Caustic soda plant setup in India: How aluminium growth is reshaping demand, costs and opportunities
Caustic soda may not be the most visible ingredient in aluminium production, but without it, the journey from bauxite to alumina would look very different. The chemical, also known as sodium hydroxide, is a crucial reagent in the Bayer process, where it helps dissolve alumina-bearing material in bauxite and separate it from impurities. The dissolved material is then processed to recover alumina, which ultimately feeds aluminium production. That makes caustic soda more than just another industrial chemical. Its availability, price and efficient use can influence the economics of alumina refining and, by extension, the wider aluminium value chain. As India expands its alumina and aluminium capacity, the requirement for this chemical is also becoming increasingly important. For companies...
Aluminum investment across North America and Asia: Who leads reshaping the next phase of growth?
Aluminum investment has been spreading across the entire value chain, from primary smelting and alumina refining to recycling, rolling, extrusion and battery foil, building more integrated and higher-value supply chains. During the past 5 years, the US and Canada in North America and China in Asia have been grabbing headlines pertaining to the aluminum industry. These updates have involved growth stories or have shed light on volatile market situations. How have these headlines contributed to a greater picture for the benefit of the aluminum industries of the two continents? Between 2021 and 2026, major projects across North America and Asia have targeted new primary capacity, lower-carbon production, recycled aluminum and higher-value downstream products. But the investment pattern is...
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Indian government to introduce transferability of mines in the MMDR reform
The Central Government aims to improve the Mines and Mineral Development and Regulation (MMDR) Act and is introducing many amendments for that purpose. The most recent plan is to allow transferability of mines by which companies will be able to sell their mines to other companies for all minerals except the atomic ones. According to this proposed law, a company will be able to sell its mines to other companies after securing permission from the concerned state government which is not allowed at present. At the moment, companies can simply transfer the lease after another company takes over. The proposed plan suggests, for the transfer to take place, the new company must meet all the conditions and liabilities that were agreed upon for the original license. Plus, a transfer fee must be...
Alcoa acquires Firth Rixson, grows global aerospace portfolio
Lightweight metals leader Alcoa today announced that it has completed the acquisition of Firth Rixson, a global leader in aerospace jet engine components. The Company closed the transaction, which was announced on June 26, 2014, after receiving all of the required global regulatory approvals and arranging financing for the deal. Firth Rixson strengthens Alcoa’s robust aerospace portfolio and positions the Company to capture greater profitable growth from its expanding value-add business. The transaction doubles Alcoa’s average revenue content on high-growth engine programs. Accelerating Alcoa’s transformation to a multi-material enterprise, the acquisition increases its offerings made of nickel-based superalloys, titanium, stainless steel and advanced aluminum alloys, produced using the...
Bonnell Aluminum to expand its anodizing capacity
Bonnell Aluminum, a subsidiary of Tredegar Corporation (NYSE:TG), today announced its plans to expand and upgrade its anodizing capacity to serve the commercial-architectural construction market. In response to increased demand for anodizing products, the Company expects to invest approximately $5 million to expand and modernize the anodizing line at its Carthage, Tennessee facility. The Company anticipates that the upgraded line, which is planned to be fully operational in the second quarter of 2015, will increase the plant’s anodizing capacity by an additional thirty-five percent. “Not only will we increase capacity to better service our customers’ anodizing requirements, but the upgrade in equipment will further enhance our quality and consistency,” commented Ira Endres, Vice President...
New award for Alstom’s next-generation train
Sapa won its first major contract with the France-based rail transport powerhouse in 2007, and has continually increased its business with Alstom since. The latest award calls for 40 train sets, with deliveries through 2018. Reaching speeds of 320 km/h, Alstom’s Euroduplex is the only double-deck, very high-speed train with the best capacity on the market, the highest level of comfort and a guarantee of maximum safety. The main customer for Euroduplex is the French National Railway Company (SNCF). Sapa is providing more than half of the structural profiles used in the train’s car body shells. Its Lichtervelde site in Belgium is handling the shipments to Alstom’s manufacturing center for very high-speed trains in La Rochelle, France. Sapa is responsible for: • Complex/structural extrusions...
Scaled-down aluminum plant possible
With an exclusive developing agreement expiring in just two weeks, City Manager Curt Mitchell announced Monday that the status of a proposed aluminum plant is still “unlikely” but a scaled-down version of the project could be built. “It’s very unlikely the project will proceed as originally planned,” Mitchell reported to the City Council. “The property options also expire on Nov. 30 and we are being reimbursed for our actual expenses for the purchase of those land options.” City officials unveiled the plan in March to construct a 964-acre aluminum plant just south of the defunct Sun & Sky Golf Course. The City Council approved the framework of a redevelopment agreement with Newport Beach-based Scuderia Development to build the 2.95 million-square-foot facility for China Zhongwang Holdings...
Construction of Constellium-UACJ aluminium sheet plant on schedule
The construction of Constellium-UACJ Body in White, the $150 million automotive aluminium sheet plant in Kentucky Transpark is proceeding on schedule and on budget. The groundbreaking was done in July this year, the steel structure is supposed to be completed by March and the equipment should be installed by the third quarter of 2015. The first aluminium coil production line is expected in December 2015 while commercial shipments should be ready to send by mid-2016. Markus Wild, the CEO of the plant says that construction is running as scheduled. The European company Constellium and Japan’s UACJ are joining hands for the project where both will provide a combined initial target capacity of 220 million pounds of cold-rolled aluminium foils which will be processed an treated in Bowling...
National Aluminium Company Ltd appoints Director
Dr. Niranjan Kumar Singh has been appointed as Part-time official Director of National Aluminium Company Ltd with effect from November 12, 2014 vide Order dated November 12, 2014 of Ministry of Mines, Government of India. Shares of NATIONAL ALUMINIUM CO.LTD. was last trading in BSE at Rs.60.8 as compared to the previous close of Rs. 60.95. The total number of shares traded during the day was 497253 in over 4523 trades. The stock hit an intraday high of Rs. 62.8 and intraday low of 60.5. The net turnover during the day was Rs. 30720669.
Nalco standalone quarterly earnings jump 90.57%
National Aluminium Company (Nalco) announced a sharp rise in standalone net profit for the quarter ended September 2014. During the quarter, the profit of the company rose 90.57% to INR 3,415.00 million from INR1,792.00 million in the same quarter last year. Net sales for the quarter rose 14.80% to Rs 19,955.00 million, compared with INR 17,382 million for the prior year period. Earnings per share for the quarter stood at INR 1.33, registering 90.00% growth over previous year period. Shares of the company gained INR 3.7, or 6.31%, to trade at INR 62.35. The total volume of shares traded was 786,602 at the BSE.
Aluminium producers benefit as premiums soar
As the world aluminium supply continues to tighten, the premiums on the metal continue to rise. Analysts and industry experts believe these premiums will continue to stay on a high, at least for the next two years which is good news for India’s aluminium producers like Hindalco and NALCO. Premiums that are charged over the LME price are usually to cover the transport and the insurance costs at the same time reflecting a region’s demand and supply but for the past few months the premiums have been 2-3 times the transport costs underlining the serious market scarcity. It is not like there are no aluminium stocks in the world. The London Metal Exchange has started to mobilize its stocks from its authorized warehouses which had been stuck in queues for months. The off-exchange warehouses are...
Bell Bay Aluminium recovers but issues still persist
In 2011, when Ray Mastogi joined the Bell Bay Aluminium as general manager, the conditions were very weak and it was almost close to a shut down. Now, although the conditions are still bleak, they have recovered greatly since then. The 59-year old smelter has had to cut down its workforce by 20 percent over the last two years which has saved the company $250 million. Now the company has 435 direct and around 1500 indirect employees generating $690 million p.a. contributing significantly to the state’s GDP. Bell Bay Aluminium has produced more than 189,000 tonnes of aluminium in 2013. The smelter recovered under the clever guidance of Mr Mostogi and some tough decisions like job cuts, pay freeze and cutting through redundancies. The company has also had to resort to buying lower grade...
Kerneos to develop a calcium aluminate cement plant in Vizag
By December 2016, a leading specialty cement firm named Kerneos Aluminate Technologies promises to bring its proposed INR 120 crore project to India for producing calcium aluminate cement. The proposed project will be a greenfield unit due to be set up in the Vishakhapatnam region in Andhra Pradesh. Marc Bianchi, president & CEO of Kerneos says that they are eager to build a project in India and the port location of Vishakhapatnam will have multiple benefits. The position of the plant would give better access to the eastern regions where a large part of the customer base lies. Moreover, import of raw materials as well as possible export options in future will be possible. The Vishakhapatnam project will be the seventh project for Kerneos worldwide, with an initial capacity of 30,000...
The number of Chinese aluminium producers halved in a decade
The Henan Provincial Nonferrous Metals Guild said on Wednesday, that China’s total number of aluminium producers has nearly halved in decade falling from 120 to just 64. The 64 producers are operating across 32 aluminium enterprises, spread over sixteen Chinese provinces while the rest have been “wiped out of the market”, the group said. The Shandong provinces in the top producer with an annual output of 6.62 million mt, followed closely by the Xinjiang province with an output of 6.25 million mt/ year while Henan produces 3.67 million mt/year. Shandong Weiqiao Aluminium & Power alone produces 4.02 million mt/year making it China’s largest aluminium producer. Beijing Antaike, a Chinese metal consultancy had predicted in July that by the end of 2014 China’s refined aluminium capacity will...
European aluminium industry roundtable: Lower burden of costs, less scrap exports
The Italian aluminium association Centroal and the European Aluminium Association (EAA) yesterday hosted a landmark Roundtable in Rome under patronage of the Italian Presidency of the EU Council: “A New Deal for European Industrial Renaissance: Concrete Measures towards a Competitive and Sustainable Economy”. 200 participants including students and leading political personalities from the European industry, political institutions and culture were in attendance. Some of the aluminium industry’s most prominent customers including Ferrari and Nespresso convened with European and Italian policymakers to discuss the soaring demand for aluminium as a key driver of a visionary, innovative and resource-efficient Europe. Participants also exchanged views on policy solutions that will allow the EU...
Kaiser plans $5.8 million upgrade, expected to add 7 new jobs
Celebrating its fiftieth year in North Texas, Kaiser Aluminum received a six-figure birthday present from the Sherman Economic Development Corp. Tuesday morning. The SEDCO Board of Directors voted unanimously to enter into a $232,000 agreement with Kaiser to help offset the cost of a $5.8 million upgrade that will add seven jobs to its south Sherman facility. “We’ve been working with Kaiser Aluminum for several years on their plans and growth — they’ve been in the market for a very long time, and we’ve not yet had the opportunity to help them in their growth plan,” said SEDCO President Scott Connell. “It’s a great company that’s been here a very long time, and we’re excited for their future growth plans.” Kaiser Aluminum operates 12 North American plants and has significantly expanded its...
Alcoa target of unusually high options trading (AA)
Alcoa was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Investors acquired 30,462 call options on the stock, AnalystRatings.NET reports. This represents an increase of 142% compared to the average volume of 12,590 call options. A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AA shares. Analysts at BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Alcoa in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Separately, analysts at Deutsche Bank upgraded shares of Alcoa from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. They now have a $20.00 price target on the stock, up previously from $16.00. Finally, analysts at Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Alcoa in a research note on Friday, October 17th....
Press Metal jumps 11% on plans to double smelter capacity
Press Metal Bhd rose as much as 11% after the firm signed a power supply term sheet with Syarikat Sesco Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sarawak Energy Bhd. The term sheet is for the supply of 500MW of power by Sarawak Energy to Press Metal's proposed phase III aluminium smelter at the Samalaju Industrial Park, Sarawak. At 5pm, Press Metal was traded higher at RM3.42 with some 5.4 million shares done, making the stock the third largest gainer on Bursa. Earlier, the stock rose as much as 34 sen to RM3.45. In a statement to Bursa Malaysia today,, Press Metal said the firm and Sarawak Energy would enter into exclusive negotiations for a long-term power purchase agreement for the 500MW, which both parties would conclude soon. “We are grateful that SEB (Sarawak Energy) has entrusted us with...
US aluminium on the rise
The LME stock prices of aluminium for Midwest delivery, has risen from 20 cents per pound to 22.5 cents per pound which is a double hike. This amount is payable both by the fabricators as well as the aluminium merchants. The rise in price will raise many questions about the domestic availability as the market is known to be always in a state of declining demand and surplus of supply. Aluminium traders across the world are already showing concerns about the declining availability of aluminium ingots as well as the steep rise in surcharges, especially in the regions of Europe and Japan. In the United States, the premium too is on the higher side ranging between 460 dollars per tonne to 495 dollars per tonne. In Europe, this range is between 460 to 480 dollars per tonne while Japan premiums...
“We look at outputs that are considered waste by an industry and take a holistic approach which takes into consideration all the elements in the waste… Mr. Michael Shenton, CEO, Prima Resources, WA
AlCircle is a platform that strives to promote the advancement of use of aluminium as a sustainable material of choice. In that direction, we would like to highlight not only the established players of the industry who are contributing successfully towards the growth of the industry but also those individuals, companies and associations that are working positively towards sustainability for aluminium industry and making worthwhile contribution towards recycling, waste management and energy management in the R&D and industrial sector. So, we spoke to Mr. Michael Shenton, CEO, Prima Resources, Mineral & Energy Ltd. in West Australia. Prima Resources is a Minerals, and Energy Company with a number of Mining Projects around WA. The company has also been involved with the project management,...
