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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Unions Seek assurances on BHP demerger plans
Unions have called on mining giant BHP Billiton to guarantee entitlements and enterprise agreements for workers affected by its demerger. BHP plans to offload the majority of its aluminium, manganese, nickel and silver assets into a new company that is to be listed on the Australian share market by mid-2015. Assets selected for the new company include Illawarra Coal in NSW, Queensland’s Cannington silver mine, a manganese mine in the Northern Territory and an alumina refinery in Western Australia. Australian Workers’ Union National Secretary Scott McDine will meet with management to ensure guarantees are provided around the transfer of all employee entitlements to the new company. The union wants all current negotiated enterprise agreements to be maintained, and it will seek assurances...
Novelis and Red Hare Brewery heading towards 100% recycled beverage cans
The world’s first 100% recycled beverage can, could be soon underway. Novelis Inc. has partnered with the Marietta craft-beer manufacturer, the Red Hare Brewing Company, to bring beverage cans produced almost entirely out of recycled material. Novlis Inc., a multi-national aluminium manufacturer, is naming the product ‘evercan’. evercan is certified by the Scientific Certification Services as the only aluminium can sheet to have a minimum of 90% recycled content. The Vice President and chief sustainability officer of Novelis, John Gardner, says that they are working on the technical performance and the alloy chemistry of the can at the moment and in the next few years they will get a 100% recycled product. Gardner thinks that the alliance with this small-scale brewery, who has always...
Pacific Road Resources funds announce exchange of convertible notes in First Bauxite Corporation
The Pacific Road Resources Funds announce that PRRF has exchanged the non-interest bearing convertible notes issued by First Bauxite Corporation in the aggregate principal amount of $8,000,000, which were due to mature on June 26, 2014 and July 23, 2014, for promissory notes having the full principal amount plus an amount for certain fees and expenses, and a maturity date of January 19, 2016. The Replacement Notes will bear interest at an annual rate of 10% (compounded monthly and payable on maturity). As a result of the exchange, PRRF will no longer have the right to convert the Notes into common shares of the Company. After giving effect to the exchange, assuming full exercise of the 5,660,376 common share purchase warrants previously held by PRRF, PRRF would hold 18,788,360 common...
LME aluminium to rise more to $2,129
LME aluminium may rise more to $2,129 per tonne, as indicated by a Fibonacci projection analysis. The analysis reveals that the metal has briefly pieced above a resistance at $2,074, the 138.2 percent Fibonacci projection level of an upward wave C that developed from the May 21 low of $1,754.75. The next resistance will be at $2,129, the 161.8 percent projection level. The wave C consists of five small waves. The trendline passing the peaks of the first and the third waves points to a level similar to the target of $2,129. Strategically, this target will be confirmed when aluminium goes above its Aug. 20 high of $2,083.75.
JW Aluminum issues 2014 second quarter results and to host investor conference call to review results
JW Aluminum Company announced today that it has posted its 2014 Quarterly Report for the Three Months Ended June 28, 2014 on JW Aluminum’s secure investor website at 3:00 PM Eastern Time on Thursday, August 21, 2014. The quarterly report is being furnished pursuant to the Indenture governing JW Aluminum’s Senior Secured Notes due 2017 (the “Notes”). The quarterly report will be made available to holders and beneficial owners of the Notes, qualified prospective investors in the Notes, and certain security analysts and market makers. JW Aluminum will post all of its annual reports, quarterly reports and current reports that are required to be delivered pursuant to the Indenture governing the Notes on JW Aluminum’s secure investor website maintained by Intralinks. JW Aluminum’s management...
First Bauxite Corporation announces change of President and CEO
First Bauxite Corporation today announced that effective immediately Mr. Alan Roughead has replaced Mr. Hilbert Shields as President and Chief Executive Officer of FBX. Alan brings over 25 years of experience in the industrial minerals industry focused on operations, marketing and finance. Until its sale to Sibelco in 2012, Alan was CEO and Managing Director of Queensland Magnesia Pty Ltd, one of the world's largest producers of magnesia for the global refractory and chemical markets. Alan has been a Non Executive Director of FBX since August 2012 and will relocate to Toronto in October 2014 to take up his new role. Alan holds a Bachelor of Economics (Hons.) degree from the University of Western Australia and served as a Director of Talison Minerals Pty Ltd. from 2007 to 2009. Alan's role...
Anglo-African Minerals posts drilling update on FAR Bauxite Project, Guinea
Anglo-African Minerals plc, the GXG quoted mineral exploration company focused on West Africa, is pleased to deliver an update to its shareholders regarding the results from the recent drilling campaign on the FAR bauxite licence in the Kindia Prefecture, Guinea. In May 2014 the Company engaged Toumnyne Drilling contractors in Guinea to undertake a drilling campaign on a 600 by 600 meter grid to a depth of 20 meters which focused on the Samaya and Elevation 955 plateau located on the FAR licence in the Kindia prefecture. The initial results have highlighted that both Samaya and Elevation 955 have highly perspective targets, indicating potential grades between 42% and 49% alumina content. The intention is to concentrate on the development of the Samaya plateau in the first instance, with a...
Ye Chiu Metal Recycling (China) posts 92.15% fall in h1 profits on falling prices
Ye Chiu Metal Recycling (China) Ltd. reported a 92.15% year-on-year fall in net profits to 5.64 million yuan ($ 0.91 million) during the first six months of the year, it said in its semiannual financial report. The company attributed the slump in net profits to falling prices of copper , aluminum and lead , which sent its gross margin down 2.16% on the year and business revenues down 3.89% on a yearly basis to 2.3 billion yuan, the company added. The company sold only 146,800 tonnes of aluminum ingot during H1 2014, down 11.49% from a year earlier, also partly contributing to the plunge in net profits, it said.
Architectural aluminium company expanding to newer ventures
Nordic Installations, originally an architectural aluminium firm, is now preparing to grow further by acquiring larger premises and new businesses. The supplier of high quality aluminium windows, doors, curtain and door products is now moving into manufacturing by purchasing Plym Valley Manufacturing. They are shifting bases to tackle this new role, out of their Forresters Business Park in Estover to Darklake Close, on the outskirts of the city which was Plymouth to Plym Valley’s former premises. The company that started in 2007 with two founders and directors, Graham Shaddick and Chris has now grown to 30 staff. Their impressive growth was bolstered by relationships built with architects and quantity surveyors and reliably supplying to reputed names like Midas, Interserve, Ryearch,...
Aluminum extends rally to highest since 2013 on supply deficit
Aluminum climbed in London to the highest in almost 18 months after a report showed global production trailing consumption. The output shortfall in the first six months of 2014 was 393,000 metric tons, compared with a 1.057 million-ton surplus in all of 2013, the World Bureau of Metal Statistics said in a report today. Demand for zinc topped output by 191,000 tons, after a surplus of 116,000 tons for 2013. Shortfalls were also seen in copper, lead and tin. “People are coming to accept the fact that the market is moving into a deficit” in aluminum, Tim Hayes, a Richmond, Virginia-based principal at Lawrence Capital Management, said in a telephone interview. “Those deficits are going to look even larger come next year and even the year after that, and so we’re getting a lot more positive...
The slow Chinese economy triggers a fall in aluminium contract
According to a Bloomberg report, China, the biggest consumer of aluminium, revealed a dismal manufacturing data causing decline in industrial metals after an 18-month high. There was a drop of 6% in the contract due for delivery in three months on the London Metal Exchange to $2,069 per metric ton at 3:54pm and was $2,069.50 at 3:54 p.m. Hong Kong time on 20th August. Prices finally closed at $2,076 which was the highest after 20th Feb last year. The PMI readings clearly indicated a dip in the Chinese economy and Helen Lau, a Hong Kong-based UOB Kay HIan Ltd analyst, states that this dip will likely ‘dampen sentiments’ affecting metal demands. The effects have also echoed in New York with December futures dropping by 0.6% reading as $3.178 a pound. The ones slated for October delivery...
Brazil’s aluminium smelter shuts down due to high electricity prices
An Alcoa Inc. smelter has been idled as producing aluminium in Brazil has become very expensive. The Pocos de Caldas smelter has stopped producing aluminium and selling the facility’s power instead to combat the high electricity prices. With the worst drought seen in decades, the water reservoirs that were used for hydroelectric generation have started to dry up. This, coupled with the high costs of labor and transportation, has made aluminium production uneconomical. The Brazil government has taken suitable steps to combat the situation with possible water rationing on the cards, while taxes on imported aluminum are being cut to meet the high demand for aluminium beverage cans. Despite having the third-largest ore reserves, the country is forced to import more refined metal than it...
Global aluminium associations gather at UK venue
Representatives of the world’s aluminium industry will gather in Gloucestershire in September for a meeting to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the sector globally. The meeting will be hosted by the Aluminium Federation (ALFED), the trade body which represents the UK’s aluminium manufacturers and suppliers, and will be attended by heads of the aluminium associations, including The Aluminum Association (USA), the Gulf Aluminium Council, the European Aluminium Association, Aluminium Federation of South Africa, the Japan Aluminium Association, the Aluminium Association of Canada and AMS, which represents the Nordic countries, along with the International Aluminium Institute. The meeting, which is one of two that happen each year, will take place at Tortworth Court Hotel on...
Holsether to speak at ONS 2014
Sapa President & CEO Svein Tore Holsether will take part as one of the speakers at ONS Conference 2014 in Stavanger, Norway. He will discuss how aluminium solutions contribute to a more sustainable future with focus on energy-positive buildings. Holsether will take part in the featured event on August 27, a plenary session entitled Sneak peek into the future: What will happen in the next 40 years? He will share examples of technology and solutions available today that will help change the future, and in particular, energy-positive buildings by the Powerhouse partnership. Sapa is a partner in Powerhouse, delivering innovative and energy-efficient aluminium solutions. Holsether will be joined by: • Dr. Gunhild A. Stordalen (Chair of the Stordalen Foundation and Director of EAT) • Henrik O....
Nampak may double capacity at Nigerian can factory
Nampak, Africa's biggest packing firm, is considering doubling the capacity of its Nigerian beverage can factory to meet fast-growing demand in Africa's biggest economy, its chief executive said on Thursday. Johannesburg-based Nampak, a major supplier of plastic milk bottles in Britain, paid more than $300-million for Lagos-based can maker Alucan earlier this year. Alucan, which competes with unlisted GZ industries and imports, has the capacity to make 1.1-billion cans a year. "We have the ability to double the capacity of that facility with relatively modest incremental investment and we are seriously considering that," Andre de Ruyter, CEO told Reuters in an interview. "I am quite bullish on the Nigerian market. It is Africa's largest economy, it is showing rapid economic growth." The...
Cabinet hikes royalty rates on minerals in India
The government today gave nod to increasing royalty rates on minerals including iron ore and bauxite, a long-awaited move that will significantly swell the annual revenue of states. "Cabinet in-principle approved revision of mineral royalty. There are 55 such items but this excludes coal, lignite and sand for stowing," Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said after the Cabinet meeting. "We are satisfied that revision has been done... It has not been revised for a long time," he said, without disclosing the impact of the move in financial terms. As per some estimates, annual revenue collection of mineral-bearing states could swell over 40 per cent to around Rs 15,000 crore. Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Karnataka and Goa are among the 11 mineral-rich states. The Cabinet...
Alumina faces losses for the closing of Point Henry Smelter
The Australian-based Alumina faced huge losses in the first half of the year till June as compared to last year. This was primarily due to the closure of the Point Henry Smelter located in the state of Victoria fuelled by the continuing weakness in alumina prices. The company incurred a net loss of $ 47.4 million, a huge leap from the $2.4 million in the first half of last year. This resulted in the company’s inability to pay interim dividend. Alcoa Inc.’s Alcoa World Alumina and Chemicals is the prime support for Alumina where its 40% stakes are invested. Alcoa Inc. is the largest producer of alumina powder in the world. They decided to close their Point Henry smelter as it was no longer financially fruitful. After 51 years in service, the smelter closed this month. Although Alumina is...
Noranda announces electricity rate ruling by Missouri public service commission
Noranda Aluminum Holding Corporation reported today that the Missouri Public Service Commission has denied Noranda's request for a lower electricity rate at the Company's aluminum smelter in New Madrid, Missouri ("New Madrid"). The denial by the PSC does not increase New Madrid's electricity rate, it only denies Noranda's petition for a lower rate at this point. "While we are disappointed with the PSC's decision to deny Noranda rate relief at this point, we remain committed to transforming our cost structure and to reducing the cost of New Madrid's electricity," said Layle K. "Kip" Smith, Noranda's President and CEO. "We will thoughtfully evaluate our alternatives for accomplishing our objectives and provide additional information at an appropriate time."
