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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Inner Mongolia Chuangyuan Metal Co. proposes a 7.2 billion Yuan project in Huolingol
According to local media reports, the Inner Mongolia Chuangyuan Metal Co. proposes to build an aluminium fabricating project in 2015 around Inner Mongolia’s Huolingol region. The capacity of this new project will be around 800,000 tpy. The 800,000 tpy will be the first phase of the project where the aluminium will be in a liquid state as raw material for the fabricating project. From there, this 7.2 billion Yuan ($1.2 billion) project plans to develop 200,000 tonnes each of high-end aluminium alloy bars and aluminium alloy composite plate. Along with that there will be 300,000 tonnes of industrial aluminum extrusion and 5 million aluminium alloy wheel rims produced per year. The company is projecting an estimate of about 18.4 billion Yuan in revenues, profits and taxes of 2 billion Yuan...
Odisha the highest gainer in the royalty hikes on mineral ores
Post the Government’s announcement regarding the royalty hike on 23 minerals last week, it seems five states in particular will be benefitting the most namely – Odisha, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Goa and Chhattisgarh. Royalty rates on metallurgical-grade bauxite and laterite has been revised to 0.6 percent of the current price of aluminium on the LME instead of the 0.5 percent it was before. Among the 19 mineral rich states, these 5 will experience a 45 to 50 percent rise in royalty revenues, with a total earning of INR 3,867.73 crore in terms of mining royalties over the original estimates slated for the year. Collective earnings of all 19 states amount to something like INR 13,274.17 from INR 9,406.44 rising by 41.12 percent. Odisha reigns as the supreme beneficiary with the 0.1 percent...
Aluminum Association to present at SCRS' OEM Collision Repair Technology Summit
The Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) has announced that Doug Richman, Technical Committee chairman of the Aluminum Transportation Group (ATG), will offer insight into the role aluminum will play in collision repair businesses now and in the future at the OEM Collision Repair Technology Summit on Wednesday, Nov. 5 at the SEMA Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center. "The ATG is eager to share with SCRS session attendees key insights on aluminum's long history in the automotive industry," said Richman. "Aluminum-intensive vehicles have been in the marketplace for many decades and are regularly repaired as needed. Within the next 10 years, seven out of 10 new pickups produced in North America will be aluminum-bodied, according to a recently released survey of automakers...
World's biggest aluminum supplier says automotive-grade sales will triple
Novelis, based out of Atlanta, is the largest supplier of aluminum sheet to the auto industry, counting Ford, Audi and Jaguar among its clients. It's owned by Mumbai, India-based metals company Hindalco, the world's largest producer of aluminum sheet, and company reps see the aluminum market and their place in it expanding. In June, Novelis' VP of global recycling forecast carmaker demand for aluminum sheet to increase five-fold by 2020. The managing director at Hindalco said the company expected its own sales to rise three-fold, driven by the race to better fuel economy and lower emissions. The demand for more will increase after that, according to another Novelis exec, with the weight of all aluminum content – such as sheet, plate, extrusions, foil – in global light vehicle production...
China’s idled smelters to be revived by end of September
According to the Shanghai Metals forecast, the aluminium supplies on China’s four prime regions – Shanghai, Wuxi, Nanhai and Hangzhou will start increasing again in September as the idled and new capacity will be put back on stream by revived smelters. Some of the smelters that were idled in the first half of the year began restarting in early June as a result of the preferential power tariffs and a rally in aluminum prices. Nearly 745,000-tpy or 36.3% was supposedly idled according to SMM estimates. In January-July around 1.19 million-tpy entered operations in terms of new aluminium capacity while an additional 2.55 million-tpy is due to be commissioned in the latter part of the year.
Atlantis Ltd pulled out its bauxite mining project from Central Highlands due to lengthy approval time
Atlantic Ltd., an Australian mining company, finally exited the Vietnamese market after discovering there highly complicated and time consuming approval process having waited two years researching and awaiting the green signal from the government. They had planned to develop an aluminium supply chain project in the Central Highlands and had worked in close collaboration with the Vietnam’s National Institute of Mining-Metallurgy Science and Technology since 2012. They conducted a development study to initiate a collaborative bauxite mine-rail-port project in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. Atlantic completed the study and submitted it to the government in January last year in the hope that the project would be approved soon, they announced late last year. However no such approval has yet...
The Tan Rai project to face four years of losses instead of two as earlier predicted
The Tan Rai project in Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, which started alumina production on October 1 last year, went through an assessment of its financial performance conducted by Vinacomin and a report was released last week. These reports state that the net present value (NPV) of the project was more than VND2.9 trillion with an internal rate of return (IRR) of around 6.86-8.59%. When compared to the report sent by Vinacomin and the Ministry of Industry and Trade to the National Assembly in May, the newest figures are much lower. Even the predictions made by the Ministry at the start of the project were much higher than the present figures. In the light of the revised figures, the project will probably face four years of losses instead of the two initially predicted by...
Nalco invests INR 294 crore on the MSEs
A sum of INR 294 crore has been invested by the Nalco in favour of the micro and small enterprise (MSE) units in 2013-14. The Chairman and Managing Director of Nalco, Ansuman Das said during the 19th level Advisory Committee meet on Monday, both aluminium major and Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) units in collaboration with the Government are helping with the business dealings. 57 MSEs in the State have received ancillary status from the Navratna Public Sector Undertaking. He said that the MSE units at the moment should focus their attention to maintain quality, cost competitiveness and technological upgrade. The Nalco has also promised to deliver 50,000 mt of hot metal to the joint venture company and industries based in the Odisha district should take advantage of it. There is...
Ess Dee Aluminium slips to a 52-week low at INR 379
Ess Dee Aluminium that opened at INR 472 slipped by 8% to INR 434, down to almost 20% lesser at INR 379, marking a bad phase of four days, and also hitting the 52-week low on the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The company had already reported disappointing results at the end of the June quarter (Q1FY15). Now with the recent fall in the stock market, as many as 128,942 shares were bought and sold on NSE and BSE till the noon deals. The net profits last year in the Q1FY15 quarter had been INR 18 crore which has fallen to a shocking INR 5.5 crore this year, a sharp decline of 69%. The stock had reached a 52-week high in February this year touching INR 767 standing at nearly half the rate. Starting August 18, when the stock was at INR 504, the stocks have fallen 14% in the next consecutive...
Call for conference papers and delegates for the Third IBAAS International Symposium in November
The Third IBAAS International Symposium is to be held in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India during November 27-29, 2014. The title of IBAAS – 2014 symposium is “Technological Improvements & Market Developments in Aluminium Industry with Special Reference to Value Added Products of Bauxite, Alumina and Aluminium”. The symposium organizing committee is formulating a world class program focusing on key topics and issues in the bauxite, alumina, aluminium and aluminium downstream industries. The Symposium will provide an excellent opportunity to meet and interact with International experts, scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, representatives of bauxite-alumina-aluminium industries world over. About 12-14 special technical sessions are planned for IBAAS 2014 taking into account the latest...
Alcoa to close portovesme smelter in Italy
Alcoa today announced that it intends to permanently close its Portovesme (Carbonia-Iglesias, Italy) primary aluminum smelter, which has been curtailed since November 2012. The closure will reduce Alcoa’s global smelting capacity by 150,000 metric tons to 3.6 million metric tons per year. The Portovesme smelter was curtailed in 2012 because it was one of the highest cost smelters in the Alcoa system and had limited prospects for becoming competitive. “The fundamental reasons that made the Portovesme smelter uncompetitive unfortunately have not changed,” said Bob Wilt, President, Alcoa Global Primary Products. “We will continue to meet the commitments made to our employees and our stakeholders, acting in good faith as we have always done.” As committed to the government and unions, Alcoa...
Tribals protest against the Government’s proposal of bauxite mining in Vishakhapatnam
The tribal areas around Eastern Ghats of Vishakhapatnam are expressing collective resistance to the proposal of bauxite mining in the area. The Social Welfare and Tribal Welfare Minister R Kishore Babu however say that no decision has been taken on the issue and the recent statement made by the Chief Minister at the World Tribal Day was only suggestive. On Sunday, the minister reassured the reporters that the Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s proposal was only a suggestion and neither a decision nor a permit to start mining activities in the area. He goes on to say that “The Government is committed to the welfare of Girijans and will not take up any activity that would affect their quality of life,” The tribals however have not received the announcement well and have participated in...
RUSAL lauches pilot plant to produce scandium from “red mud”
A leading player in the field of aluminium production, UC RUSAL has launched a pilot project at there aluminium smelter (UAZ) to extract primary scandium concentrate from red mud. Nearly 2.5 tonnes of primary scandium oxide concentrate can be produced in the new unit. In the course of 2014, a total of 74 million rubles have been invested in the project. For converting primary scandium concentrates into marketable commercial products, the company is planning to create a pilot plant, along with the technology needed. The content of scandium oxide is expected to reach 99.0%% in that case. The pilot plant will be capable of producing 500kg per year and the market price for such products is between USD 3,000 – USD 5,000 per kg. Aluminium-scandium alloys would be produced at the RUSAL’s...
China to boost exports of semi-finished aluminium products
Chinese producers of semi-finished aluminium products are likely to boost exports in the second half of the year, taking advantage of strong international prices as small customers face tight credit at home, industry sources said. Strong Chinese exports of semi-finished products could be used to replace primary aluminium, traders said, weighing on record premiums for the metal. In China, mounting exports could boost demand of primary aluminium in the world's top consumer and producer of the metal. "A lot of firms have been looking to export focusing on aluminium plates and strips," said a trading manager at a state-owned maker of primary aluminium and semi-finished products. He declined to be named as he was not authorised to talk to media. "Exports are likely to rise in the second half."...
A&R Metal Recycling Company is growing rapidly according to financial results
A&R Metal Recycling Company has released their financial results on Thursday for their three and six month tenure which ended on June 2014. According to the reports, this company, who offers waste management programs working with scrap metals and equipment as well as buying and processing ferrous and non-ferrous metals, is expanding fast. The founder of A&R Metal Recycling Company is enthused by the second quarter financial report which indicates a major expansion running through the entire business. A&R are widening their horizons incorporating different types of scrap metals to work with which now includes more than 30 metals and scrap equipment. Some of these metals are aluminum, brass, silver, carbide, gold, lead, nickel, molybdenum, tungsten, stainless steel, titanium, and zinc among...
Aluminium up 0.28% up on firm global trends
Aluminium prices rose marginally by 0.28 per cent in futures trade today in line with a firming trend in the global markets. Besides, increased demand at domestic spot markets also influenced prices. At the Multi Commodity Exchange, aluminium for delivery in current month rose by 35 paise, or 0.28 per cent, to INR 124.60 per kg in a business turnover of 60 lots. The September contract rose by a similar margin to trade at INR 124.75 per kg in six lots. Analysts said the rise in aluminium prices at futures trade was mostly due to a firming trend in global markets on stronger-than-expected US home sales and before a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and rising demand at spot markets here.
No clarity on Mahan pushes Hindalco to import coal
Hindalco Industries Ltd is importing coal for its aluminium plants amid lack of clarity on when the controversial Mahan coal project in Madhya Pradesh may be cleared, showing the government’s inability to fast track projects and pushing companies to resort to costly imports. “Our problem is that we are away from the ports, but it has come to the point now that we are resorting to imports and it may not be a terribly bad news,” Debu Bhattacharya, managing director of Hindalco, said in an interview. “We have already bought something... that gives both the quantity and in some cases, a landed cost which is not too bad,” he added, not commenting on how much the company has contracted to import and at what price. A few quarters ago, Bhattacharya had talked about the futility of imports as...
China Aluminum International announces 2014 interim results
China Aluminum International Engineering Corporation Limited( Chalieco) announces the unaudited interim results for the six-month period ended 30 June 2014. In face of the tough market environment, the Group benefited from the exploration efforts of both international and domestic markets and achieved newly signed contracts with the value of RMB19.8 billion in the first half of the year, maintaining a good momentum of development. The contracts backlog of the Company as of 30 June 2014 amounted to RMB70.7 billion, representing an increase of 15% over the end of 2013. Revenue coverage ratio reached a 4 times growth which builds a solid foundation for future performance. The Group grew steadily in the first half of the year with a revenue of RMB8.85 billion, 25.5% up over that of the same...
