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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Aluminum Association releases 2015 edition of Aluminum Design Manual
Today, the Aluminum Association released the 2015 Aluminum Design Manual, the 10th edition of an essential reference for all professionals working with aluminum in structural applications. This latest version of the manual, which was last updated in 2010, is available to purchase through the Aluminum Association online bookstore at its website. “The Aluminum Design Manual is absolutely indispensable for engineers designing buildings and other load bearing structures using aluminum,” said John Weritz, Vice President for Standards and Technology at the Aluminum Association. “Referenced in the 2015 International Building Code, compliance to that important standard makes the Aluminum Design Manual an essential document that allows engineers to create safe and innovative structures using...
Electrical safety seminar to focus on hazards of aluminum wiring
Aluminum wiring was widely used in home construction and renovations in Mississauga during the 1960s and 1970s, but without proper care it can become a potential fire hazard. “There have been numerous warnings about potential hazards of aluminum wiring, yet many homeowners are unaware of what they should be doing to mitigate the dangers,” said Tim Birnie, president of Birnie CurrentSAFE, a Mississauga-based electrical contract company. On Feb. 10, Birnie CurrentSAFE will partner with Mississauga Fire Services to host a free home safety seminar on how to deal with potential hazards of residential aluminum wiring. Titled Aluminum Wiring: Debunking the Myths, the seminar also features a presentation on fire prevention and escape plans by Michele Aplin, public education officer for...
ASI recently introduced global standards for sustainable aluminium production
The Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI), in collaboration with Ball Corporation and other aluminum industry leaders, recently introduced new, comprehensive criteria for a global standard for sustainable aluminum production that will further improve environmental, social and governance performance throughout the entire aluminum value chain. In Ball's 2014 sustainability report, the company announced its goal to work with ASI and support the development of a global standard that promotes sustainable practices by the end of 2015. To accomplish this goal, Ball and other industry leaders worked with upstream partners, including Constellium, Hydro, Novelis and Rio Tinto Alcan, and alongside 15 nongovernmental organizations throughout 2014 to define sustainability issues relevant to the...
Public Procurement Service buys 2,000 tonnes of aluminium
South Korea’s stockpiling agency, Public Procurement Service (PPS), will buy 2,000 tonnes of aluminium through two separate tenders that closed on Wednesday January 21. The tenders were awarded to LG International Corp for a premium of $375 per tonne, PPS said. "One tender is for good western [material] and the other for non-good western material," a trader said. The delivery is due in the port of Busan, South Korea, in April, he added. On the London Metal Exchange, the spread on the cash-to-three-month aluminium contract narrowed to $2.25 on January 19, from $19 a week earlier.
Alba sponsors Aluminium Symposium 2015 (Platts)
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba), a leading aluminium producer in the world, provided sponsorship support for the well-known event Aluminium Symposium 2015, thus demonstrating the Company’s continuing commitment to engage with industry peers on global platforms in expanding aluminium’s reach across diverse territories. Aluminium Symposium 2015, which took place from January 18 – 20, 2015 at Arizona, USA, was organised by Platts - a leading global provider of energy, petrochemicals and metals information. It was attended by Chief Marketing Officer, Jean-Baptiste Lucas, Manager Sales & Marketing Europe & Americas, Boris Santosi, and Manager Strategy & Business Development, Zachary Jungers. The event covered a wide range of subjects including: The Automotive Game Changer; Extrusions – New...
State-governor believes Venalum can achieve 436,000 tons of aluminium production
Francisco Rangel Gómez, the state governor of Venezuelan south east state Bolivar, is hopeful that the state owned smelter Venalum will be able to produce 436,000 tons of aluminium, while the official was on a plant visit inspecting the asphalt paving of several areas of the factory. The official informed that when Venezuela was suffering a severe drought, causing the river to dry making electrical power scarce, Venalum had stepped up with workers switching off almost half of their cells to provide electricity for the country. Recovery from that point is difficult and workers are still working hard towards achieving that goal, he said. He points out the resilience of the workers by stating that when there was an oil strike in 2002-2003, Venalum still managed to break a production record,...
Aluminum Extruders Council to discuss emerging markets and market defense at 2015 Annual Meeting
Members of the Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC), will hear insights from prominent industry leaders and motivational speakers at the 2015 Annual Meeting and Leadership Conference, Thursday, March 5 through Saturday, March 7. The Leadership Conference in Palm Desert, California, will feature a variety of business, industry and motivational speakers, including Kevin Moore, former GM executive, Michael Walsh (invited), Director of ADCVD Policy and Programs Division at the Office of U.S. Customs, and Herm Edwards, former NFL football player and current ESPN announcer. Program highlights include the Market Insights Panel featuring speakers from three extrusion customer markets who will address the utilization and advancement of aluminum extrusions in existing and emerging markets. These...
China demand for Malaysian bauxite to grow further
China’s demand for Malaysian bauxite is poised to grow further in the near term on increasing alumina production, Shanghai Metals Market predicts. Lubei Enterprise Group is scheduled to reopen its 500,000-tpy alumina project next month, and Weiqiao Pioneering Group may ramp up alumina production, which will boost bauxite demand. Many traders contracted by SMM are painting a rosy picture of Chinese alumina refineries’ demand for Malaysian bauxite. One trader told SMM that bauxite (Al2O3 43%, SiO2 4%) was offered at $34 per tonne (FOB) for shipments from Malaysia to China.
Two Henan-Based Companies to build 600,000-tpy hot-rolled aluminum project
Henan Energy Yimei Co. and Wanji Holdings Group recently signed a cooperation framework agreement over construction of 600,000-tpy hot-rolled aluminum project and 2*600 MW power generating units, local media reported today. The hot-rolled aluminum facility will cost 3.5 billion yuan ($570 million). Both power generating units, with planned investment totaling 5.3 billion yuan, will generate 7.2 billion kilowatt hours of electricity annually once fully operational in the first half of 2017, it added.
NAPCO acquires a new powder-coating system for aluminium extrusions
National Aluminium Products Company SAOG (NAPCO) has announced that in order to meet the growing demand of aluminium-based powder coating systems in the region, they have acquired a new vertical powder coating line. NAPCO is one of the leading manufacturers of aluminium extrusions in GCC and the only one in Oman capable of addressing the need for powder-coated extrusions with up to 8 meters of length. Only three other companies in the entire GCC are capable of doing the same. The new acquisition is in line with the company’s expansion plans having already acquired a horizontal powder coating line, the new vertical one purchased from a leading European supplier, is capable of high production capacity at the same time managing to powder-coat the extrusions economically. The General Manager...
Aluminium Extrusion’s huge input cost slows profit
Aluminium Extrusion Industries plc’s huge input cost has slowed third quarter (Q3) profit, as the company continues to grapple with the unpredictability of the Nigeria economy, analysis of the company’s financial statement shows. For the first nine months through September 2014, the company’s profit after tax (PAT) fell by 59.14 percent to N37.56 million from N91.94 million the same period of the corresponding year (Q3) 2013. The decline in profit, analysts say, is attributable to huge cost of production incurred by the company. Based on BusinessDay analysis, cost of sales margin was as high as 89.47 percent, higher than the 85.40 percent recorded last year. It means that for every N1 of sales generated by Aluminium Extrusion, it spent N0.89 on input cost. Net margin, a measure of...
BHP’s aluminium production dips in the second half of 2014
BHP’s aluminium production has seen a 16% dip in the second half of 2014 dropping to 517,000 tonnes while its alumina and manganese ore productions have risen. In the December quarter, a drop of 15% year-on-year and a 1.9% quarter-on-quarter was noticed with the company producing 256,000 tonnes of aluminium. The low production numbers are directly related to the number of suspensions and cut-backs of aluminium capacities in the second half of 2014 in many BHP smelters including Alumar in Brazil and Bayside in South Africa while Mozal in Mozambique had a record production in the same period. The Bayside smelter, which has ceased production, had made a contribution of 48,000 tonnes of aluminium in the second half of 2013 and zero contribution in the same period of 2014. Alumar’s production...
VHE introduces new technology for aluminium smelter potroom
VHE‘s enhanced ohmmeter is able to measure the electrical resistance between points of different voltage potential. Conventional ohmmeters do not have this capability. Much of the equipment installed in aluminium smelter potroom has significant electrical potential to earth (or ground). The series connection of the pot busbar systems means that pots frequently have a potential to earth of 1500 volts dc, and in the the most recent systems this can exceed 2.000 volts dc. Alumina dust and metallic objects can compromise the installed electrical insulation and it is necessary to monitor insulation performance on a regular basis. Traditional instruments for this purpose have been large and cumbersome. VHE‘s enhanced ohmmeter is portable, lightweight and fitted with comfortable shoulder straps,...
U.S. District Judge approves settlement for the Alcoa bribery case
Donetta Ambrose, the U.S. District Judge has approved settlement for the shareholder lawsuit filed against Alcoa by Alba accusing of a bribery scandal. In 2008, Aluminium Bahrain or Alba had sued Alcoa on the charge that the affiliates of the latter had bribed Alba executives and Bahraini officials so that they could make Alba overpay more than $400 million since 1997. In 2013, another lawsuit was charged at Alcoa by a group of shareholders for the company’s failure at limiting the company’s liability after Alba filed its lawsuit. Alcoa has agreed to implement several reforms which include paying $3.75 million in terms if attorneys’ fees as well as creating a new position of chief ethics and compliance officer. The allegations caused Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange...
Worsley refinery output rises by 3% in Q4 2014
The Worsley refinery located in Western Australia saw a 3% increase in alumina production in the fourth quarter of 2014 compared to the previous year while BHP Billiton, who owns 86% stakes in Worsley has had an overall 13% quarter-on-quarter rise in alumina output in the fourth quarter of 2014 to 1.4 million tonnes. Worsley had been suffering from some calciner outage issue in the previous period which got resolved by December 2014 owing to the good production numbers said the company. In the December quarter it had contributed 1.06 million tonnes of alumina compared to 1.02 million tonnes for the same quarter in 2013. The production of the September quarter of 2014 was noticeably low at 893,000 tonnes.
Rexam teams up with Tin Man Brewing Co. to package craft beer
Rexam Beverage Can North America (Rexam BCNA), largest manufacturer of beverage cans in the world, has teamed up with Tin Man Brewing Co., based in Evansville, to develop aluminium cans for the brewery's craft beer. Tin Man Brewing is passionate about aluminium packaging and says the same on its website where they go into detail to explain why aluminium cans are the best mode for craft beers. The light metal packaging protects the beer from sunlight and oxygen conserving flavor, it is cheap to ship, cheaper to produce and easier to distribute especially at public events as they are unbreakable, says the company website. Rexam BCNA sector director Claude Marbach said: "Our cans are the perfect packaging for craft beers as they help attract attention on store shelves, maintain beverage...
Ford F-150 enters Tucson, receives warm reception
The Ford F-150 is slowly but surely making way to the dealers and the latest roll-out has been to Tucson where it has apparently received a warm reception. Although no one is quite sure about what the final verdict on the all-aluminium pick up truck will be, the general manager of the area’s biggest dealer Steve Smith says that the initial response has been very good with more test drives that even the new Mustang with people almost lining up for it. It is a general trend among customers to avoid new models or major revamps as the they may have bugs that may need to be worked out. Although this tendency might work against the new pick up but Ford believes the fuel-efficiency and the advanced technologies used will compel the customers to shift their loyalties to the new model. Besides,...
Grandweld delivered 42M Aluminium Fast Crew Boat to ADNOC group
Grandweld Shipyards successfully delivered 42M Aluminium Fast Crew Boat “SHAH 1” to ADNOC group on the 14th January 2015. The contract for construction of the 42M Aluminum Crew Boat for Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) was signed on the 31st of December 2013. ADNOC awarded Grandweld after winning an international tendering for the Fast Crew Boat project and enhancing a successful business relationship. The 42M crew Boat is powered by 3 high speeds diesel engines driving 3 fixed pitch propellers and capable of developing a speed in excess of 21knots. The Boat shall be a Fast Crew Boat with diving support capability to provide various Services required in the offshore operations. The vessel has luxury features of 30 person’s crew seating capacity, with 104 sqm loading area for over 90...
