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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Following the election of President-Elect Donald Trump, Aluminum Association President & CEO Heidi Brock joined National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) President and CEO Jay Timmons and more than 1,100 other manufacturing and business leaders from across the United States in pledging to help bring the country back together after a divisive election. “We congratulate President-Elect Trump on his historic victory,” said Brock. “The Aluminum Association looks forward to working with the new Administration – and the new Congress – on key policy priorities for the industry including global trade, upgrading our nation’s infrastructure, energy and environmental regulations.” The letter to President-Elect Trump also expressed an urgent need to communicate and work productively with the new...
As market recovered from the knee-jerk reaction of the US presidential elections, LME aluminium prices showed some relaxation and came down marginally to trade at US$1,736/mt on Thursday, November 10. But, analysts believe the dip in the lightmetal prices is not going to continue, and they will soon join the league of other base metals which remained strong overnight and are expected to consolidate at highs today. The LME Cash Buyer price of the contract currently stands at US$1772.00/mt. According to an SMM forecast, LME aluminium is expected to move between US$1,760-1,785/mt on Friday, November 11. “Bullish sentiment remains in base metal market, so price gains are expected to be continuing, and price divergence is also expected to be big,” SMM says. LME official opening stock of...
Some Japanese buyers are showing interest in aluminium for loading in the first quarter of 2017, but a spot offer for December-loading cargo has failed to attract interest, market sources said Monday. Platts CIF Japan spot premium for P1020/P1020A aluminium ingot was assessed at $65-$70/mt plus London Metal Exchange cash CIF Japan Monday, unchanged since October 4, due to a lack of buying interest for December cargoes. Platts assessment is for spot cargo for loading in the following month of transaction. December cargoes are not attracting buyers due to a tight spread of less than $5/mt between LME cash and December contracts, a Japanese trader said. A producer said he has offered $67.37/mt plus LME cash CIF Japan for December loading, but has been unable to find buyers. A second Japanese...
Shares of Century Aluminum, a loss making producer of standard-grade, high-purity and value-added primary aluminium products in the U.S., are trading 12% higher on Wednesday bringing a sigh of relief to the investors. As a continuation of the downturn of US primary industry, Century reported a net loss of $58.3 million in Q3 against $9.5 million in Q2. Results were negatively impacted by factors like the closure of the Ravenswood facility and market inventory adjustment. On a YOY comparison too, Century reported a net loss of $56.1 million partially caused by factors like smelter closure, market inventory adjustments, labour disruption and other cost cutting measures. Century’s improved performance in the market is attributed to a number of factors. Firstly, there's a sense of optimism in...
A second round of environmental inspections put China’s aluminium capacity in the state’s crosshairs yet again, resurrecting fears that punitive capacity shutdowns may be in the offing. Xinhua reported earlier this week that the Ministry of Environmental Protection of China initiated a new round of inspections in October, sending out ten teams of inspectors to evaluate the progress of clean-up operations and the administration of environmental laws in twenty provinces. The targeted provinces include the homes of China’s aluminium industry – Shangdong, Guangdong, Hunan, and Jiangxi. The inspections are to focus upon plants that are less than two years old (specifically plants that were built before January 1, 2015) and that previously passed environmental inspection. Environmental...
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LME aluminium prices have staged a reversal and how. With Donald Trump winning the US Presidential elections yesterday, the market saw an uptick in trading and light metal used in cans to aircrafts soared significantly to close at US$ 1,737.50/mt. The trend is expected to continue in the short term as analysts predict a drop in the US dollar index. This will drive LME aluminium up on Thursday, November 10, when it will likely move in the range of US$1,740-1,770/mt, said SMM in an early morning forecast. However, markets are suggested to keep wary on a technical decline. In China, aluminium traded on Shanghai Metal Exchange, closed at US$2,174/mt after Wednesday’s night trading. The contract opened at US$2,234/mt on Thursday, November 10, rising 2.75 per cent on the bourse. SHFE 1701...
The European Commission published the long -awaited proposal on China’s so-called market economy status (MES) on Wednesday, November 9. The Commission has in fact, proposed a new non-standard methodology, which will bring about crucial changes to the EU’s anti-dumping legislation. According to the new methodology no market would be classified as market economies or non-market economies. This would indirectly grant MES to China as it comes on the same platform with any other economy. Expressing his concern over the proposal, Gerd Götz, Director General of European Aluminium, said,“Today the European Commission announced a completely new paradigm for EU trade. The question of market economy or non-market economy could virtually disappear overnight. A change of this magnitude creates...
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LME aluminium prices are tracing a downward slope again. Unlike other base metals which are trending up almost in unison, the lightmetal traded on LME closed at US$1,706/mt after night trading on Tuesday, November 8. The contract was traded at US$1,716/mt a day earlier on the Exchange. At the recently ended ‘LME Week - annual shindig of the industrial metals markets,’ Jorge Vasquez, founder of Harbor Aluminum said, aluminium as a commodity will suffer from a rising glut, record-high stocks, especially in China's key markets, and the increasing forced release of those stocks as financing metrics become strained. Looking at the screen this morning, it seems the observation was not incorrect. LME Aluminium US Premium is still higher at US$150 whereas West-Europe Premium and East-Asia Premium...
LME aluminium prices continue to rise, though at a moderate rate, as active investors watch perplexed as to what is driving the rise because, there are many macroeconomic factors, especially US presidential elections, which are actually expected to keep the market subdued. However, supply shortage in the Chinese market where overcapacity remains an issue is driving the global aluminium prices up, observe analysts. LME aluminium closed at US$1716 /mt after Monday's night trading. LME Aluminium is expected to strengthen throughout the week, according to an SMM forecast. On the premiums side, the US midwest delivery premiums are higher than European or Japanese — accurately reflecting the relative tightness of those three market regions to each other, they are still near the historic norms....
Higher coal prices in China threaten primary aluminium smelters by shrinking margins. But higher coal prices do not affect all smelters equally. More than half of China’s output of aluminium is sensitive to coal price increases. The balance is either immune or the impact will be delayed until 2017. One-third of China’s aluminium smelters buy power directly from the grid, while the rest operate with captive power plants. Of those operating with dedicated power plants, around a quarter have access to their own coal mines so are not directly affected by coal price movements. It is the captive power plants that purchase coal which are directly impacted by changes in the coal price – albeit a varied impact depending on the province and, importantly, the technology. On average, for every RMB100...
LME aluminium prices are on the rise. After having taken a U-turn from last week’s temporary dip, the light metal is now again on an upward trajectory buoyed by growing stockpile in the Chinese market and concern hovering over an available supply shortage. After Friday’s night trading, the contract traded on LME closed at US$1,718.50/mt. On Monday, November 7, LME aluminium is expected to drop below the 5-day moving average to US$1,705-1,725/mt, said SMM in an early morning forecast. “Aluminium supply has increased this year as rising aluminium prices triggered release of new capacity and restarts of idled capacity. However, as we recently pointed out, there are other factors pushing aluminium prices up,” noted MetalMiner analyst Raul de Frutos. Those factors include rising energy costs...
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba), the Bahrain-based international aluminium smelter, as part of its commitment to be cost-and-energy efficient, kick-started an upgrade Project aimed to increase the amperage of Reduction Lines 4 & 5 in September 2016. The Project - new pot lining design and installation that will allow the increase in amperage on Reduction Lines 4 & 5 - will empower Alba to be aligned with its industry peers (aluminium smelters) in terms of amperage and productivity. Alba’s Chief Executive Officer, Tim Murray with acting Chief Operations Officer, Amin Sultan inaugurated the Project in the presence of Director Reduction Lines & Services Abdulla Habib and Department Managers. Speaking on this occasion, Alba’s CEO Tim Murray stated: “At Alba, operational efficiency is an...
IBAAS 2016, the fifth annual conference of the International Bauxite Alumina & Aluminium Society, was organized jointly with the Indian Institute of Metals, during September 26- 28, 2016, at Goa, India. The topic for the symposium was ’Aluminium Industry - The Evolving Asia-Pacific story’. The conference was inaugurated by Mr. Balvinder Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Mines, Government of India. The conference was also graced by Guests of Honor Dr. T K Chand, CMD, NALCO and Dr I. Manna, President of The Indian Institute of Metals (IIM) and Director IIT Kanpur. Other important dignitaries from India included Mr. Abhijit Pati, CEO, Vedanta, Dr. Biswajit Basu, Deputy Head Aditya Birla Science & Technology Co. Pvt. Ltd. (the research & technology arm of Aditya Birla) & Vice President, IIM...
As a step towards sustainability the International Aluminium Institute (IAI), the global association of aluminium producers, and the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI), an organisation with the mission to promote responsible production and stewardship of aluminium, signed a memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to work together in order to promote improved performance for the global aluminium industry, higher production standard, recycling and sustainability. Both the organizations have been working towards the achievement of these goals in their individual sphere. The five-year MoU was signed by ASI Chief Executive Officer, Fiona Solomon, and IAI Secretary General, Ron Knapp. Both the organizations will work together to share measurement, reporting and verification frameworks and...
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Despite uncertainty persisting among traders ahead of the US elections next week, base metals mostly rose overnight supported by multiple macroeconomic factors, barring a few on global commodity exchanges. LME aluminium broke through the US$1,700/mt limit to close at US$1,726/mt after Thursday’s night trading. The reversal from the dip aluminium recorded a day before on Wednesday, November 2, at US$1,709/mt can be attribute in part to a rise in energy prices, say experts. During the aluminium price rally reported a week earlier, analysts said rising thermal power and alumina costs in most countries, especially in China, and a significant uptick in demand for the metal used in beverage cans as well as aircrafts were the key supporting factors. The quick reversal from the temporary dip...
India's state-owned aluminium producer National Aluminium Company (Nalco), in all likelihood, is planning to hold back its greenfield aluminium smelter plan in Iran. The Navaratna PSU had planned to come up with a 0.5 million tonne per annum (mtpa) aluminium smelting facility in the West Asian country to cash in on the easy availability of cheaper natural gas there, but the current market conditions do not seem to favour the project. "Currently, the market conditions do not favour us to set up an aluminium smelter in Iran. A new overseas smelter needs substantial investment and we would evaluate all factors before going ahead with the plan. Nalco has domestic commitments as of now and we are going for a ramp-up of our existing smelting unit at Angul (Odisha)," said a senior executive from...
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LME aluminium dipped during morning trading on Wednesday, November 2 as profit-taking weighed on the prices marking a hiatus after the recent rally. The US dollar index kept easing on Wednesday as uncertainty persisted over the US presidential elections next week. The investors are feeling jittery and increasingly moving towards safe-haven assets. The three-month LME aluminium price was down by $26 from $1,732 per tonne to stand at $1,709 per tonne. LME official opening stocks, which were at 2,141,300 tonnes, fell 3,950 tonnes to 2,137,350 tonnes. Cancelled warrants, however, jumped 764775 tonnes, a move especially centred on Asia. According to Shanghai Metals Market forecast, LME aluminium is expected to move between $1,710-1,730 per tonne on Thursday, November 3. In China, SHFE...
Soon after reporting a net loss of $58.3 million ($0.67 per share) in Q3 2016 against $9.5 million ($0.11 per share) in Q2 2016, Century Aluminium is now awaiting a possible change of ownership, reported an industry source aware of the matter. Speculations are running rife that the aluminium company that once employed more than 600 people in Ravenswood, West Virginia, is on the verge of gaining new ownership. But it is likely that the plant will no longer make aluminium; instead it will get a new life as a coal liquefaction facility. According to the source, executive director of the Jackson County Development Authority, Mark Whitley has confirmed that there is one interested buyer who has neared the conclusion of a deal with the Chicago based aluminium producer. “There is one particular...
