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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Aluminum Association updates on North American downstream aluminium market
The Aluminum Association represents North America and foreign-based primary producers of aluminum, aluminum recyclers, producers of semi-fabricated products and foundries as well as suppliers to the industry or distributors or jobbers. Shipments of Aluminum Powder and Paste to domestic markets by domestic producers, including imports by domestic producers, totaled 7.80 million pounds during September 2014, an increase of 10.4 percent over the September 2013 total of 7.06 million pounds. Compared to the previous month, shipments rose 3.1 percent over the August 2014 total of 7.57 million pounds. Year-to-date shipments through September 2014 totaled 67.33 million pounds, up 5.0 percent over the 2013 year-to-date total of 64.12 million pounds. Compared to September 2013, shipments of powder...
Noranda Aluminum Holding (NOR) set to announce quarterly earnings on Monday
Noranda Aluminum Holding is set to announce its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. Investors that are interested in participating in the company’s conference call can do so using this link. Noranda Aluminum Holding last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $345.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $341.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.16) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect Noranda Aluminum Holding to post $-0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year and $0.38 EPS for the...
China's Chalco posts wider Q3 net loss as oversupply persists
Aluminum Corp of China Ltd (Chalco) posted a wider net loss of 1.29 billion yuan ($210.99 million) for the July-September quarter due to oversupply in the world's biggest aluminium market. China's biggest producer of primary aluminium and raw material alumina sells its products mainly in its own market. Its net loss widened from 1.22 billion yuan a year earlier. For the three quarters from January to September, its net loss was 5.41 billion yuan, the company said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange. A year earlier it had a net loss of 1.85 billion yuan. Chalco closed a 1.6-million-tonne-per-year alumina production facility in central Henan province last month after a waste pool broke down. Vice Chairman Sun Zhaoxue resigned last month after the government launched an investigation...
Alba Cast House achieves 2 million work hours without LTI
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba), a champion of workplace safety and health, is pleased to announce that its Cast House has achieved 2,000,000 work hours without Loss Time Injury (LTI), thus demonstrating the Company’s commitment to safety and maintaining a zero-accident work environment. Alba’s Executive Management and other managers congratulated all employees on this achievement and praised them for their proactive attitude and commitment towards safety. Commenting on the safety milestone of 2 million working hours without LTI, Alba’s Chief Executive, Tim Murray said: “I congratulate and thank the employees of Cast House for accomplishing this feat, which represents the level of awareness of all Alba employees and their commitment to safety. Alba believes that all accidents and injuries...
Inalum to Build $2b Aluminum Smelter
State-run aluminum maker Indonesia Asahan Aluminium, or Inalum, is planning to build an aluminum smelter valued at $2 billion and a calcined petroleum coke plant worth $30 million, in a move that will help it to produced value-added products. The smelter will turn bauxite into aluminum, which the company needs to produce aluminum ingots. The move is expected to bring added value to the company, which is now under the state’s control. The government took over Inalum after buying shares it didn’t own from its Japanese partner last year. Inalum is also planning to diversify its business by producing aluminum alloy. “We’re conducting a feasibility study on the projects. Hopefully it can be completed soon so that the two plants can start operation by 2019-2020,” Agus Tjahajana, chief...
Aluminum Association updates on North American primary aluminium market
Shipments of primary aluminum by North American (U.S. and Canada) producers totaled 1,115 thousand metric tonnes (kmt) in the third quarter of 2014, down 6.7 percent from the third quarter 2013 total of 1,195 kmt. Shipments of primary billet were off six-tenths of one percent year-over-year, while shipments of foundry ingot increased 5.9 percent during the same period. Compared to the previous quarter, total shipments of primary decreased 2.5 percent. During first nine months of 2014, shipments totaled 3,388 kmt, off 6.9 percent from the 2013 total of 3,638 kmt. Aluminum net shipments (including exports) by domestic U.S. and Canadian facilities totaled an estimated 2,066 million pounds during September, up 7.4 percent over the September 2013 total of 1,925 million pounds. Shipments of...
Aleris Breaks Ground on $350 Million Automotive Expansion in Lewisport, Kentucky
Aleris today broke ground on an expansion of its facility in Lewisport, Kentucky. The company is investing $350 million to equip the facility with additional heat treatment and finishing capabilities to produce wide aluminum auto body sheet for the automotive industry. The investment positions Aleris to meet anticipated significant growth in North American automotive demand as the industry pursues broader aluminum use for the production of lighter, more fuel-efficient vehicles. Aleris is currently a leading supplier to the European premium auto industry, which has led the transition to aluminum driven by tighter emissions standards. "This groundbreaking marks the beginning of the next milestone in our global automotive strategy to expand our capabilities in North America as the automotive...
Greco Aluminum Railings Names New President and Vice President
Greco Aluminum Railings Ltd. announced the promotion of Dino Aleo to president and Dave Paquette to vice president of business development. As president, Aleo will oversee day-to-day operations and the execution of strategic growth goals and objectives for both Greco Aluminum Railings Ltd. and its U.S affiliate, Greco Aluminum Railing (USA) Inc. Frank Greco, will take on the role of chairman and refocus his efforts on the company’s strategy and goal to expand its leadership position in North America. Aleo will report to board of directors. As vice president of business development, Paquette will be responsible for growing the Canadian market and leading the project management team. He will relocate to the company’s Windsor, Ontario, headquarters in the coming months, while continuing to...
Century Reports Third Quarter 2014 Financial Results
Century Aluminum Company reported net income of $50.4 million or $0.52 per common share for the third quarter of 2014 on higher aluminum prices and lower power prices in the Midwestern U.S. Sales for the third quarter of 2014 were $500.6 million compared with $399.9 million for the third quarter of 2013. Shipments of primary aluminum for the third quarter of 2014 were 218,214 tonnes compared with 212,797 tonnes shipped in the third quarter of 2013. For the third quarter of 2013, Century reported a net loss of $9.5 million or $0.11 per common share. Cost of sales for the year-ago quarter included a $5.8 million benefit for lower inventory costs and an $11.7 million benefit for deferred power contract liability amortization. For the first nine months of 2014, the company reported net income...
Tiwai Point Smelter’s future to decide Meridian Energy’s fate
Meridian Energy says, in the possible scenario of Rio Tinto not renewing their contract post July 1 next year, they will watch for the closures of fossil-fuel powered stations before making a decision about their response. Rio Tinto is the major owner of the Tiwai Point Aluminium smelter. According to Mark Binns, the chief executive of Meridian, there are two threats to the growth of the company, one is the potential closure of the Tiwai Point smelter while the other is the review of the RET scheme initiated by the Australian federal government. In the first annual meeting after being listed on the NZX a year ago, Binns told the congregation that in the event of a termination notice from new Zealand Aluminium Smelters after July 1, 2015 the company "will monitor the supply response from...
Aluminium futures contact on MCX recovers in the last two weeks
The aluminium futures contract traded on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) has recovered smartly in the last two weeks. The corrective fall from the August high of INR129 per kg found a bottom at INR116 in early October. The rally from this low signals the beginning of a new leg of the up-move for the contract. This gives short-term traders a good opportunity to initiate fresh long positions in the contract. Short-term view The short-term outlook is bullish for the MCX-aluminium futures contract. The contract has consolidated and formed a strong base between INR116 and INR120 between end September and mid-October. This adds strength to the recent rally that has been in place from the low of INR116.3. Key short-term supports for the contract are at INR120 and INR118. Immediate resistance...
ARABAL 2014 Press Conference underlines the growing aluminium industry in the GCC region
• The Press Conference was held on Wednesday, October 29, 2014 at the Gulf Hotel, Kingdom of Bahrain. • Arabal Organising Committee Chairman, Mohammed Al Naki, Jameel Shakeel from Sohar Aluminium, Ghannam Al-Ghannam from Saudi Arabian Mining Company, (Ma’aden), Ibrahim Fakhri from Qatalum and Eline Hilal from Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba) were present. Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba), one of the world’s leading aluminium producers, today, Wednesday, October 29, 2014 held a Press Conference at the Gulf Hotel, Kingdom of Bahrain to highlight the details of Arabal 2014. Led by Chairman of the Arabal Organising Committee Mohammed Al-Naki, the other participants of the Press conference included Jameel Shakeel, Sohar Aluminium, Ghannam Al-Ghannam, Saudi Arabian Mining Company, (Ma’aden),...
Anrak Aluminium says may get govt approval for bauxite project
Anrak Aluminium is optimistic of securing government approval to mine bauxite in three to four months, a company official said on Wednesday, possibly ending a three-year wait. "We are hopeful of getting approval in three to four months," Hariharan Mahadevan, president of projects at Anrak, told an industry conference in Singapore. The mine, located in Andhra Pradesh, will have an annual capacity to produce 1.5 million tonnes of bauxite, used to make alumina which then goes into producing aluminium. Its alumina refinery should be in place by April 2015, while the second phase will include a smelter, Mahadevan said. Amrak is a joint venture between Penna group of industries and Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority, according to the company's Facebook page.
Rusal Aughinish follows stringent safety measures to avoid Ebola incident
The Rusal Aughinish refinery in Ireland receives regular shipments of bauxite from Guinea in West Africa which is the third most Ebola affected area after Liberia and Sierra Leone. The company officials however claim that none of their workers have contracted the disease yet due to their stringent safety measures. The company reveled in a statement, “At RUSAL Aughinish we place the highest value on the health and safety of our employees, contractors and visitors. Our safety programmes and performance, our health facilities and our practices and procedures confirm this. In line with this, the response to the possible threat of the Ebola virus has been timely, swift and comprehensive.” There have been no reported cases of Ebola at the Port Kamsar which is the point from where the bauxite is...
Orbite provides update on HPA plant construction
Orbite Aluminae provides an update on the construction of its 3 tonnes per day high purity alumina (“HPA”) plant in Cap-Chat, Québec. Mechanical installation of the decomposer and calcinator has been completed per the Company’s earlier communicated timeline (see press release dated September 6, 2014). The next major step in the construction is the installation of the refractory package consisting of 180 tonnes of bricks, mortar and castable in the decomposer and calcinator. Quality Control testing by the Company’s Technology Development Centre (“TDC”), which is part of Orbite’s Quality Assurance program, reconfirmed the suitability of the refractory products for achieving the required high purity levels during decomposition and calcination. Further testing, however, did identify...
Odisha government to provide raw materials for Vedanta within 3-4 months
The founder and executive chairman of the London-listed Vedanta Resources, Anil Agarwal, announced on Tuesday that the Odisha government has assured him that they will provide the necessary raw materials to feed Vedanta’s one-million tonne Lanjigarh refinery within three to four months. The refinery is currently operating at 25 percent of its capacity due to lack of resources. The Odisha government has developed 2-3 deposits working alongside the Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) to provide the necessary bauxite required for the plant, said Agarwal after his meeting with Odisha’s Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik. According to Agarwal, the CM has also assured that the power issue will be resolved with 15-20 days to allow the company to run the new 1.25 mtpa aluminium smelter at Jharsuguda...
China Aluminum Extrusion Market Prospects Brightened by Transportation Sector
Construction aluminum extruders in Nanhai – China’s top aluminum extrusion production region – are shifting to industrial and decorative aluminum extrusion to capitalize on great demand potential in those two segments, Southcn.com reported on October 28. Construction aluminum accounts for about 70% of Nanhai’s total aluminum extrusion output, leaving the segment in acute oversupply. Aluminum extrusion consumption in China’s transportation sector looks set to hit 160,000 tonnes in 2014 before growing to 220,000 tonnes in 2016 and 350,000 tonnes in 2020, Southcn.com quoted a report titled “China Aluminum Extrusion Industry Market Demand Forecast and Investment Strategic Planning Analysis Guidance” as saying.
Aleris to Announce Third-Quarter 2014 Financial Results on November 4
Aleris is scheduled to announce third-quarter 2014 financial results on Tuesday, November 4, 2014. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Steve Demetriou and Chief Financial Officer Eric Rychel will host an earnings conference call at 9 a.m. ET on Tuesday, November 4, 2014, to discuss the company's third-quarter results. A replay of the webcast will be available in the Investor Relations section of the company's website. Aleris is a privately held, global leader in aluminum rolled products and extrusions, aluminum recycling and specification alloy production. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Aleris operates more than 40 production facilities in North America, Europe and Asia.
