South32 expects the sale of its aluminium value chain assets to Alcoa to be completed in the six months ending June 2027. The proposed transaction covers its aluminium operations and related bauxite and alumina assets in South Africa, Australia and Brazil. The sale follows a binding conditional agreement signed by the two companies, under which Alcoa agreed to acquire the assets for up to USD 5.6 billion . The assets include South32's Hillside Aluminium smelter and the idled Bayside smelter in South Africa, its interests in the Boddington bauxite mine and Worsley alumina refinery in Australia, and the Mineração Rio do Norte bauxite mine and Alumar alumina refinery and aluminium smelter in Brazil. Explore the production, demand and consumption forecasts of bauxite and alumina in our...
LME aluminium cash prices recorded an increase on November 5, 2026, with the cash offer price rising by 0.80 per cent day on day to USD 3,160 per tonne from USD 3,135 per tonne on November 4. On November 5, the LME aluminium cash bid price stood at USD 3,158 per tonne, up by 0.75 per cent from USD 3,134.5 per tonne recorded on November 4. The cash offer price increased by USD 25 per tonne. Similarly, LME aluminium 3-month prices moved higher. The 3-month bid price rose by 0.78 per cent to USD 3,097 per tonne on November 5 from USD 3,073 per tonne on November 4. The 3-month offer price increased by 0.76 per cent to USD 3,097.5 per tonne from USD 3,074 per tonne. For December 27 contracts, the bid price advanced by 0.33 per cent to USD 2,997 per tonne on November 5 from USD 2,987 per tonne...
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According to the National Development & Reform Commission (NDRC), China produced 27.60 million tonnes of ten nonferrous metals in the first half of 2017, up 7.2% year-on-year. The growth increased 7.1% from the same period of last year. China’s aluminium production stood at 16.84 million tonnes in the first half of 2017. The production increased 8.8% year-on-year, and growth was down 1.9% over the same period of last year. Alumina production increased 19.7% year-on-year to 37.22 million tonnes in the first half of 2017, down 1.6% in the same period of last year. Notably, aluminium ingot stocks in five major markets in China: Shanghai, Wuxi, Nanhai, Hangzhou and Gongyi, rose for five weeks in a row to hit a new record high last week. Stocks totalled 1.28 million tonnes as of July 28,...
Power outage was the single biggest cause behind plotline failures that happened in aluminium smelters across the world from 2013 to 2017, an exclusive report by AlCircle reveals. The report titled- Potline Failure in Aluminium Smelters: Observations and Recent Case Studies (2013-2017), is awaiting release shortly. The study looks into major case studies that made headlines in the global primary aluminium sector during the period under review. Aluminium smelting whereby aluminium is extracted from its oxide, alumina, using the Hall-Héroult method, is a continuous process. The potline is kept in production 24/7, which means- a smelter cannot be stopped or restarted at any point of time. The process is essentially an energy dependent one, and any disruption to the power supply may result in...
Audubon Metals LLC, located in Henderson, Kentucky, is ready to expand its Henderson plant with $8.3 million investment. This would lead to the creation of 39 full-time jobs. The expansion will add production capacity to meet the growing market demand. Governor of Kentucky Matt Bevin announced this latest investment on Friday. Bevin said that the expansion also further demonstrates the strength of Kentucky’s aluminium industry. The company will construct 21,000-square-foot addition at its facility to house a fifth reverbatory furnace for aluminium smelting. The project will also include an extension of its ingot-casting line, expansion of its production storage building, and a new warehouse. The company’s ingots are used in the production of automotive parts, lighting and metering...
LME aluminium underperformed compared to other base metals on the last trading day of the week ending July 29. Unable to draw support from a weak US dollar and rising crude oil prices, the light metal fell by 1.61 per cent from its earlier close at US$1,923 per tonne July 27, to US$1,892 per tonne on Friday, July 28. It seems, the effect of the news on supply side reforms is slowly fading from the market; and that is reflected in aluminium prices reversing its uptrend on LME. Reuters’ technical analysis suggests that LME aluminium may retest a support at US$1,909 per tonne. On the higher trend line, there is a ‘pullback’ at US$1,922 per tonne. A break above this level may lead to a gain to US41,938 per tonne. According to Shanghai Metals Market forecast, LME aluminium should range at...
China finally expressed its willingness to participate in a collaborative approach to tackle the problems galore in the aluminium market. Referring to the findings of a probe by the U.S., China Ministry of Commerce called for an un-biased “global” approach to deal with the situation. At a press conference held in Beijing on Thursday, July 27, Ministry of Commerce spokesman Gao Feng claimed that the USTC report had not accused the Chinese government of “sponsoring” the development of aluminium industry in the country. Any suggestion made in regard to that was untrue. The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) published a report in June this year that examines China aluminium market developments from 2011 through 2015. The report said that China government facilitated or rather...
Henan Province has willingly opted to join aluminium production cut during winter season. For this, Henan provincial government has issued a notice in which it announced intention to add Luoyang, Pingdingshan and Sanmenxia into the list of 28 cities winter production cuts in China, SMM reported. Henan province’s decision is likely to affect aluminium production more than it was anticipated. The effect is expected to come in the range of 10-20%. In March this year, China ordered aluminium producers to curtain their production capacity in 28 cities during winter months to tackle air quality in the country's polluted cities. The country ordered to slash production capacity on aluminium by more than 30 percent, according to the order issued by authorities including the Ministry of...
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A00 ingot prices got a boost in all major China markets on the back of aluminium capacity cut news buzzing in the market. It was also fuelled by Rusal’s estimate published yesterday that says winter cuts by Chinese government may result in an annualized production loss of 1.2 million tonnes in China at the end of the year. The average prices for A00 Aluminium Ingot for all major Chinese markets (North, South, North-East and South-West) have registered a leap on July 28. Among the domestic markets, the average price for A00 Aluminium Ingot for North China market has increased to RMB 14,225/t . In the South China market the price increased to RMB 14,290/t. The price gap between the two market increased toRMB 65/t. The price in East China market (Zhejiang) jumped to RMB 14,275/t and for...
Aluminium China 2017 was special for AlCircle. The mega event and indubitably Asia's top trading, sourcing, networking and branding platform for the whole aluminium industry value chain stood witness to AlCircle reaching an important milestone in its journey since 2010. The leading aluminium industry website launched its Chinese version- AlCircle China-focussed on the biggest aluminium producing region and consumer market of the world. When it comes to new-age aluminium industry dynamics, any discussion remains incomplete without the mention of China. The country, home to the largest aluminium producing company and consumer markets, contributes more than 50% of the entire global production and consumption. According to the recent statistics, China consumes about 32.5 million tonnes of...
UC RUSAL the leading global aluminium producer, announces operating results for the second quarter 2017. Aluminium production in Q2 2017 increased 1.2% QoQ to stand at 921 thousand tonnes. Notably, 94% of total aluminium output was contributed by Siberian smelters. Smelters utilization remained on average at a high of 95%. One more working day in the second quarter 2017 helped in the rise in production. Total aluminium sales volume stood at 1,002 thousand tonnes, up 1.7% QoQ. Total value added product sales increased 13.1% to 493 thousand tonnes from 436 thousand tonnes in Q1 2017. The share of sales of VAP in total sales grew to 49.2% in Q2 2017 in comparison with 44.3% in Q1. The strong growth in VAP sales was the result of Rusal’s strategy to increase the share of value added products...
LME aluminium is gaining in momentum. The light metal, as expected, climbed up to US$1,923 per tonne on Thursday, July 27, from its earlier close of US$1,923 per tonne. However, the uptrend is going to slow down in the short term as the metal contract faces strong resistance above US$1,950 per tonne. Reuters’ technical analysis suggests that LME aluminium will stay neutral in the range of US$1,928-1,939 per tonne, and any movement beyond this range could indicate at a direction. According to Shanghai Metals Market forecast, LME aluminium will fall back in the range of US$1,930-US$1,950 per tonne on Friday, July 28. As on July 27, LME official cash buyer aluminium price (Bid Price) stands at US$1,922.50 per tonne, cash seller & settlement aluminium price (Offer price) is US$1,923 per...
Japan's aluminium industry is worried that any U.S. trade action to block imports of the metal may result in surplus supply elsewhere and prompt a chain-reaction of retaliation by other nations, the head of a trade body said on Wednesday. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is determined to curb imports of aluminium, along with steel. In April, it initiated a "Section 232" review of the aluminium industry using a 1962 law that allows the imposition of tariffs or quotas on imports if national security is threatened. Results of the review are still pending, but the move has been widely criticized by diplomats who say it risks retaliation and could undermine global trade if national security becomes an accepted excuse to break international trade rules. "Direct impact to Japan may...
LME aluminium is on a moderate uptrend. With the dollar index hovering near the lowest since June 2016 following the Fed’s decision not to hike interest rate, the light metal is expected to gain in the short term. After night trading on Wednesday, July 26, LME aluminium closed at US$1,912 per tonne, up from the earlier close of US$1,896 per tonne on Tuesday, July 25. Reuters’ technical analysis suggests that LME aluminium may retest a resistance at US$1,962 per tonne. There is a support at US$1,928 per tonne, a break below which could lead to a loss in the range of US$1,903-US$1,917 per tonne. According to Shanghai Metals Market forecast, LME aluminium will rise to US$1,930-US$1,963 per tonne on Thursday, July 27. As on July 26, LME official cash buyer aluminium price (Bid Price) stands...
China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection has hinted that they will launch environmental protection inspections across the regions in China this year, according to news reported by Beijing News and published by Shanghai Metals Market. The government will launch environmental inspections in eight provinces which include Shandong, Sichuan, Zhejiang, Jilin, Xinjiang, Tibet, Hainan and Qinghai. Ministry of Environmental Protection has not yet announced the date. The provincial government has already started preparatory works. They expect the inspection to start in late July or early August. In April 24 this year, China government launched the third round of pollution control inspections in Tianjin, Shanxi, Liaoning, Anhui, Fujian, Hunan and Guizhou provinces, a move feared to strike the...
Vedanta Resources releases production report across all its business for the First Quarter ended 30 June 2017. Aluminium production remains flat quarter on quarter due to previously announced power outage at Jharsuguda-I. The company reports an exit production run-rate of 1.4mtpa. Production ramp up continues at Jharsuguda. * Jharsuguda 1,800MW and Balco 270 MW power plants have been moved from the Power to the Aluminium segment from 1 st April 2016. The alumina production in the Lanjigarh refinery increased 10% YoY to 303,000 tonnes in Q1 FY2018, but drops 3% QoQ. Vedanta reported 352,000 tonnes aluminium production in Q1, up 44% YoY attributed to the ramp ups at the Jharsuguda-II and BALCO-II smelters. This quarter completed the ramp up of BALCO-II smelter and capitalised the same....
The diversified natural resources company with aluminium operations in India, Vedanta Limited reported improved bottomline for Q1 FY 2017-18. The company’s Aluminium business registered strong exit production run rate of 1.4 million tonnes per annum from continued ramp-up. The increased production along with the volumes generated by Zinc, Oil and Gas helped drive Vedanta’s net earnings by more than 50 per cent and EBITDA by 40 per cent year-on-year. The net profit (PAT) and EBITDA for the mining and metals giant stood at INR 1,525 crore and INR 4,965 crore respectively for the quarter ended June 30, 2017. The strong quarterly financials are further highlighted by Vedanta’s revenues, which is up by 27 per cent YoY at INR 18,203 crore and gross debt, which reduced by INR 9,000 crore in the...
Closures of illegal aluminium capacity in China in July is keeping the alumina prices in check as it may add nearly 170,000 tonnes of alumina to spot market per month in the short term. However, prices for prebaked anode, another raw material in aluminium smelting, set to continue rising next month adding to aluminium costs. According to SMM estimate, rise in prebaked anode price will be driven by rising prices of petroleum coke, which would be passed to prebaked anode prices in August. Currently, the raw material prices in China remain flat across all markets as shown in the below figure: Average prebaked anode price in the Northwest China Market remains the highest at RMB 4,200/t. The prebaked anode prices registered an increase in the first week of July. The latest aluminium capacity...
LME aluminium edged higher boosted by the gain in crude oil prices. The light metal, which is still trading below US$1,900 per tonne, closed higher at US$1,896.50 per tonne on Tuesday, July 25, up from its earlier close of US$1,890 per tonne. However, the gain is unlikely to sustain over the long term, as LME aluminium will face a downward correction, observes Shanghai Metals Market. The research and media firm predicts that LME aluminium will move higher at US$1,930-1,950 per tonne on Wednesday, July 26. As on July 25, LME official cash buyer aluminium price (Bid Price) stands at US$1,889.50 per tonne, cash seller & settlement aluminium price (Offer price) is US$1,890 per tonne, 3M Bid Price is US$1,917 per tonne, 3M Offer Price is US$1,917.50 per tonne, Dec1 Bid Price is US$1,958 per...
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C (Alba) presents its financial results for Q2 & H1 2017 with substantial increase in net income. Alba’s top-line and bottom-line performances for Q2 and H1 2017 were primarily driven by higher LME aluminium prices and excellent management performance. The Company reported a total sale of US$ 476.9 million in Q2 2017, up 8% from US$ 441 million for the same period in 2016. Total Sales in H1 2017 stood at US$ 983.3 million, up 15% YoY from US$ 856.8 million in H1 2016. The company’s net income jumped 8.5% to US$ 47.1 million in Q2 2017 from US$ 43.4 million in Q2 2016. Net Income for H1 2017 registered a whopping 111% increase YoY to US$ 115.2 million from US$ 54.5 million for the same period of 2016. In addition, Alba shareholders approved dividend of US$ 78.7...
