German downstream aluminium exports fall 13% in H1 2026 but US enters top 5 with 228.1% import surge
Germany’s downstream aluminium export map underwent a noticeable shift in H1 2026. Shipments to the world fell, with most of Germany’s traditional European customers taking less aluminium downstream product. Yet, amid that broad retreat, one market moved in the opposite direction: the United States. German downstream aluminium exports to the world fell to 897,773.19 tonnes in H1 2026 from 1 million tonnes in H1 2025, a decline of 13 per cent year on year. The contrast was particularly sharp in the US market. American imports of German downstream aluminium reached 68,061.61 tonnes in H1 2026, up 228.1 per cent from just 20,743.62 tonnes in H1 2025. The increase of more than 47,000 tonnes was enough to push the US into Germany’s top 5 destinations for the first time. The export map is...
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...
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Alba Plans Listing on the Saudi Arabia Exchange
The second largest aluminium smelter in Middle East, Aluminium Bahrain is planning to cross list its shares in Saudi Arabia, as per industry sources. The sources said that Aluminium Bahrain, otherwise known as Alba, is looking to improve its valuation rather than raise money from the listings. They did not want to be identified however as the plan is not public yet. Alba, who has a primary listing in Bahrain along with global depository receipts trading in London, is looking to cash in on investor interests. In 2015, the biggest Arab stock exchange opens to direct foreign investment. According to a data compiled by Bloomberg, the Saudi Tadawul benchmark index is the sixth best performing stock index in the world having gained 30 percent this year. In comparison, the Bahrain Bourse All...
Nigerian aluminium industry facing multiple difficulties
Nigerian aluminium industry is suffering severely due to multiple problems including poor quality raw materials, high cost of energy; cheap sub-standard imports and the apparent lack of government interest in sustaining the aluminium industry. The aluminium industry is buckling under the weight of rising labor costs, electricity costs as well as high taxes as informed by an industry source. Most of the people who spoke to Real Sector Watch complained of the high electricity charges that is causing a lot of them to close operations and driving more people to do the same. This has also led to many lay offs. First Aluminium plc managing director revealed in an exclusive interview that they had to close down operations in December 2012 and even now the production is uneconomical due to the...
Alba confirms Conference topics for ARABAL 2014
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba), a leading aluminium producer in the world, has announced the topics for the 18th International Arab Aluminium (Arabal) Conference, during a meeting with the Arabal Organizing Committee on Thursday, September 11, 2014 at the Oasis Hall in Alba. Arabal 2014 will be held under the patronage of HRH Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa the Prime Minster of the Kingdom of Bahrain from November 25 to 27, 2014 under the theme - “GCC: An aluminium power house” at the Gulf Hotel, Kingdom of Bahrain. The topics chosen for the Conference include: GCC Smelters in Focus with the CEOs – Panel Discussion; Outlook for the global aluminium industry; Bahrain at the heart of the aluminium downstream; Alumina and refined bauxite dynamics in a dynamic environment; Renewable...
IBAAS-CHALIECO-JNARDDC announces 3 days International Bauxite, Alumina & Aluminium Symposium at Visakhapatnam, India on November 27-29, 2014
This symposium will not only focus on latest developments of Bauxite, Alumina & Aluminium Industry in Asian region but also promote value addition in each stage from Bauxite to Aluminium. There will be sessions on non-metallurgical bauxite, special alumina and value added aluminium products during IBAAS-2014 symposium for the benefit of small and medium scale industries. About 100 companies and more than 200 delegates from all over the world are expected to participate. We invite you to be a part of this International Mega Event and benefit from the Deliberations, Networking and Exhibition of Products. Interesting Papers of this event are: • Present International Market of Alumina-Aluminium and NALCO's Strategy by Soma Mondal, Director (Commercial) NALCO, India • Beneficiation of High...
Coastal Aluminium Ltd factory at Poole suddenly closes
A factory of Coastal Aluminium Ltd. situated at Poole, suddenly shut down last Monday, as reported by the Daily Echo. The company is the main title sponsor of speedway team Poole Pirates and is based in Sterte Close. In 2012, they had signed a six-figure deal worth more than 200,000 pounds. On Friday, the Daily Echo team went to have a chat with the around 30-member staff only to discover that the site situated at the Units 8-9 Sterte Road Industrial Estate, was left abandoned. The neighboring businesses were also unsure about the reason for the factory to shut. An unnamed source from a business based opposite to Coastal Aluminium said that around 25-30 people work there but on Monday all of them came out of the building and left with no explanation. Another source adds that after that...
Caltech materials scientists develop non-brittle ceramics with the help of Alumina
Caltech materials scientist Julia Greer and her colleagues are on the path to developing a material that is thermally insulating but also extremely lightweight, or one that is simultaneously strong, lightweight, and nonbreakable—properties that are generally thought to be mutually exclusive. In a paper published in the September 12 issue of the journal Science, the Caltech researchers explain the method to produce a ceramic (e.g., a piece of chalk or a brick) that contains about 99.9% air yet is incredibly strong, and that can recover its original shape after being smashed by more than 50%. "Ceramics have always been thought to be heavy and brittle," says Greer, a professor of materials science and mechanics in the Division of Engineering and Applied Science at Caltech. "We're showing...
Cape Alumina recommends MetroCoal takeover offer
Cape Alumina directors have recommended that shareholders accept MetroCoal’s off-market takeover bid of 1 MTE share for every 1.3 CBX shares, in the absence of a superior proposal. The offer represents a 35% premium to the 20 day VWAP for each Cape share and the independent expert has concluded is both fair and reasonable. If the takeover is successful, the merged entity will hold extensive bauxite tenements in Cape York including the Bauxite Hills Project as well as interests in over 4 billion tonnes of thermal coal in the Surat Basin. Cape’s directors noted that successful development of Bauxite Hills will require significant additional funds in the short term, which MetroCoal is able to offer. The combined company will also have better access to funding and better prospects for...
Mr. L. Patrick Hassey joins the Board of Directors of Kaiser Aluminium
After the 2015 annual meeting of stockholders, Kaiser Aluminium Corporation (KALU) announced that the board of directors has sanctioned an increase in authorized members from 10 to 11. They have even appointed L. Patrick Hassey to the board. Until his retirement in May 2011, Mr. Hassey served as the CEO and Chairman of Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (ATI), who is a global leader in the field of specialty materials supply for aerospace, chemical as well as oil and gas companies. Jack A. Hockema, President, Chairman and CEO of KALU says they are happy to have ‘Pat’ on the board thanks to the decades of knowledge and experience he has in the metals industry besides his wide arrays of skills “that will be a great asset to the company.” Mr. Hassey acquired the post of CEO in October 2003...
Non-ferrous scraps targeted by fraudsters: BIR
According to the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) fraudsters are deceiving non-ferrous traders with fake deals around the globe. Chairman of BIR’s International Trade Council Robert Voss said that frauds are targeting copper, aluminium, and steel sectors with dubious deliveries. According to him these sectors are receiving scrap deliveries where “supposedly reliable suppliers have comprised nothing but concrete, ash, mud and dirt”. As spoken by Mr. Voss in the BIR’s September edition of World Mirror, “The only insurance that we as traders can take out is to know the identity and practices of who is supplying the metal to which we put our name.” His view was supported by Robert Stein, president, US Alter Trading (non-ferrous metal division): “We often pay for goods before we ever...
Aluminium industry reinforces commitment to sustainable packaging in Europe
At its annual Packaging Seminar held yesterday in Helsinki, the European Aluminium Association (EAA) reaffirmed its commitment to sustainable packaging in Europe with the launch of its new brochure, “Aluminium packaging: convenient, safe and infinitely recyclable”. “While the EU Commission recently adopted a Circular economy package, featuring new recycling definitions, calculation methods and targets, EAA’s annual packaging seminar puts the focus on best practices across Europe to optimize recycling processes and technologies. Our new brochure launched on this occasion gives a concrete overview of the aluminium industry’s vision for more sustainable packaging in Europe. As a sector, aluminium already achieves almost 60 per cent recycling for all aluminium packaging and even 68 per cent...
New Zealand First open to government stakes in the aluminium smelter
In a speech held at the Invercargill Workingmen’s Club on Sunday, the leader of New Zealand First, Winston Peters, said that he was open to the government holding stakes in the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter. He said that the future of the smelter is not yet certain but if a direct government investment in the smelter serves the national interest, New Zealand First will be open to that offer. If the Government’s involvement in the project retains the far reaching economic benefits for the region then the company will not object. While the smelter owners and Meridian Energy signed a three year deal last year to secure a sustained flow of energy for the smelter to function, the government also invested $30 million to the only aluminium smelter in New Zealand to help seal the deal. John Key,...
NALCO to open a new stockyard at Vadodara
The Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) company of NALCO, National Aluminium Company added a new stockyard in Gujrat’s Vadodara, making it the 10th stockyard in India. Ansuman Das, the company’s Chairman and Managing Director inaugurated the stockyard. According to a company release, Gujrat’s new stockyard will help the aluminium maker to conduct sales worth approximately 800 million tonnes to its Gujrat customers. Business Standard, based on a 19th Plant Level Advisory Committee (PLAC) meeting report, reported that in 2014 fiscal year, NALCO has given out orders worth INR 2.94 billion on micro and small enterprises (MSEs). An agreement of 50,000 tonnes has already been signed by NALCO to supply hot metal to downstream units that are proposed to be set in Odisha’s Aluminium Park in Angul. To...
AMMG to focus on HPA production following technical review
Australia Minerals and Mining Group Limited (AMMG) is pleased to announce it has a clear strategy and focus on becoming a high purity alumina (HPA) producer. In his first major undertaking since his appointment as Managing Director last month, Mr. Iggy Tan, a highly experienced mining executive and chemical engineer has conducted a technical review of the previous AMMG testwork, proposed process flow design and integrated plant study to reaffirm the technical viability of producing HPA from the Company’s substantial aluminous clay resources near Meckering, Western Australia. The review concluded that most current HPA producers are using an expensive and highly processed feed stock material such as aluminium metal to produce 99.99% HPA quality product. AMMG are one of the only two...
LME aluminium to retest support at $2,041
LME aluminium is expected to retest support at $2,041 per tonne, with a good chance of breaking below this level and falling more to $1,986. The support is provided by 123.6 percent Fibonacci projection level of an upward wave C, which started from the May 21 low of $1,754.75. This wave has completed, as its five component waves have all unfolded. A break below the support will open the way towards the 100 percent projection level at $1,986, while a break above $2,074, the 138.2 percent level, will make signals neutral.
2014 could be the best year so far for Group Mytilineou
Group Mytilineou, is likely to see a great semester ahead in 2014 as indicated by the group’s annual investor presentation. As the company continues deleverage faster, the government can expect a healthy balance in the coming months. Moreover, the decline of euro against the dollar will have a positive impact on the Group as exports will strengthen. Mr. Evangelos Mytilineos, President and CEO said in his speech that the financial performance of the group will improve by the end of the year as he believes that the demand of aluminium will increase globally in the field of metallurgy and in the remaining four months of 2014, the metal prices will rise further. Since the company incurs costs of production in euros and prices its product in dollars, as the euro is weaker against the dollar...
Dubai Aluminium approaches banks for rare corporate loan
Dubai Aluminium (Dubal) has held talks with banks about raising a loan to help fund its general operations, the first time the firm has commissioned such a facility in years, three banking sources told Reuters on Thursday. While it is a rarity for the company to raise money not tied to a specific project, a loan would be the latest example of a Dubai state-backed entity tapping banks to take advantage of low borrowing rates and the emirate’s resurgent economy. Talks are at a preliminary stage to sound out banks about what Dubal could raise in the loan market, the sources said on condition of anonymity because the information is not public. They said no formal invitation for banks to participate has been sent out, nor have arranging banks been put in place. Dubal merged last year with Abu...
LME postpones aluminium premium contract to Q2 2015 and hold off further reforms
London Metal Exchange (LME) has announced on Thursday that they will be releasing their aluminium premium contract later than initially planned in the second quarter, according to Reuter’s report. They also said that they will refrain from any other reforms until they receive the court ruling. The Hong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd owned LME had announced in June that they would be releasing their aluminium premium quarter in 2015 Q1. The premiums are charges that are imposed over the LME price taking into account the regional demand and supply as well as cover costs of transport and insurance. The premiums have been rising to record numbers in recent years which makes the premium contract a lucrative option for investors who want to lock in the premium amount and reap the benefits later....
Alcoa named sustainability leader on Dow Jones world index for safest, most environmentally-efficient year on record
For the thirteenth year in a row, Alcoa has been named to one of the most highly recognized and longest-standing global sustainability indexes, the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI). Alcoa was again recognized as the Aluminum Industry Leader on the Dow Jones World Index. “Sustainability is a core Value at Alcoa. No decision is made or action taken without a careful consideration of the economic, environmental, and social impacts that may result,” said Kevin McKnight, Alcoa Chief Sustainability Officer and Vice President of Environment, Health and Safety. “In 2013, we worked more safely with fewer environmental impacts. While we’re continuing to improve the sustainability of our global operations, our light-metal innovations are creating a more sustainable world by enabling greener...
