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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LME aluminium crossed the US$1,900 per tonne mark for the second time this year as the US dollar stayed soft on Friday, March 17. The contract closed at US$1,901 per tonne after night trading, edging higher by 0.31 per cent from its previous close of US$1,895 per tonne on Thursday. As Reuters observes, LME aluminium is neutral in a range of US$1,891-US$1,916 per tonne, and an escape could suggest a direction. Shanghai Metals Market predicts, the contract will hover at highs on Monday, March 20, and will trade at US$1,890-1,943 per tonne. As on March 17, LME official cash buyer price of aluminium stands at US$1,900 per tonne, cash seller & settlement price is US$1,901 per tonne, 3M buyer price is US$1,910.50 per tonne, 3M seller price is US$1,911 per tonne, Dec1 buyer price is US$1,945 per...
LME aluminium had a bumpy ride this week. The lightmetal, finding applications in a wide range of industries- from smartphones to spacecraft, felt the ripple effect that was generated ahead of the Federal Reserve’s meeting on interest rate decisions. LME aluminium opened the week at US$1,880 per tonne range and then came down to close at US$1,851 per tonne on Tuesday, March 14, as the US dollar index rose prior to the Fed’s meeting on Wednesday. The contract gained again after the Fed raised the interest rate and the US dollar index tumbled. Though the analysts say the dollar index is on its way to resuming its uptrend, the base metals are still drawing in strength from its lows. LME aluminium has risen to close at US$1,901 per tonne after Friday’s night trading, up 1 per cent from its...
The Aluminum Association has released a joint letter along with the Aluminium Association of Canada and European Aluminium prior to the upcoming G-20 summit requesting the formation of a Global Forum to address global aluminium overcapacity. At the upcoming G-20 Hamburg Summit in Germany, global leaders will discuss challenges to global economic growth, stability and security, and digitization. A series of discussions and arguments has taken place over the year culminating in the formation of a coalition to fight against over capacity and to facilitate fair competition among global producers. This is the first time that a global coalition of aluminium producers has taken up a step to address global Chinese overcapacity. The content of the letter makes an effort to draw attention to the...
Norsk Hydro has published its annual report for 2016 with detailed information about Hydro's businesses, operational performance, financial performance, viability performance, corporate governance and financial statements. Hydro reported revenue of NOK 81,953 million for the full year 2016, in comparison to NOK 87,694 in 2015. Underlying EBIT decreased to NOK 6,425 million compared with NOK 9,656 million in 2015 primarily due to a decrease in realized alumina prices and all-in metal prices. For the full year 2016, reported earnings before financial items and tax amounted to NOK 7,011 million including net unrealized derivative gains and positive metal effects of NOK 553 million in total. Sapa's performance continued to improve throughout the year, while Rolled Products delivered a weaker...
According to a report of India Ratings and Research, the base metal sector is likely to register a surplus market on account of new capacity ramp-up amid weak demand for the next financial year. In India, the production capacity of aluminium is expected to be more or less double in FY18. An increase in coal prices worldwide had led a positive impact on base metal prices though the consumption of metal has weakened. The report stated that the increase in demand of base metal from the US due to investment in infrastructure projects will not fully offset the shrinkage in demand from China. An instant demand boost is not possible as it takes time in executing the project. China accounts for 45%-50% of the global consumption of base metals such as aluminium, copper and zinc, while the US...
UC RUSAL the leading global aluminium producer from Russia, announces its results for the full year ended 31 December 2016. RUSAL’s revenue for the year ended 31 December 2016 decreased by 8.0% to USD 7,983 million as compared to USD8,680 million for 2015 attributed to the decrease in the average LME aluminium price from USD1,663 per tonne in 2015 to USD1,604 per tonne in 2016 and a 43.4% drop in premiums. However, the LME aluminium price increased by 14.4% YOY to USD1,710 in the fourth quarter of 2016 and this together with the 5.3% growth in aluminium sales volumes resulted in the increase in revenue by 9.2% to USD2,027 million in the last quarter of 2016. Aluminium segment cost per tonne decreased by 4.7% YOY to USD1,344 in the fourth quarter of 2016 due to cost control measures and...
LME aluminium prices have gained further as the US dollar index fell after the Federal Reserve announced on March 15 that it raised its benchmark interest rate. The contract closed at US$1,895 per tonne after Thursday's night trading, up 1.71 per cent from its previous day's close of US$1,863 per tonne. However, the downside momentum in the US dollar index seems to have subsided as it neared a strong support. This could indicate at a near-term fluctuating phase for LME aluminium. As shanghai Metals Market finds it, the contract is likely to fluctuate in the range of US$1,880-1,916 per tonne on Friday, March 17, still higher than its current trading brand. As on March 15, LME official cash buyer price of aluminium stands at US$1,894.50 per tonne, cash seller & settlement price is US$1,895...
Indian Navaratna public sector enterprise National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) is eyeing return to profitability from its Aluminium business towards the end of fiscal year 2018-19 after the commencement of coal production at its captive Utkal D coal block. The starting of coal mining is expected to pull down power cost significantly making aluminium smelting more profitable for the company. Power cost alone accounts for 40 per cent of NALCO's overall aluminium production cost. Despite being one of the world's lowest cost producer of alumina (key electrolytic component for aluminium smelting through Hall-Héroult process), NALCO has always found it difficult to contain its cost of production due to escalating power cost. The aluminium major's CoP for hot metal stands somewhere around...
According to an anonymous media source from Vietnam, Lam Dong Aluminium-Bauxite Complex that has recently published its results has incurred a loss of nearly VND3.7trn ($62m) after three years of operation. An inspection has been carried out at the facility and the conclusion is that it had not been productive and investment costs had increased much higher than estimated. Originally, the investment for the project was VND7.7trn (USD337m) and was expected to be completed in 2009. The complex was expected to produce 600,000 tonnes of alumina per year and increase its output to 1.2 million tonnes by 2015. However, the investment has increased to VND15.4trn (USD805m) and the deadline was pushed further to 2013 and 2014. Since 2014, Vinacomin has completed the main project and started...
Aluminium prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) got a boost from the falling US dollar after Federal Reserve announced interest rate hike at the conclusion of this month’s FOMC meeting on Wednesday, March 15. LME aluminium closed at US$1,863 per tonne after Wednesday's night trading, rising 0.64 per cent from Tuesday's close of US$1,851 per tonne. As per Shanghai Metals Market (SMM) forecast, the contract will trade higher at US$1,876-1,900 per tonne on Thursday, March 16. As on March 15, LME official cash buyer price of aluminium stands at US$1,862 per tonne, cash seller & settlement price is US$1,863 per tonne, 3M buyer price is US$1,875 per tonne, 3M seller price is US$1,875.50 per tonne, Dec1 buyer price is US$1,912 per tonne, and Dec1 seller price is US$1,917 per tonne. The...
According to numbers just released by the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization, Iran delivered over a quarter billion tons of mineral products through the first eleven months of the Iranian year. The country’s overall mineral production for the first eleven months of the year totaled 284 million metric tons. Output for Bahman, the eleventh month of the year, fell by 7% month-on-month, totaling 24.9 million metric tons. Iran’s aluminium sector turned out 269.915 tons of aluminium ingots for the first eleven months of the Solar Hijri year, which was a 1.03% decline over the same period last year. The country’s sector is composed of three major producers: Iran Aluminum Company, Hormozal Aluminum Company, and Almahdi Aluminum Company. The publicly-traded...
After experiencing a bullish run since the beginning of 2017, LME aluminium dropped below the 40-day moving average for the first time, indicating bearish trends. After dropping down to USD 1,882 per tonne on Monday, March 13, LME aluminium closed at $ 1,851 per tonne on Tuesday, March 14 registering 1.6% drop from last closing price. As seen by SMM, LME aluminium is expected to trade at USD 1,840-1,870/mt on Wednesday. As on March 14, LME official cash buyer price of aluminium stands at US$1850 per tonne, cash seller & settlement price is US$ 1851 per tonne, 3M buyer price is US$ 1862 per tonne, 3M seller price is US$ 1862.50 per tonne, Dec1 buyer price is US$ 1902 per tonne, and Dec1 seller price is US$ 1907 per tonne. The current LME official Opening Stock of aluminium is estimated at...
Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), one of the world’s five largest primary aluminium producers, have decided to test the use of a by-product of aluminium smelting in Arkan’s cement plant in Al Ain. The company intends to re-use all its spent pot lining in the UAE. Abdulla Kalban, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of EGA, said: “Many in the aluminium industry see spent pot lining as a problem, but we see it as an economic and environmental opportunity. Using spent pot lining in cement manufacturing is a win-win for both industries and for the country, and contributes to achievement of the economic diversification vision of the UAE.” EGA has utilised more than 37,000 tonnes of pot lining in the UAE cement industry in 2016, more than company’s average annual production. The company...
The Aluminum Association, in cooperation with the Aluminium Association of Canada has reported the total primary aluminium production in North America in February. The combined aluminium production in the U.S. and Canada was at an annual rate of 3,963,809 tonnes during February 2017. This records a slight drop of about 5,095 tpy (-0.1%) from the production rate in January 2017. The production rate in the U.S. was essentially unchanged month on month, while the Canadian rate dropped two-tenths of one %. Compared to a year ago, the North American annual rate was 6.0 % below the February 2017 rate of 4,217,973 tonnes. Actual production for the month of January and February 2017 totalled 641,158 tonnes, 6.8 % from the same period of 2016.
Canada’s primary industry has been an integral part of the North American aluminium industrial value chain since its inception and a substantial part of its annual output is exported to the USA every year. According to the latest report from The Aluminium Association of Canada (AAC), the country produces about 3.2 million tonnes of aluminium in a year. The country remains a net exporter of aluminium. The major aluminium producers in Canada include Alcoa Inc., Aluminerie Alouette Inc. and Rio Tinto Alcan. Canada has been following an almost flat trend for aluminium export in last two years. In the year 2015, export of aluminium stood at about 2.8 million tonnes. The volume is estimated to drop to 2.75 million tonnes in 2016. For the first eleven months of 2017, the aluminium import is...
After a quick rise to USD 1,885 per tonne on Friday March 10, LME aluminium closed slightly lower at $ 1,882 per tonne on Monday March 13. As seen by SMM, LME aluminium will test support at the 5-day moving average on Tuesday and will trade at USD 1,870-1,895/mt. As on March 13, LME official cash buyer price of aluminium stands at US$1881 per tonne, cash seller & settlement price is US$ 1882 per tonne, 3M buyer price is US$ 1894 per tonne, 3M seller price is US$ 1894.50 per tonne, Dec1 buyer price is US$ 1935 per tonne, and Dec1 seller price is US$ 1940 per tonne. The current LME official Opening Stock of aluminium is estimated at 2054425 tonnes, total Live Warrants at 1293100 tonnes, and Cancelled Warrant at 761325 tonnes. As on March 10, LME Aluminium US Premium stands at US$ 215, LME...
Bell Bay Aluminium, located in Tasmania, Australia, has raised concerns over increased and uncompetitive gas prices due to hiked in Australian exports and restrictions on exploration. The company consumes substantial amount of Tasmanian gas. Bell Bay Aluminium smelter produces 190,000 of aluminium per annum. It is owned and operated by Pacific Aluminium, a wholly owned subsidiary of Rio Tinto Alcan. Ray Mostogl, general manager of Bell Bay Aluminium, said, “Current state and federally legislated mechanisms which were intended to create optimum market conditions had been unable to deal with recent distortions in supply and demand due to increased export and restrictions on accessing new supplies.” “As a gas user, BBA is extremely concerned about the potential for inflated and uncompetitive...
After a steady rise to hit US$1,934 per tonne on March 1, on the news of China’s alumina and aluminium capacity cut orders for 28 cities, aluminium started a downward trend as a standard technical correction and with decline in crude oil prices. LME aluminium rallied on last Friday March 10, but met strong resistance at USD 1,900 per tonne. Finally, on a positive move, aluminium closed 2.0% higher at USD1,884.50 per tonne, staging a come back from USD1,847.00 per tonne on Thursday March 10. As seen by SMM the LME aluminium contract will move at USD 1,870-1,895/mt on Monday. As on March 10, LME official cash buyer price of aluminium stands at US$1884 per tonne, cash seller & settlement price is US$ 1884.50 per tonne, 3M buyer price is US$ 1897 per tonne, 3M seller price is US$ 1897.50 per...
