Impact Minerals Limited has raised approximately AUD 2.2 million (USD 1.56 million) before costs through a renounceable rights issue, providing additional funding to advance its two high-purity alumina projects in Australia. The company issued nearly 69 million new shares and approximately 46 million options under the capital raising, which was launched in August. Impact Minerals said the offer received strong participation from existing shareholders, including full take-up by its major German family office investor. Any remaining shortfall shares may be placed within three months, subject to the allocation policy outlined in the offer. Funding targets pilot and customer qualification work The fresh capital will support development of Impact Minerals’ Lake Hope and Alluminous high-purity...
The USD 4 billion Oklahoma aluminium smelter project planned by Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) and Century Aluminum is facing a new hurdle in Inola, where the city council has extended a moratorium on smelter permits and called a referendum on the proposed facility. The 750,000-tonne-per-year aluminium smelter, announced in January, is expected to more than double current US primary aluminium production and would be the first new primary aluminium smelter in the country in almost 50 years. It would also become the largest source of primary aluminium in the Western Hemisphere. The project has taken on added importance as the US imports roughly 60 per cent of the primary aluminium it uses. Aluminium is essential to transportation, defence, aerospace and electrical infrastructure, making...
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On May 5, 2022, social inventories of primary aluminium in China gained 46,000 tonnes week-on-week, marking a rise after three consecutive weeks of fall. According to the Shanghai Metals Market data, the inventories totalled 1.03 million tonnes this week across eight major Chinese consumption areas, including SHFE warrants, albeit down by 82,000 tonnes a year ago. The week-on-week rise in primary aluminium inventories is attributable to higher arrivals of stocks due to the recovery in operating rates after the improvement of the pandemic situation, but some buyers still remain cautious about purchase in light of the pandemic. The chart below indicates the current status of primary aluminium inventories across China in more details: In Gongyi, primary aluminium inventories jumped by 37,000...
LME aluminium opened at US$2,997 per tonne on Thursday and closed at US$2,936 per tonne, down US$49 per tonne or 1.64 per cent. LME aluminium cash bid price and official settlement price halted at US$2,916.50 per tonne and US$2,917 per tonne, respectively, both experiencing a 0.41 per cent or US$12 per tonne decline, on 5th May. The 3-month bid price stooped to US$2,945 per tonne with a loss of 0.56 per cent or US$16.50 per tonne. The 3-month offer price came in at US$2,947 per tonne with a drop of 0.52 per cent or US$15.50 per tonne. December 23 bid price and December 23 offer price settled at US$2,873 per tonne and US$2,878 per tonne, respectively, both with a 0.07 per cent or US$2 per tonne fall. LME aluminium opening stock continued to decrease by 0.06 per cent or 375 tonnes from...
As per Shanghai Metals Market (SMM), China’s A00 aluminium ingot price has declined by RMB 420 per tonne to score at RMB 20,300 per tonne. The average price for the same is expected to range between RMB 20,280 per tonne and RMB 20,320 per tonne, with spot contract to be traded at a discount price of RMB -60 to RMB -20 per tonne. The price in Hangzhou and Chongqing has also witnessed downfall by RMB 420 per tonne and RMB 360 per tonne to peg at RMB 20,370 per tonne, respectively. For the same day in Shenyang and Tianjin, the price has closed at RMB 20,350 per tonne, after recording a plunge of RMB 370 per tonne and RMB 420 per tonne. In Linyi the price has dwindled by RMB 400 per tonne to settle at RMB 20,450 per tonne. The A00 aluminium ingot price in Gongyi and Foshan has also gone down...
Sunshine Hydro and Energy Estate have proposed the construction of the “world’s first,” super-hybrid green hydrogen project in Central Queensland, valued at $5.5 billion with massive wind and pumped hydro facilities. The unit also underlines its plans for hydrogen technologies. The project is expected to feature 1.8GW of new wind generation and 600MW of pumped hydro, inducing 18 hours of storage capacity. The energy production list would consist of 300MW of hydrogen electrolysers, 50MW of liquefaction and a 50MW hydrogen fuel cell with an ability to produce 65 tonnes of green hydrogen per day. Some of their end-users would include hydrogen transportation industries and common metal smelting units. Especially in Queensland, Australia the introduction of this plant would ultimately mean an...
The sole aluminium smelter in Argentina and one of the largest in South America, Aluar Aluminio Argentino has awarded Vestas, the energy industry’s global partner on sustainable energy solutions for the 81 MW Llano IV Wind Farm in the province of Chubut in Argentina. However, it has been reported that Vestas is supplying and installing 18 V150-4.5 MW for the project. In addition to the completion, Vestas will also deliver a 20-year service agreement for Active Output Management 5000 (AOM 5000). As a result of this agreement, energy production can be optimized while also providing certainty for the long-term business case. It will provide renewable electricity for Aluar's aluminium smelter in Puerto Madryn, which is the largest in Argentina, and help Aluar comply with the requirements from...
The global aluminium value chain is still going through rough patches, which the industry thought dissimilar at the beginning of the year. The year 2022 started with a positive note that the worldwide manufacturing sector is rebounding from the dent of the Covid pandemic. Although the shortage of gas and the challenge of the steep rise in energy prices spilt over from 2021, still hope remained high. The geopolitical crisis has now stirred the issue to the worst phase, which the world did not envision. The sanctions of Russia have created a great impact on the global aluminium market, as the Russian aluminium giant holds a 6% stake in the global aluminium production and also it is one of the leading producers of low carbon aluminium. However, the LME price remained on the downside during...
National Aluminium Company Limited further reduced its aluminium ingot and aluminium products prices just after two days from the last cut. With effect from May 1, 2022, NALCO slashed its aluminium ingot price by INR 5,800 per tonne compared to the cut of INR 10,000 per tonne on April 28. Since, the latest cut, the company’s ingot price is ranging between INR 266850-270,350 per tonne versus INR 272,650 – 276,150 per tonne. NALCO’s aluminium wire rod price also witnessed a cut of INR 5,800 per tonne on May 1 from INR 275,150 – 279,500 per tonne to INR 269,350-273,700 per tonne. Aluminium billets price came in at INR 270,300-272,950 per tonne, down by 2.1 per cent from INR 276,100 – 278,750 per tonne. NALCO links its aluminium ingot and aluminium products prices to the three-month future...
On 5 th May 2022, the Anglo-Australian mining and metal giant, Rio Tinto stated that any sanctions on the Russian aluminium producer Rusal in response to the Ukraine-Russia conflict will disrupt the aluminium market and precipitate an increase in the silver metal's price. Simon Thompson, the Chairman of Rio Tinto informed the shareholders at the group's annual meeting in Australia, “If Rusal was to be sanctioned that would certainly cause pretty significant disruption in the aluminium market, because Rusal is a very big exporter of aluminium, particularly to Europe." "I think the impact on Rio Tinto would probably be positive, in the sense that the aluminium price would likely go up." Rio Tinto announced on 19 th December 2021, “The Board of Rio Tinto has selected Dominic Barton to...
Aluminium smelters' raw material costs were mostly steady last week. The removal of import levies and diminishing local demand drove down thermal coal prices. As of Friday, April 29, the complete cost of smelting dropped by RMB 35 per tonne from a week before to stop at RMB 18,220 per tonne, while profits had plunged by RMB 954 per tonne to RMB 2,590 per tonne. However, because grid power tariffs are fixed monthly, and smelters with captive power plants were digesting already acquired coal, their electricity rates stayed virtually stable for the time being, albeit they may fall in the future. On the one hand, domestic coal prices have returned to a more reasonable range as a whole, which is good news for smelters with captive power plants. Prebaked anode costs, on the other hand, appear...
LME aluminium opened at US$2,924 per tonne on May 4 and closed at US$2,985 per tonne, an increase of US$57 per tonne or 1.95 per cent. On 4 th May, LME aluminium cash bid price and official settlement price halted at US$2,928.50 per tonne and US$2,929 per tonne, respectively, both experiencing a 0.60 per cent or US$17.50 per tonne rise. 3-month bid price stopped at US$2,961.50 per tonne while 3-month offer price came in at US$2,962.50 per tonne with a similar escalation of 0.59 per cent or US$17.50 per tonne. On the same day, December 23 bid price and December 23 offer price settled at US$2,875 per tonne and US$2,880 per tonne, respectively, both with a 1.16 per cent or US$33 per tonne hike. LME aluminium opening stock continued to decrease by 0.64 per cent or 3,675 tonnes from 577,650...
On Tuesday, April 3, LME aluminium cash bid price stood at US$2,911 per tonne, after experiencing a fall of US$127 per tonne or 4.18 percent. For the same day, LME aluminium official settlement price plunged by US$127.5 per tonne or 4.19 percent to peg at US$2911.50 per tonne. 3-month bid price and 3-month offer price had gone down by US$99 per tonne or 3.25 percent to come in at US$2,944 per tonne and US$2,945 per tonne. December 23 bid price and December 23 offer price had also slumped by US$90 per tonne or 3.06 percent to score at US$2,842 per tonne and US$2,847 per tonne. LME aluminium Opening stock was recorded at 577650 tonnes. Live warrants and Cancelled warrants settled at 387725 tonnes and 189925 tonnes. The LME aluminium 3-month Asian Reference Price shrank by 2.41 percent or...
CH Evensen Industriovner (C.H. Evensen) a subsidiary of Vow ASA (Vow) has successfully signed a €1.3 million agreement to drop-ship a preheating furnace for an aluminium manufacturer, which the company is yet to disclose the name. Henrik Wulff, the Managing Director of CH Evensen, said: “We are thrilled to supply one of the world’s leading aluminium producers with a state-of-the-art furnace. As CH Evensen’s technology is energy efficient, our solution is attractive from an environmental point of view. This contract demonstrates our attractiveness within industrial heat treatment.” CH Evensen is experienced in the art of developing, designing and producing industrial furnaces and accessories to be applied in a variable range of heat treatment techniques and implementations. By Q1 of 2023,...
On Tuesday, May 3, a stock rating agency upgraded Aluminum Corporation of China Limited, also known as Chalco, from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating. Earlier, on January 13, the Goldman Sachs Group had rated the stocks of Aluminum Corp. of China “sell” instead of “buy”, while on March 23, HSBC had upgraded the shares rating from a “reduce” to “hold”. Currently, the company has a ratio of 1:08, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Its 50-day moving average price is $14.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.51. Aluminum Co. of China has a twelve month low of $10.58 and a twelve month high of $23.90. It has a market cap of $7.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 9:12 and a beta of 1:59. Recently, hedge funds have also added or reduced their stakes in Chalco. For...
According to a report last week, the ASI Board has revised its Performance and Chain of Custody Standards, supporting Guidance, Assurance Manual, Claims Guide and Glossary as By-Laws. This new version, to be formally launched around 19th May, is the outcome of a first major standard revision process since the launch of the ASI programme in 2017. The revised standards have finally been adopted by ASI after almost three years of Standards Committee and Working Group discussions, a multi-stakeholder development process, two rounds of public consultation and significant redrafting, and legal reviews. In the next 12 months from the launch, entities can choose to audit against the existing or revised standards but post that only 2022 standards will be applicable for ASI Certifications. The new...
Norsk Hydro, the Norwegian headquartered global aluminium producer, posted record quarterly earnings for Q1 on Tuesday, April 3. As per the reports, Hydro's adjusted EBITDA grew from NOK 9,011 million in Q4 to NOK 11,165 million in the first quarter of 2022. Higher all-in metal and alumina pricing, stronger extrusion margins and volumes, and improved energy performance all helped to boost adjusted EBITDA. Higher raw material costs negated some of this improvement. In the first quarter, net income from continuing operations was NOK 6,411 million. Net income from continuing operations includes a net foreign exchange gain of NOK 2,379 million, an unrealized gain of NOK 1,418 million on power and raw material contracts, and an unrealized loss of NOK 4,448 million on LME related contracts, in...
On 2 nd May 2022, the largest producer of primary aluminium in Brazil, Albras Alumínio Brasileiro S.A. (ALBRAS), which has been catering for the domestic and external markets with high purity ingots since 1985 will be procuring power from a new 438-MW solar power plant to supply its smelter in the state of Para, Brazil. The worldwide leader and investor in renewable energy sources Actis Group supported Atlas Renewable Energy in collaboration with Hydro Rein, the renewable energy solutions for more sustainable industries are establishing a joint venture to build the US$320 million (EUR 297million) Boa Sorte solar park in Paracatu, Minas Gerais. The solar plant will comprise over 800,000 bifacial modules. A bifacial solar cell (BSC) is a photovoltaic solar cell that can generate electrical...
On Monday, May 2, a major fire had broken out at an aluminium production factory in Kampung Baru Balakong, Seri Kembangan in Malaysia. The reason behind the fire is still unknown, and no death or injuries were reported. As per the reports, two fire engines were needed to control the raging fire. The second fire engine arrived at the spot at 6:33 pm to assist the current firemen in putting out the raging fire. A total of 12 fire engines were present onsite as the fire was spreading to the nearby industries as well. Residents staying far away have reported sighting thick black smoke rising into the sky as the fire continues to burn. As per the reports, due to the low water current, rescue efforts were becoming difficult. Fire at aluminium plants is not something new. On Wednesday, April 20,...
On Monday, May 2, Vedanta declared that it will outsource 380 MW of green power for an elongated period of time to feed its smelters. When active, this project will minimize the enterprises’ greenhouse emissions by 15, 00,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year. As per the company, 180 MW of this green energy will be for the Jharsuguda aluminium smelter in Odisha and 200 MW for the Bharat Aluminium Company (BALCO) at Korba, in Chhattisgarh. A power delivery agreement between Vedanta Ltd and Special Purpose Vehicles – counterpart of Sterlite Power Technologies Pvt Ltd (SPTPL) will ensure the exchange. Vedanta CEO - aluminium business Rahul Sharma stated, “This 380 MW renewable energy power delivery agreement for our aluminium smelters stands true to our mission of aligning the incentives of...
