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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Alunorf gets yet another energy award
Alunorf, the world's largest aluminium rolling plant and a 50-percent Hydro joint venture, has won yet another energy award in Germany. DENA (the German Energy Agency) has conferred an Energy Efficiency Award 2014 to Alunorf, one of three energy-efficiency projects in the private sector to receive the award. Aluminium Norf GmbH (Alunorf) took the first prize for optimizing energy consumption in the aluminium annealing process. (Alunorf recently won the Energy Award 2014 from the German Energy Academy.) "I am very pleased that our joint-venture Alunorf is recognized for leading the way in energy efficiency in industry," says Oliver Bell, head of Rolled Products in Hydro, which has responsibility for the company's share in Alunorf. "This is a good signal for our company, our customers, and...
Altumet SPA orders pipe end finishing machine from PWS
Altumet SPA from Algiers, Algeria, receives a pipe end finishing machine from PWS. The new machine will be integrated into the existing line at the company's Algiers site. The machine will finish up to 20 pipe ends per hour in three-shift operation. The diameters of the finished pipes range from eight to 42 inches with wall thickness from five to 20 millimeters and pipe lengths between five and 13 meters. Grades up to X80 can be processed. The finished pipes conform to the API 5L certification. “We expect the new machine to enable us to produce a higher quality of the finished pipes,” says Farid Amrouche, CEO of Altumet in Algiers. “The fact that we will achieve a significantly higher through¬put and lower maintenance costs makes us highly optimistic for our further investment program.”...
Alcoa executive vice president and chief financial officer William F. Oplinger to speak at annual Goldman Sachs Global Metals and Mining Conference
Alcoa Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer William F. Oplinger will speak at the annual Goldman Sachs Global Metals and Mining Conference being held November 19-20 in New York. The live webcast will start at 8:15 a.m. EST on Thursday, November 20. Oplinger will discuss how Alcoa is successfully building out its innovative, multi-material value-add businesses to capture profitable growth while also creating a globally competitive commodity business. A live audio webcast will be available at the Alcoa website. Following the conference, the archived webcast will be available for replay on the same website.
Sharp rise of Malaysian bauxite imports in the first three quarters in China
The China Customs data revealed that Chinese bauxite imports from Malaysia have gone up to 1.27 million tonnes during the first three quarters of the year. The reason for the sudden rise in Malaysian imports can be traced back to the Indonesian export ban, which is affecting the global bauxite scene, as well as the Ebola outbreak in Africa which has had significant impact on their bauxite shipment, reported a local media in Yantai, Shandong on Friday. The robust demand for the Malaysian bauxite is likely to stay for some time and has resulted in a sharp rise in number of bauxite suppliers in the country. This has also brought down the price of the bauxite which is currently at a FOB price of $35-37 per tonne for the low-grade bauxite and $46-47 per tonne for the higher-grade of the ore....
Closing date for Alufoil Trophy 2015 extended
EAFA, the European Aluminium Foil Association, announced that entries for the Alufoil Trophy 2015 competition are now extended until 5 December 2014. The Alufoil Trophy recognises and rewards the use of aluminium foil and aluminium closures in all its many forms and uses. From rolls in the kitchen, through sophisticated laminates or as insulation, for use in packaging, construction and automotive products, as well as in many other industrial and decorative applications it is used daily and, in many ways, can be regarded as indispensable. The competition categories are: • Marketing + Design • Consumer Convenience • Resource Efficiency • Product preservation • Technical Innovation Many different practitioners in aluminium foil and aluminium closures may enter, including packaging designers,...
Vedanta profit up as currency volatility eases, but hit by volume falls
Vedanta Resources PLC Thursday said its pretax profit more than doubled in the first half of its financial year as currency volatility eased, but its operating profit was hit by lower volumes at several of its operations, offsetting a 6% revenue increase on the back of higher metals prices. The metals and oil and gas producer took a USD460.1 million currency hit in the first half its last financial year, but this dropped to GBP78.4 million this year due to a reduction in currency volatility, particularly in the exchange rate between the Indian rupee and the US dollar. Its pretax profit soared to USD639.6 million in the six months ended August 30, more than double the USD261.1 million reported a year earlier, as a result. Revenue rose to USD6.46 billion in the half, from USD6.08 billion a...
Younger Americans not as “Green” as older generations: ISRI
While conventional wisdom dictates millennials are more environmentally-conscious than older generations, their attitudes toward recycling begs to differ and suggest they may not be as “green” as we thought. According to a recent survey conducted online in November among over 2,000 U.S. adults by Harris Poll on behalf of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), younger American adults ages 18-34 are significantly less likely to say they always recycle (33% vs. 48% of those ages 35+). In addition, younger Americans ages 18-34 are less likely to say that recycling is the socially responsible thing to do (61% vs. 53% of those ages 65+), and that it is critical to reducing energy consumption (36% vs. 46% of those ages 55-64) and will help reduce landfill space (45% vs. 60% of those...
Hindalco Q2 profit down 78% on fines, provision
Hindalco BSE 0.20 % Industries reported a second quarter net profit of INR 78.77 crore, down 78% from INR 357.11 crore in the corresponding quarter last year, as the aluminium maker paid a huge fine as directed by the Supreme Court in September and took a one-time charge on a poorly performing unit in Australia. Sales at the Kumar Mangalam Birla-controlled company grew 36% to INR 8472.90 crore. Analysts, on an average, were expecting a profit of INR 423.39 crore on sales of INR 8307.90 crore, according to a poll conducted by Bloomberg. Exceptional expenses included a fine of INR 563 crore for using coal from operational but now de-allocated Talabira 1 mine in Odisha and a charge of INR 258 crore on its under performing investment in Aditya Birla Mineral Ltd in Australia. However, the...
Aluminium prices fall as Chinese aluminium product export rises
On Monday, the aluminium prices were on a decline due to the heavy aluminium product exports from China. The three-month-aluminium slipped by 1.05% at the LME taking the price to $2,033.50 a tonne. The volume was also heaviest on the LME at nearly 16,500 lots. Over the weekend it was seen that the Chinese unwrought aluminium moved at an impressive pace in the market. Products exports were seen to rise by 12.5% in October on a year to date basis. Robin Bhar, the head of metals research at Societe Generale in London, said that the deficit of the metal in the world outside China is being quickly met by the Chinese product exports. Although the export of 380,000 tonnes in October was down by 5% when compared to September, on a YOY basis it was 19% higher and is expected to rise further in the...
Rusal reviews trends in the global aluminium industry
Rusal, the largest aluminium producer in the world makes observations in the global aluminium demand and supply in the current year, making note of the strongest players in the industry during the period. The global aluminium demand During the first nine months of 2014, global primary aluminium consumption reached 41 million tonnes, representing a 7% increase as compared the corresponding period of 2013. The fastest growing markets during the period were China (12%), Japan, and South Korea (6%). North America experienced a 4.3% increase in growth whereas consumption grew strongly in Europe by 3.7% year-on-year. Global Manufacturing PMI for September stayed flat at 52.2 slightly lower than 52.5 in August. The global PMI continues to signal 3-4% annualized gains in global manufacturing...
Pearlfisher's aluminium butter dish wins UK Packaging Award 2014
Design agency Pearlfisher impressed the judging panel with the new branding and structural design for this premium Lurpak product. The new structure comes in the form of an innovative, fully recyclable brushed-aluminium butter dish that is inspired by the materials of traditional butter churns. Pearlfisher said the new design brings to life an “everyday premium” food experience and allows better interaction with the product, taking butter out of the fridge and putting it back at the centre of the table. All the judges were impressed with the attractive design as well as the reusability element of the packaging. Lurpak said it worked closely with Pearlfisher to celebrate “the way good butter tastes and is consumed”. This product with its new packaging has the potential to create a new...
Rexam Plc to increase prices to bear rising premiums and energy costs
By revenue, Rexam Plc is the second-largest beverage can maker in the world but the rising aluminium premiums and high energy costs in Brazil are pushing the company to contemplate raising the price for their customers. On Thursday, Rexam came out as one of the biggest losers in the FTSE-250 Midcap Index slipping as much as 8.5%. The aluminium premium in Europe and North America are at an all time high caused by the strong global demands coupled with restricted supply of the metal. This has caused Rexam to review its cost base while it deals with top names in the beverage industry like Coca-Cola Co, Anheuser-Busch InBey, Heineken and PepsiCo Inc. The aluminium premium which was $300 at the beginning of the year has jumped up to $500 per tonne which will result in additional costs of about...
Ess Dee Aluminum bags awards in International Quality Control Convention
Ess Dee Aluminum, one of India’s leading aluminium foil manufacturer, has bagged two awards in International Concept On Quality Convention. This international level event, held in Srilanka from 12th to 14th October 2014, witnessed more than 200 Teams participating from 13 Nations which included Korean Giants Samsung, Japan’s Toyota Motor , China’s Aero Space , Universities from Malaysia and Singapore. “We are proud to have won two awards in International Concept On Quality Convention. Inspite of being the first timer, we achieved this feet in the International level. It’s s a big achievement not only for the employees but also for the organisation. We look forward to participating in the International Convention on QC Circles next year too” said Mr. Sudip Datta, Chairman, Ess Dee...
A third company contests for Rennel bauxite deposits among disputes
The bauxite deposits at Rennell Island is attracting a lot of attention and the newly established mining company, which is a joint venture of Mugava and Solomon Mining Limited, is the third company to show interest in this project. Asia Pacific Investment Development (APID) and Bintang Borneo Mining Company Ltd are the two other Indonesian companies that are vying for this lucrative bauxite source. The Chairman of the Mugava Board of Directors, Jessy Kaipura confirmed that there is a joint venture and it includes the landowners of the demarked areas. He also said that no application for the prospecting license has yet been submitted and that they are working on the same. Mugava is a locally registered company that is said to include sixteen individual landowners while Solomon Mining...
Brazil’s worst-ever drought severely crippling its aluminium industry
Brazil, which was once the sixth largest aluminium producer in the world has now slipped two spots down to the eighth position primarily due to their severe bout of drought which has made electricity a scarce commodity. While the world primary aluminium production has increased by 3% from 2012 to 2013 with new capacities springing up across the globe, the Brazil aluminium production is at its lowest in 12 years. Brazil, which is generally a water-rich nation, has been handicapped by the worst dry spells it has experienced in modern history. As a result, hydroelectric power generation has been severely affected leaving the nation literally in the dark. This has caused energy charges to go up and even though the government had reduced the prices by 7.8% for the producers last year, it still...
Much to be gained in buildings, says Holsether
In an interview with Metal Bulletin, Sapa President & CEO Svein Tore Holsether talks about the “huge impact” that aluminium solutions can have in the building industry. Aluminium building systemsIn the interview, Holsether tells Metal Bulletin journalist Jethro Wookey about the tremendous growth opportunities for Sapa going forward, not only in the automotive industry but also in building and construction. "A key mission is to reduce the environmental impact. About 25 percent of the world's energy is consumed in the transport industry, but 40 percent is used in buildings," says Holsether, adding that “we will keep pushing on buildings because there is so much to be gained. Aluminium solutions can have a huge impact." Sapa is the industry’s leading supplier of innovative and energy-saving...
RAMPF unveils lightweight carriage made from aluminium foam
RAMPF Machine Systems has unveiled a bonded lightweight carriage in a highly dynamic, multi-axis moving system at this year's Motek trade fair in Stuttgart, Germany. The company states the carriage features improved rigidity, significantly better damping, and low weight. For the first time, RAMPF Machine Systems claims it has manufactured a carriage for a highly dynamic multi-axis system using aluminium foam sandwich panels that have been cut to size and bonded together. According to RAMPF the carriage weighs 32% less than a comparable version made entirely of steel, while also delivering improved rigidity and significantly better damping. The acceleration of the three axes in this moving system that can be adapted for different applications is 8g on the X-axis, 3g on the Y-axis, and 13g...
RAMPF unveils lightweight carriage made from aluminium foam
RAMPF Machine Systems has unveiled a bonded lightweight carriage in a highly dynamic, multi-axis moving system at this year's Motek trade fair in Stuttgart, Germany. The company states the carriage features improved rigidity, significantly better damping, and low weight. For the first time, RAMPF Machine Systems claims it has manufactured a carriage for a highly dynamic multi-axis system using aluminium foam sandwich panels that have been cut to size and bonded together. According to RAMPF the carriage weighs 32% less than a comparable version made entirely of steel, while also delivering improved rigidity and significantly better damping. The acceleration of the three axes in this moving system that can be adapted for different applications is 8g on the X-axis, 3g on the Y-axis, and 13g...
