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...
Grow with
AL Circle
This week aluminium prices came down from its earlier highs of US$1,990 per tonne to move in the range of US$1,865-1,845 per tonne. Aluminium contract traded on the London Metal Exchange (LME) opened the week at US$1,868 per tonne on Monday, March 6 and then came down to close at US$1,847 per tonne on Thursday (after night trading), March 9. The price fall has been 4.49 per cent from this year's highest of US$1,934 per tonne on March 1. A rise in the US dollar strength put base metal prices under pressure globally. LME official Opening Stock of aluminium was estimated at 2160925 tonnes at the beginning of the week. As on March 9, the stock came down at 2084800 tonnes. LME aluminium premiums remained largely unchanged across major geographical regions in the past week. Only LME Aluminium...
The week has seen a few major happenings in the primary aluminium industry. Hindalco has created stir in Indian market by launching QIP. Hindalco's first share sale through QIP generates 3X demand India's first ever metal industry share sale through qualified institutional placement (QIP) floated by Hindalco Industries generated overwhelming response in the market last week. Institutional investors lapped up the shares which went on to reinforce their confidence in the aluminium major’s manufacturing success. Hindalco Industries Ltd raised US$550 million over the last weekend through the QIP. The QIP- the largest non-bank issue since Indiabulls’s QIP in 2015, saw demand surging more than 3 times and exceeded US$1.5 billion, reported sources aware of the matter. Hindalco had priced the QIP...
A feasibility study for the 10th generation Technology Pilot Section project of Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) is presently being conducted by the SNC-Lavalin. The EGA’s technology team has already finished design and detailed engineering work for this project. The feasibility study focuses on defining the project and validates the budget so that the company can unveil its execution phase of the pilot section. The 10th generation Technology Pilot Section project is located at EGA's Al Taweelah aluminium site in Abu Dhabi, UAE and the study will be carried out at this region. Jose J Suarez, president of mining and metallurgy, said, “We have established a long-lasting relationship with EGA, and we are proud to once again work with them on setting the foundations for another ambitious...
The winter is slowly over and brighter days are ahead. The aluminium industry has experienced some of the brightest days in the month of February till the first week of March. LME aluminium closed at $ 1,934 per ton on March 1 Wednesday, the highest in 2017 till date and 35% higher than the trough seen in late 2015. This is all more a reason to attend the events in the month of March, hunt new business opportunities and reap the benefits of rising aluminium prices. The End-User market is ever growing and expected to drive aluminium demand over the year. Here is a list of the major aluminium events in the month of March that are expected to draw a large number of aluminium players around the world. 1. Window Door Facade Expo 2017 Date: 11 th –13 th March, 2017 Location: Guangzhou, China As...
Aluminium contracts traded on the London Metal Exchange (LME) and major commodity exchanges of Shanghai kept diverging on Thursday. While LME aluminium dropped after rising at US$1,881 per tonne on Wednesday, Shanghai Metal Exchange (SME) benchmark price of aluminium edged higher at US$1,957 per tonne on Friday, March 10. LME aluminium closed at US$1,847 per tonne on Thursday, March 9, down 1.8 per cent from the previous day's close. Shanghai Metals Market (SMM) in its forecast says the contract will find support at the 40-day moving average and trade at US$1,860-1,890 per tonne on Friday. As on March 9, LME official cash buyer price of aluminium stands at US$1,846.50 per tonne, cash seller & settlement price is US$1,847 per tonne, 3M buyer price is US$1,855 per tonne, 3M seller price is...
Airlangga Hartarto, Minister of Industry, has announced that the government will develop a smelting facility in North Kalimantan in Indonesia. Presently, Indonesian government has not utilized the regions alumina and bauxite potentials in Kalimantan. "Mining activities can be done in Papua, Maluku or other East Indonesia regions, but the smelting process will be conducted in North Kalimantan. Its location is strategic for shipping to other continents, such as Australia, Asia, South Africa and America," Airlangga said after attending North Kalimantan Investment Forum 2017 in Jakarta. He further stated that North Kalimantan is included in the 2015-2035 national industry development master plan. The region is also included in the 6,600-megawatt hydropower plant development plan. This power...
India's first ever metal industry share sale through qualified institutional placement (QIP) floated by Hindalco Industries generated overwhelming response in the market last week. Institutional investors lapped up the shares which went on to reinforce their confidence in the aluminium major’s manufacturing success. The QIP- the largest non-bank issue since Indiabulls’s QIP in 2015, saw demand surging more than 3 times and exceeded US$1.5 billion, reported sources aware of the matter. Hindalco had priced the QIP at a premium of 2.7 per cent to the Sebi floor price of INR 184 per share. The Capital Raising Committee of the company at its meeting held on 08th March 2017, inter alia, passed the following resolutions: Approved the closure of the issue period for the QIP on 08th March, 2017;...
Taiwan’s GDP has increased 2.6% year-on-year in Q4 2016, accelerating from the 2.0% increase in Q3, marking the fastest pace of growth since Q2 2015. For the full year 2016, Taiwan’s economic growth was 1.4%, strengthening from the 0.7% expansion in 2015. The government expects GDP to expand 1.9% in 2017. With the growth in GDP, aluminium consumption is increasing at a faster speed. The country ranks second in per capita aluminium consumption with a rate of about 33.3 kg. The island country has seen significant demand growth for aluminium alloy on the island. The country produces about 819,000 tonnes of aluminium domestically in four main categories: Secondary Aluminium Alloy, Casting, Rolling and Extrusion Industries. C.S. Aluminium Corp., which was a subsidiary of China Steel Corp....
As reported by Reuters, three major aluminium producers, South32 Ltd, Rio Tinto Ltd and UC Rusal have offered aluminium premium of $135 per tonne to Japanese buyers for shipments in the April to June quarter. According to sources from the pricing sector, this records a 42% increase from previous quarter. This offer would mark the second quarterly increase continuously. The increase is driven by rise in premiums in the United States and Europe and falling inventories Japan due to solid local demand. Japan is Asia's biggest importer of aluminium and the premiums it agrees to pay each quarter for the delivery of primary metal over the London Metal Exchange (LME) price set the benchmark for the region. The negotiations for the current quarter began last month and are expected to continue...
China's primary aluminium output is clearly on the rise. Despite news in the international media about the Chinese government halting production at many smelters to curb pollution, the first-hand production data collected by Shanghai Metals Market from the country's major aluminium smelters shows aluminium production in February this year has risen from the year ago period by 21.1 per cent to reach 2.838 million tonnes. The cumulative production for the last two months of the current calendar year stands at 5.876 million tonnes, up 21.6 per cent from the corresponding period previous year. The final production data of January shows aluminium production in China totalled 3.038 million tonnes. In March, China is estimated to produce 3.155 million tonnes of the primary metal. Total output of...
The falling LME aluminium found support at US$1,857 per tonne and edged higher reversing its week-long downtrend. The contract closed at US$1,881 per tonne during Wednesday's night trading, rising 1.28 per cent from its previous day's close of US$1,858 per tonne. As Shanghai Metals Market (SMM) finds it LME aluminium will trade at US$1,860-1,886 per tonne on Thursday, March 9, meeting resistance at the 5, 10 and 20-day moving averages. As on March 8, LME official cash buyer price of aluminium stands at US$1,880.50 per tonne, cash seller & settlement price is US$1,881 per tonne, 3M buyer price is US$1,888.50 per tonne, 3M seller price is US$1,889 per tonne, Dec1 buyer price is US$1,933 per tonne, and Dec1 seller price is US$1,938 per tonne. The current LME official Opening Stock of...
India’s leading aluminium producer Hindalco Industries Ltd raised US$550 million over the last weekend through a major stock offering launched on Friday, March 3. The qualified institutional placement (QIP), the country’s first ever metal sector share sale using the vehicle, saw noted foreign investors such as Goldman Sachs AMC, East Spring, Jardine Fleming Asset Management (JFAM), Fidelity, Halbis, Blackrock, and Bajaj Allianz participating in the offering. The offering also bought in to the QIP prominent mutual funds from India, namely HDFC Mutual Fund, Tata Mutual Fund, SBI Mutual Fund, and Birla Mutual Fund. Floor price for the QIP was set at INR 184.45 per share. According to the term sheet of the QIP offer, the money raised will be used for business purposes such as meeting working...
The Minister of Finance, Ghana, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, has expressed the government’s desire to fast-track economic development of the country during the presentation of the 2017 budget statement on Thursday. Mr Ofori-Atta said the government has decided to develop an integrated aluminium industry through six stages. The first stage would be the development of the bauxite mines in Awaso, Nyinahin and Kyebi. The second will be the establishment of an alumina refinery at one of the bauxite sites. The government eyes Kyebi mines because of its closest proximity to Tema, where the Valco smelter is located. The third stage would be the allocation of a dedicated and affordable source of continuous power supply for the smelter. The fourth stage would be to develop a railway connection between the...
The downtrend in LME aluminium prices continued till Monday's trading hours until the contract found support at 40-day moving average of US$1,857 per tonne. The closing price on Tuesday, US$1,858 per tonne, was 0.53 per cent higher than the previous day's closing at US$1,868 per tonne. Reuters predicts LME aluminium will clear a resistance at US$1,880 per tonne and edge higher at US$1,920 per tonne on Wednesday, March 8. According to Shanghai Metals Market (SMM) forecast, LME aluminium will trade at US$1,870-1,895 per tonne on Wednesday. As on March 7, LME official cash buyer price of aluminium stands at US$1,857 per tonne, cash seller & settlement price is US$1,858 per tonne, 3M buyer price is US$1,866 per tonne, 3M seller price is US$1,867 per tonne, Dec1 buyer price is US$1,910 per...
Pferd’s line of ALU/NF Cut carbide burs are said to provide special benefits in aluminium applications. The carbide burs can effectively process material ranging from soft non-ferrous metals, such as aluminium alloys, brass, copper or tin to harder variants, such as titanium, titanium alloys, bronze, and alloys with a high SiC content. The ALU/NF Cut family contains burs in a variety of shapes and dimensions, with shank diameters in 1/8" and ¼" (3 and 6 mm), and bur diameters ranging from 1/8" to 5/8" (3 to 16 mm). The burs are characterized by high stock removal, long tool life and smooth milling performance, the company says. For working on softer aluminium alloys, Pferd offers a version called Hicoat which has an additional coating. Thanks to superior antifriction properties, this...
Europe’s major aluminium market is Germany, which is home to the world’s largest automakers. Germany accounts for about 25% of total aluminium consumption in Europe and the country ranks first in the world with per capita aluminium consumption of 42.1 kg. {newsStudioGallery} Germany is not a leading producer of primary aluminium. The primary smelters produce about 700,000 tons of primary aluminium and the country imports most of its aluminium to feed its domestic downstream industries. Germany imported 2.4 million tonnes of aluminium (alloyed & non-alloyed) in 2015, which increased to total at 2.5 million tonnes in 2016. Based on this statistics, for the first ten months of 2017, the volume is estimated to total at 2.1 million tonnes. The trend shows increasing consumption of aluminium in...
The US dollar Index stabilized following Friday's decline last week. The DXY was modestly higher on Monday, holding near 101.59, an increase of 0.04 per cent from previous day's close. The upside in greenback caused base metals to slip further down the price curve across major bourses of the world. LME aluminium closed at US$1,868 per tonne after night trading on Monday, down 2.14 per cent from last week's closing at US$1,909 per tonne on Friday. As Shanghai Metals Market (SMM) finds it the contract will test support at the 40-day moving average and move at US$1,850-1,885 per tonne on Tuesday, March 7. According to Reuters' analysis, LME aluminium has found a support at US$1,857 per tonne, it is expected to hover above this level or bounce towards a resistance at US$1,920. As on March 6,...
Aluminium prices on London Metal Exchange continued its journey downward after crude oil displayed a mixed undertone for third day on the back of record inventory rise in the US. The contract closed at US$1,909 per tonne after Friday's night trading, down 1.03 per cent from the previous day's closing of US$1,929 per tonne. Shanghai Metals Market (SMM) in its forecast says LME aluminium will trade further lower at US$1,884-1,912 per tonne on Monday, March 6. According to Reuters' morning analysis, LME aluminium will likely test support at US$1,857 per tonne, a break below which could result in a loss to the next support at US$1,833 per tonne. As on March 3, LME official cash buyer price of aluminium stands at US$1,907 per tonne, cash seller & settlement price is US$1,909 per tonne, 3M...
