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 is back to where it was a fortnight back plummeting at US$1,717 per tonne on Monday, December 19. The contract slid with rising positions and tested the 60-day moving average. Shanghai Metals Market says, LME aluminium will move at the range of US$1,700-1,720 per tonne on Tuesday, December 20. As on December 19, LME official CASH Buyer price of aluminium stands at US$1716.5 per tonne, CASH Seller & Settlement price is US$1717 per tonne, 3M Buyer price is US$1711 per tonne, and 3M Seller price is US$1712 per tonne. LME official Opening Stock of aluminium is estimated at 2117500 tonnes, total Live Warrants is 1448125 tonnes, and Cancelled Warrant is 664150 tonne. The global metal exchange and LME Clear announced yesterday their 2017 fee schedules, reported Scrap Monster....
The London Metal Exchange (LME) and LME Clear today announced their 2017 fee schedules. Trading and clearing fees will remain unchanged, including the continuation of fee discounts for short-dated carries and position transfer caps as announced in August 2016. In addition, LME Clear will reduce fees for key services introduced in 2015 and the LME will introduce a waiver for the base metals usage licence fee for physical market participants. LME Clear will implement a fee reduction for its warrants as collateral and compression services. “Following discussions with our membership and in line with the recent rebalancing of Exchange fees that took effect on 1 September, LME Clear is pleased to announce this significant reduction in charges for its trade compression and warrants as collateral...
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LME aluminium prices have been falling since last week Tuesday after trading at US$1,762 per tonne last Monday. The contract struggled within the range of $1,730-1,750 per tonne as the US dollar index rose higher. LME aluminium closed at US$1,732 per tonne on Friday, December 15. In China, aluminium traded on Shanghai Futures Exhange, SHFE 1702 aluminium, also hovered around 13,000 yuan per tonne last week. Shanghai Metals Market analysis states, “This week, LME aluminium, to be negatively affected by SHFE aluminium, is expected to $1,700-1,750 per tonne, and price struggles on the SHFE will be intense, with price range between 12,800-13,150 yuan per tonne." LME aluminium will range between US$1,702-1,725 per tonne with negative sentiment on Monday, predicts SMM. The benchmark price of...
Paul Steinhardt of Princeton University and Luca Bindi of the University of Florence have discovered an entirely unique type of naturally-existing material called the quasicrystal in a meteorite found in Khatyrka region of Russia. Quasicrystal consists of an entirely unique atomic structure that combines the symmetrical properties of a crystal and the chaos of an amorphous solid. These crystals aren't just incredible because of how rare they are - their atomic structure of aluminium, copper and iron is so peculiar that their existence was dismissed as "impossible". This is the third quasicrystal found in grains of this particular meteorite so far, which suggests that there might be more out there, and with even stranger structures. "What is encouraging is that we have already found three...
State-run generation utility NTPC and aluminium giant National Aluminium Co. Ltd ( NALCO) entered into an agreement to jointly set up a 2.4 giga watt(GW) power plant and one million tonne aluminium production facility in Odisha’s Dhenkanal district, Gajmara. The total investment estimated at INR 36,000 crore, the companies said in a statement. The proposed power plant comprises of three units of 800 MW each. Nalco chairman and MD Tapan Kumar Chand said construction of the power plants and the aluminium production unit to complete in four years. Power Minister Piyush Goyal informed that the generated power will be taken by the NALCO as a joint venture (JV) partner for the Brownfield expansion of its 5 lakh tonne Aluminium smelter at Angul and the Greenfield project of a 6 lakh tonne...
After China it is the Middle East which is experiencing phenomenal growth in aluminium. Higher energy and labour costs in North America and Europe have caused the production base for aluminium to China and the GCC countries. Bahrain is a small island country which has changed the economy over the years by slowly shifting to aluminium as one of the major economic drivers. Aluminium Bahrain( ALBA) is one of the largest aluminium smelters in the world known for its technological strength and high quality aluminium and solely account for the aluminium production in Bahrain. Alba began operations in 1971 with annual capacity of just 120,000 mtpa as the first aluminium smelter in the Middle East, and the first non-oil industry established in Bahrain. {newsStudioGallery} Bahrain produces about...
European Aluminium welcomes the European Parliament’s intention to improve compensation for indirect carbon costs through a hybrid model in today’s ETS vote. However, we regret the decision to further reduce the maximum national compensation levels allowed, since this will seriously threaten the global competitiveness of sustainable smelters in Europe. Today, the Environment Committee (ENVI) in the European Parliament adopted a compromise text on the Emissions Trading System (ETS). European Aluminium supports the constructive approach by rapporteur MEP Ian Duncan and the creation of a hybrid model to compensate indirect carbon costs across the European Union. This new model aims to move from an unpredictable national-driven compensation system to a more harmonised one. However, we regret...
From its inception in 1979, Emirates Global Aluminium (“EGA”) has been committed to continuous innovation in the aluminium smelting process with the aim of increasing productivity, while simultaneously reducing its operations’ impact on the environment through improved energy-efficiency and reduced emission levels. Substantial investments in ongoing research and development work have yielded advanced, high amperage reduction cell technologies that consume less energy while producing more metal; numerous innovative inventions that have improved productivity, safety, environmental performance and more; and a wealth of technology development experience that spawns new thinking and even enables effective retrofitting of modern technologies. To protect the intellectual property associated with...
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Volatility is setting in across global base metal prices amid cautious market sentiment. LME aluminium after trading at around US$1,752/mt on Wednesday stumbled 0.91 per cent to close at US$1,736/mt on Thursday, December 15. Shanghai Metals Market forecast says, the contract will keep ranging at USD 1,725-1,750/mt on Friday, December 16. As on December 15, the LME Official CASH Buyer Price of aluminium stands at US$1735/mt, CASH Seller & Settlement price is US$1736/mt, 3M Buyer price is US$1728/mt, and 3M Seller price is US$1729/mt. The total LME Official Opening stock of aluminium is estimated at 2092175 tonnes; total Live Warrants is estimated at 1414175 tonnes and Cancelled Warrant is recorded at 675250 tonnes. Global oil market is predicted move into a deficit during H1 2017 with...
Applied Partners, a company that specializes in remediation has agreed to purchase the Century Aluminum plant in Ravenswood for $15 million. The company will house one of its own subsidiaries on the site and make spaces available for other companies too in the total 1,800 acres of redeveloped lands. The planned purchase was submitted to the federal Securities Exchange Commission on Dec. 2 and the process is expected to complete by the end of next March. The company specializes in reclaiming commodity assets and redevelop properties for future reuse and economic renewal. In an interview, Applied Partners President Mark Cenit appreciated the property and its location in West Virginia. Cenit said that once they buy the property, the existing Century plant will be dismantled. The plant closed...
According to the latest series of data released by the International Aluminum Institute, China’s aluminium production in October 2016 increased 1.6 per cent from the corresponding period previous year. This marks the first consecutive year-over-year rise in China's aluminium production. Earlier, aluminium production in the world's biggest market fell YoY for five consecutive months, reports Market Realist. The rising aluminium shipments from China have posed as one of the major challenges faced by the global aluminium industry in 2015. Aluminium majors such as Alcoa and Century Aluminum have held China's ballooning aluminium exports responsible for the lower metal prices. During the earnings calls of the second quarter of 2016, Norsk Hydro and Century Aluminum expressed serious concerns...
LME Aluminium broke through the 5-day moving average as the U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rate in yesterday's meeting. The contract after trading at highs throughout the day closed at US$1,752/mt on Wednesday, marginally down by 0.17 per cent from Tuesday. With the U.S. dollar index advancing to 102, LME aluminium is expected to diverge in tandem with other base metals; but Shanghai Metals Market says the contract will still hover at highs within the range of US$1,725-1,750/mt on Thursday, December 15. As on Decmber 14, the LME Official CASH Buyer Price of aluminium stands at US$1751.5/mt, CASH Seller & Settlement price is US$1752/mt, 3M Buyer price is US$1741/mt, and 3M Seller price is US$1742/mt. The total LME Official Opening stock of aluminium is estimated at 2069975 mt. LME...
There was no immediate threat of "serious injury" to the domestic aluminium industry from the shipments of aluminium products sailing in from China and countries in South East Asia and Middle East, said Directorate General of Safeguard, India, today in its final findings on 'safeguard investigation' concerning imports of 'Unwrought Aluminium (Aluminium not alloyed and Aluminium alloys).' Saying there was no need to impose a safeguard duty on certain aluminium products as sought by the primary producers like Vedanta and Hindalco, DGS rejected their contention outright. The DGS, under the Finance Ministry, said there was data showing import decreasing over the last three years while production and sales of Domestic Industry (DI) have increased. As LME aluminium prices have reversed their...
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As the U.S. Federal Reserve readies to end the year with Interest Rate Hike to be decided in today's policy meeting, markets take guard with wary sentiment. Crude oil prices, on the other hand, have jumped by 4.82%, sitting at US$56.95/bbl. The price rally in the benchmark oil prices got reflected in LME aluminium prices which were up 0.2% at US$1,755/mt on December 13, in a mixed day. However, the market as of now is cautious ahead of the announcement of Fed’s interest rate decision, and Shanghai Metals Market analysts say base metals including aluminium will move weakly in the short term. The contract will test support at the 5 and 20-day moving averages and will move at US$1,730-1,750/mt on Wednesday. As on December 12, CASH Buyer price of aluminium stands at US$1749/mt, CASH Seller &...
National Aluminium Company (Nalco) expects its aluminium output to rise 3.5% by the end of FY 2016/17 in the face of growing domestic consumption and rising prices, as told by NALCO Chairman Tapan Kumar Chand to Reuters. The state owned company will end the fiscal year with an aluminium output of 385,000 tonnes, about 3.8% higher than the 372,000 tonnes it produced in FY2015/16. "Nalco is ramping up this production ... to take advantage of growing consumption in the domestic market, and ... to take volume variance," said NALCO Chairman Tapan Kumar Chand. According to him it was the narrow profit margins that have prompted the company to increase production volumes to boost profits. In order to increase the aluminium capacity, the company is raising its alumina output by 9.1% in FY 2016/17...
As reported in the Aluminium Association highlights in cooperation with the Aluminium Association of Canada, primary aluminum production in North America (U.S. and Canada) was at an annual rate of 3,982,153 tonnes during November 2016. This records a drop of 1,438 tpy from the October 2016 rate of 3,983,591 tonnes. The primary aluminium production rate in the U.S. was up 2.9% month on month, while the production rate in Canada was down slightly. On a YOY comparison, the North American annual rate dropped 11.3% than the November 2015 rate of 4,489,013 tonnes. For the period from January to November 2016, actual primary production totalled 3,689,430 tonnes. This records a 9.9% drop from the same period of 2015.
LME Aluminium met resistance after rising for three consecutive days and closed at US$1,749.50/mt on Monday, December 12. Shanghai Metals Market predicts, the contract will move in the range of US$1,725-1,745/mt on Tuesday. The market is now looking ahead to the possible interest rate hike in Fed’s December end policy meeting. Any effect from possible Fed rate hike will be limited to base metals, unless the rate hike unexpectedly shakes global market, analysts believe. This year, base metals price dynamics mainly hinged on China’s demand and capacity restriction this year. The same will continue through 2017 unless any major cutback in Chinese aluminium smelter is announced. In China, aluminium traded on Shanghai Metal Exchange slipped marginally by 0.61 per cent to open at US$1,932/mt on...
The Manufacturers for Trade Enforcement (MTE), a coalition representing more than one million workers in the aluminum, steel, cement, chemical, textile and other manufacturing industries, today expressed appreciation for the U.S. government’s continued commitment to apply its established criteria for determining whether a county is a non-market economy for purposes of the antidumping law. China has claimed that it should automatically receive market economy status following the 15th anniversary of its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) on December 11, 2016. However, U.S. law requires that the Department of Commerce (DOC) make a market economy status (MES) determination based on a six factor statutory test. The coalition lauded comments by Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker...
