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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New Joining Manual supports rapid growth of aluminum in automotive
The Aluminum Association today released a comprehensive manual that details the range of joining technologies used for the assembly of aluminum parts in automotive applications. Developed in collaboration with the European Aluminium Association (EAA) and the Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC), the joining manual is an essential reference for automotive designers and engineers as use of aluminum alloys in vehicle designs increases. Highlighting advancements in joining aluminum to itself and dissimilar materials, the all-new joining manual is an update to the EAA’s Aluminium Automotive Manual and is now available for download at no cost from the Aluminum Transportation Group’s (ATG) website. “As aluminum shakes up the materials status quo through greater use in new vehicle construction, the...
UC Rusal announces fourth quarter and full year 2014 operating results
UC RUSAL, a leading global aluminium producer, announces its operating results for the fourth quarter and full year 2014. Key highlights • Total aluminium production amounted to 3,601 thousand tonnes in FY14 (-7% YoY) and 915 thousand tonnes in 4Q14 (+1% QoQ). • Share of value-added products continued to grow and reached a record 45% of total aluminium production in 2014 in comparison with 42% for the previous year. • RUSAL alumina output totaled 7,253 thousand tonnes in FY14 (-1% YoY) and remained flat at the level of 1,818 thousand tonnes in 4Q14. • RUSAL bauxite production amounted to 12,108 thousand tonnes in FY14 (+2% YoY) and 2,932 thousand tonnes in 4Q14 (-11% QoQ). The management remains focused on further increases of an efficient upstream vertical integration. • The average...
Sesa Sterlite announces third quarter financial results
Sesa Sterlite Limited today announced its unaudited consolidated results for the third quarter (Q3) ended 31 December 2014. Financial Highlights: • Q3 FY2015 Revenues at Rs. 19,128 crore • EBITDA at Rs. 6,234 crore; EBITDA margin of 43%1 • Attributable PAT excluding exceptional items at Rs. 1,588 crore • Gross debt reduced by Rs. 1,470 crore in 9 months • Strong balance sheet with Cash & Cash equivalents of Rs. 47,000 crore Operational Highlights for aluminium and power sector: • Strong operating performance at Aluminium and newly commissioned pot-lines ramping up • Received approval to start the BALCO 1,200 MW power plant; trial runs to start in Q4 • First 660MW unit of 1,980 MW Talwandi Sabo Power Plant commenced commercial operations • Reviewing capex & opex plans across businesses to...
GE Capital aids Constellium for the acquisition of Wise
Constellium NV is to get a $400-million credit facility from GE Capital Corp to help fund the acquisition of Wise Metals Intermediate Holdings LLC. The group treasurer for Constellium, Mark Kirkland says, "GE Capital’s relationship with Wise and understanding of the metals industry made them a strong partner for our lending needs." He believes that working with someone who has experience in the metal industry is a huge advantage that will help them grow as well. Constellium has already completed the acquisition of Muscle Shoals, Alabama-based Wise Metals this month, a move that will widen the company’s horizons giving it more exposure in the North American aluminium sheet market. The acquisition of Wise Metals was announced in October by the Netherlands-based Constellium, quoting a deal...
Chinese alumina market continues to be slow
The Chinese market for alumina remains slow as the trading remained lukewarm with expectations of better demand in the coming weeks. The domestic spot prices for alumina hovered around 2,650-2,730 yuan per tonne as on Friday January 23, while the three-month aluminium contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange dipped by 5 yuan per tonne from last week ending at 12,935 yuan per tonne. Chalco did try to start a campaign along with other players in the industry to boost prices, not many are hopeful about the success of the campaign as the downstream buyers are not interested in buying raw materials. The upcoming Chinese New Year Holiday, from February 18-24, is also dragging the market to a snail’s pace and the weather is likely to clear once the holiday passes.
Rennell people benefit from mining spin-offs
Village farmers, fishermen and village shop owners of West Rennell and surrounding communities are experiencing the influx of cash-flow and increase of revenue in their shops and communities as a direct result of the current bauxite mining operation in the area. A landowner Malcolm Sau who has just returned from his village in West Rennell, said he have witness and seen the benefits and spin off the people in his communities are getting as more local and foreign workers are being employed and engaged in the mining operations in West Rennell. “Unlike in the past where there is hardly any development in our Island, most shop owners, market vendors, fishermen have not had the opportunities to sell their goods or products, no one has ever come to our shops to buy anything, as a result we...
Analysts predict a 54,500-tonne aluminium deficit in 2015
While the world is locked in debate about the state of aluminium globally, some 33 analysts believe that the average price of the metal will stay around $1,965 a tonne this year, 1.8% lower than the forecast made earlier but the downward revision is the smallest within the base metals this quarter. The demand for the metal stays positive as the automotive and aerospace industries are still vying for the light metal and the output outside China is kept low pushing the market to an expected 54,500-tonne deficit this year as opposed to the 38,500 surplus predicted for 2014 in October polls. An earlier estimation of 102,500-tonne deficit was made by analysts in a previous poll with a prediction of a higher 125,000 tonne deficit in 2016. The supply is indeed seen to be tightening with the...
Upstate Shredding CEO takes large stake in Metalico
Adam Weitsman, CEO of Upstate Shredding, an Owego, New York-based scrap metal processing firm, has purchased roughly 5.6 million shares of stock in Metalico Inc., a Cranford, New Jersey-based scrap metal processing company. With the purchase, Weitsman has a 9.5 percent stake in the company, making him the largest single shareholder. Weitsman began purchasing shares in Metalico Jan. 6, 2015, buying 829 shares at a price of 29 cents per share. He continued to make purchases of Metalico stock on the open market, with the largest purchase, roughly 1.63 million shares, Jan. 16 at a price of 50 cents per share. Metalico has struggled with profitability over the past year. Reflecting these challenges, during comments made in conjunction with the release of the company’s3Q 2014 results Nov. 14,...
Aluminum supplier ALPCO comes to Elkhart to reach next level of growth
An Ohio-based aluminum distributor with a longtime sales presence in Elkhart says it needed to open a facility here to grow. For more than 25 years, Aluminum Line Products Co. has shipped fabricated and raw sheets of aluminum from its sole production facility in Westlake, Ohio, to the many Elkhart area companies that make cargo trailers, truck bodies and shuttle buses. “For the longest time our loyal customer base said, ‘We will do more with you but you’ve got to have some brick and mortar here,” said Jim Guerin, vice president of sales and marketing. “‘You’ve got to be a little closer.’ With the 3 1/2-hour distance, they feel comfortable that if something goes wrong, they have somebody here with a local presence that can react quickly.” ALPCO initially wanted to build a new facility, but...
Nalco sets up the first and largest rooftop solar project in Bhubaneshwar
On Wednesday, National Aluminium Company (Nalco) commissioned a 160-KWp rooftop solar project at the corporate office located in Bhubaneshwar. The State Union Minister for Steel and Mines, Vishnu Deo Sai, inaugurated the project in presence of Ansuman Das, the Nalco CMD. The INR 1.25-crore project is the first and largest rooftop solar-power generating system commissioned in the state and an example of the company’s attempts to look for greener ways of achieving power sources to feed their plants. There is another 100-KWp rooftop solar plant that Nalco is preparing to install at its township in Nalco Nagar, with more such attempts planned all across the state, and is also scouting for more suitable locations in India to set up units for solar power generation.
Press Metal in RM2b smelter expansion plan
Press Metal Bhd will invest RM2bil in the Phase 3 expansion of its aluminium smelter project to raise production capacity, said group chief executive officer Datuk Paul Koon Poh Keong. He said the additional capital injection would bring the company’s total investment in aluminium smelting facilities in Sarawak to RM5.5bil. The Phase 3 expansion will be located next to the company’s existing smelter in Bintulu’s Samalaju Industrial Park within the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE). Press Metal also owns an aluminium smelter in Mukah. Both smelters are currently in full operations. “Every year, we (Press Metal) generate more than US$1bil in aluminium exports for the country,” said Koon in a presentation at a SCORE forum. The forum was part of the three-day International Energy...
SNC Lavalin to upgrade former Dubal site
SNC-Lavalin has been awarded a contract by Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) to carry out an energy optimisation project at its Jebel Ali facility. EGA is the company that was set up following the merger between Emirates Aluminium (Emal) and Dubai Aluminium (Dubal). The contract will involve an upgrade of the three original potlines at the former Dubal smelter, which now has seven potlines. A system developed in other EGA plants will be introduced, as well as a new potline control system. SNC Lavalin said the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract was already underway and that work is set to conclude in 2017. “We are proud to be a part of EGA’s continued growth and success,” said Dale Clarke, executive vice-president of the firm's mining and metallurgy business. Following...
PPS South Korea to buy 3,000t of aluminium
According to an announcement by Public Procurement Service (PPS) of South Korea last week, it has granted a tender to buy 3,000 tonnes of primary aluminium at a premium of $383 per tonne. It was Prowell Resources Corp who was awarded the tender to supply London Metal Exchange-registered brand of high-grade primary aluminium ingot. It was also directed not to be from China, Russia, India and Egypt. Delivery is expected by April on a CIF Busan basis. In tenders that closed last week, PPS had bought 2,000 tonnes of aluminium for a premium of $375 per tonne over the LME cash price.
Refinery workers leaving Nhulunbuy as free rent transition period comes to an end
The last of the former bauxite refinery workers on the Northern Territory's Gove Peninsula are leaving the remote town of Nhulunbuy this week. Mining giant Rio Tinto, which owns the now disused refinery, has confirmed a rent-free transition period for employees who lost their jobs at the refinery ends on Friday. The owner of the Walkabout Tavern, John Tourish, said it was a closing chapter for refinery workers but not for the town. "This will be really the last of the people moving out of the town that were directly related to the refinery work," he said. "There's been a transition of people moving out who didn't gain a job in the mining sector, or who have decided to move to another location. "Many of them stayed on to the end of the school year because they had children at school, some...
Orissa's bid to reopen mines faces legal challenge
The Indian provincial government of Orissa’s bid to renew mining leases through the auction route has hit a roadblock with courts preventing the government from taking any final decision before the legal challenge is heard. After a preliminary hearing, the Orissa High Court passed an interim order that the auctions process for the renewal of mining leases should be kept in abeyance and sought replies from the Orissa government on the legal challenge. The Orissa government on January 5 passed an executive order proposing to resort to auctioning for all new mining leases and those pending for second or subsequent renewals, barring the case of coal blocks. As reported by Mining Weekly, the provincial government had sought to reopen 18 iron-ore and manganese mines which had been shut down...
TRIMET France puts continuous caster into operation
After a test phase lasting several months, the TRIMET plant in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne put a vertical continuous caster into full operation on December 10, 2014. With an annual production capacity of around 60,000 tons of rolling ingots, the system represents a strategic addition to the product portfolio of the facility in the French Alps. Around 145,000 tons of primary aluminum is produced here annually. In addition to rolling ingots, aluminum wire for the energy and automotive industries is mainly produced by some 500 employees in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne and the sister plant in Castelsarrasin, in southwestern France. TRIMET took over the plants at the end of 2013 and has since consistently worked toward full utilization of the production capacity. The recommissioning of the continuous...
Aluminum avoiding metal slump as autos drive demand
At a time when other commodities are slumping, aluminum is making a comeback as automakers under pressure to build more fuel-efficient cars increase their use of the lightweight metal. While copper prices are down 14 percent this year and iron has slipped 7.7 percent, aluminum has gained 0.1 percent. The rise is small but significant, marking an improvement from a year in which the price of aluminum fell to its lowest level since 2009. Meanwhile, producers including Alcoa Inc. and Rio Tinto Group predict demand will continue to rise over the next few years as the metal grows in importance to car makers. “Aluminum looks very different from other commodities,” Oleg Deripaska, the billionaire president of the world’s largest producer, United Co. Rusal, said in an interview in Davos last...
Finch’s Beer Co. goes local with move to Rexam cans
Finch’s Beer Co. is going local. The Chicago-based craft brewer has teamed up with Rexam, choosing the company’s 16 oz. cans as the ideal packaging choice for its lineup of beers. Rexam is a leading global beverage can maker with North American headquarters in Chicago. Finch’s has already launched Secret Stache Stout, Hardcore Chimera, Finch’s Pale Ale and Nuclear Winter in Rexam cans with Sobek & Set, Fascist Pig and Threadless coming soon, followed by Wet Hot American Wheat this summer. Finch’s began the transition in the middle of 2014, and plans to have all eight of its labels – plus two additional new labels – in Rexam cans by mid-2015. Finch’s Beer Co. utilizes cans because of their many inherent benefits. Aluminum cans block out all light and oxygen which helps preserve the beer’s...
