.
