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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Aluminium is currently moving in the range of USD 1,620-1,650 per tonne range. In the first quarter of the current fiscal, aluminium price was average around USD 1,514 per tonne. In the second quarter, it climbed up to USD 1,576 per tonne average during that quarter. Right now in July, last 12 days, average is moving out to USD 1,623 per tonne. So, there is a little forming of the price of London Metal Exchange (LME) during this time. While talking about the current aluminium and alumina price scenario in an recent interview with a leading television channel, TK Chand, CMD of Nalco, said, this price movement is mainly because in second quarter, the consumption of aluminium metal was around 15.39 million tonnes and production was around 14.58 million tonnes, leaving a deficit of 0.8...
Kjetil Ebbesberg, Hydro, yesterday took on the position of Chairman of European Aluminium until the next General Assembly, replacing Pierre Vareille. “Under Pierre’s chairmanship, European Aluminium demonstrated leadership on climate change, trade and innovation to ensure our industry’s long-term future in Europe,” said Gerd Götz, European Aluminium Director General. “In particular, the Sustainability Roadmap launched in 2015 guides our industry’s endeavour to produce and deliver aluminium in a more sustainable manner. In this respect, integrating the recycling division into European Aluminium was the decisive step that completed the full representation of the whole value chain and strengthened our work on the circular economy.” Mr Vareille, CEO of Constellium since 2012, spent two years...
A big consignment of equipment that reached Alcoa Davenport Works recently is expected to enhance the facility's aluminium production, informed John Riches, Spokeman for Alcoa. "These two big parts today are actually coming from South Korea so they came across the Pacific, went through the [Panama Canal], came up to New Orleans on an ocean-going ship, then they off loaded it onto a barge which you see here today," said Riches. It took a barge more than a to get the equipment from the ports of New Orleans up to an unloading spot at Alcoa Works on the shores of the Mississippi. "It's just a huge piece of equipment and again it positions us to provide material competitors can't necessarily provide," said Riches, standing near a huge, slow-moving trailer hauling one of two so-called, 'pull...
Spot aluminium prices on the European market traded slightly lower last week as worries over Brexit and its impact on future demand influenced buyers. Wrote Donald Levit of Economic Calendar: “While there is not expected to be a huge shift in aluminium demand as the U.K. slowly decouples itself from the European Union, a general air of uncertainty is pressuring the sentiment around aluminium demand and prices are responding by dropping slightly.” Levit added that Brexit is not expected to have a sudden impact on demand for aluminium but prices for the metal could fluctuate as the result of currency valuations. Forecasts currently call for a depreciation of the pound, but other factors stemming from Brexit — including slow economic growth and lagging U.K. vehicle sales — could team up to...
Shares of Hindalco and Nalco surged in Tuesday's (July 12) trade after the world's third-largest aluminium producer reported a beat in its Q2 earnings. Alcoa's earnings per share (EPS) grew 66 per cent for the quarter, its second quarterly earnings beat for the year. The aluminium giant has guided for a 6 per cent growth in September quarter. A good earnings show historically reflects well on domestic aluminium giants such as Hindalco and Nalco much like Cognizant does for Indian IT firms. Reacting to the development, Nalco zoomed 13.33 per cent to INR 50.15. Hindalco climbed 4.81 per cent to INR 135.30. The BSE metal index rose 2.87 per cent to 9,116.51.
Falling aluminium stocks in China will allow SHFE 1609 aluminium to stay at highs of RMB 12,500-12,700/mt today. LME aluminium will move at USD 1,645-1,670/mt, with support at the 5-day and 10-day moving averages. In China’s spot aluminium market, spot premiums of RMB 30-70/mt are expected over SHFE 1607 aluminium contract. Market will eye Germany June CPI and US May wholesale today. Germany’s final CPI is expected to rise 0.3% YoY in June, flat with preliminary figure. The IMF warned last Friday that inflation in the euro zone remains tepid and below 2% target set by the ECB. The IMF added that the euro zone is facing growing deflationary pressure from internal and external side. US wholesale in May could help investors judge US retail sales in June and July. If US wholesale falls as...
SMM surveyed 44 Chinese aluminium smelters about their opinions over aluminium price outlook. About 55 per cent of them expect SHFE 1609 aluminium to consolidate at RMB 12,450-12,600/mt and LME aluminium at USD 1,635-1,665/mt, citing two reasons. First, positive US June non-farm employment has reversed weakness since April, which is bad news for investors, given weak Chinese and European economy. Second, while longs are taking the upper hand in SHFE aluminium market, long buying is waning and short momentum is gathering. SHFE 1609 aluminium has found support at moving averages, though. Another 18% expect SHFE 1609 aluminium to hold firm at above RMB 12,600/mt and LME aluminium move at above USD 1,665/mt, citing several positive factors. First, flood has hampered aluminium ingot shipment...
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba) reports higher metal sales in the second quarter 2016 despite the sluggish aluminium market. The total metal sales in the second quarter of 2016 are 239,739 metric tonnes (mt) compared to 232,193 mt in Q2 2015, an increase of 3.2 per cent Year-over-Year. Total production for the same period is 239,126 mt compared to 238,904 mt in the second quarter of 2015. Alba Value-Added Sales reports an average 55 per cent of total shipments in the second quarter compared to 66 per cent for the same period in 2015. Though the total production dropped year over year, the Value Added Sales average of 55 per cent reported a sequential increase from 52 per cent in the first quarter of 2016 and it exceeded 60 per cent in the month of June. “Despite tough underlying market...
Leading aluminium maker Alcoa reported its second quarter 2016 results on July11 2016. The company has separated its upstream and downstream business and the process is going to be complete by H2 2016. The separation seems promising for the company as its Arconic (Value-Add) segments grew year-over-year significantly and Alcoa Corporation (upstream) segment grew sequentially. Highlights: • Reported net income of $135 million and adjusted net income of $213 million excluding special items • Revenue of $5.3 billion, down 10 per cent from the same period of 2015 • 4 per cent rise in revenue from recent growth & acquisitions but offset by a 14 percent revenue decline • Announced sales of non-essential assets expected to generate a cash of $1.2 billion during 2016 • cash on hand $1.9 billion •...
After investing US$7.5 billion in establishing an alumina refinery and an aluminium smelter and associated power facilities in the region, Vedanta Resources plc announced late last week that it is shifting its focus in the state of Odisha. “For us, the Niyamgiri chapter is closed. We are not pursuing it anymore,” said chief executive officer of Vedanta’s aluminium business Abhijit Pati. “We have decided to realign our operations to run on imported bauxite and alumina.” Pati went on to explain that the firm would focus on optimizing costs, adding capacity, and enhancing its value-add component. It is also working to reduce the production cost of aluminium by US$400 per metric ton, down from its current cost of production in Odisha, which is US$1,900 per metric ton. As the company has no...
Big possibility of short squeeze will push SHFE 1609 aluminium up to RMB 16,520-16,700/mt on Monday, June 11. The US dollar gained favor as US non-farm payrolls hit 8-month high in June. But strong dollar will have little impact on LME aluminium. LME aluminium will move at USD 1,650-1,675/mt. In China’s spot aluminium market, spot premiums of RMB 30-70/mt are expected over SHFE 1607 aluminium contract. Key Macroeconomic Indicators for Base Metal Prices Market attention will focus on China Q2 economic data, the Bank of England (BOE)’s July policy meeting, as well as June US non-farm payrolls this week. Base metals saw big volatility in recent two weeks. Market sentiment has turned from expectations for global monetary stimulus following the UK’s decision to leave the EU to concerns over...
Alcoa is expected to report year-over-year declines in second-quarter earnings and revenue when the metals company releases the figures Monday afternoon. The company, whose report unofficially kicks off the second-quarter reporting season, is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.10 per share, down from $0.19 per share in the year-earlier period, according to analysts polled by Capital IQ. The analysts are predicting a drop in revenue as well, to $5.21 billion from $5.90 billion a year earlier. Brokerage RBC Capital Markets, however, has Alcoa’s second-quarter earnings pegged at $0.09, up slightly from the first quarter’s adjusted profit of $0.07 per share due to higher alumina and aluminium prices as well as positive improvements in the downstream business. The firm said it expects...
Chalco reversed losses and reported big profit in H1 2016 when many of its competitors were still struggling with meager profit. So, what’s the secret behind the great success? Aluminium, alumina and refined copper costs fell by 400 yuan/tonne, 2,500 yuan/tonne and 5,200 yuan/tonne, respectively, from a year ago, Chalco general manager Yu Dehui said at the semiannual meeting, the main reason behind profit. Chalco shut down outdated aluminium capacity last year, and efficient capacity from Huaxing Aluminium and Huajin Aluminium, etc., was released. This also helped improve Chalco’s competitiveness. It’s worth noting that Chalco has made great progress in aluminium processing segment. The company signed cooperation agreement with famous automakers over R&D in new materials used in...
Potential buyers have come forward for Rio Tinto Alcan’s Lochaber operations, which have been under threat since January. It was revealed this week that the company is "assessing prospective partners, investors and buyers" for the plant, which employs around 150 people. At the beginning of the year Rio Tinto announced it would be carrying out a strategic review of its assets in the region "in light of the current market prospects and economic environment". The assets include not just the aluminium smelter outside Fort William but also a hydro power station and a huge amount of land. This week a company spokesman said: "The strategic review for Lochaber is progressing well and we continue to work on a range of options. "These include the potential for the smelter continuing as a Rio Tinto...
Issues related to industrial ecology and sustainability are of paramount importance today. With rampant industrial onslaughts on the environment reaching its edge, global aluminium industry has woken up to the situation. Indian aluminium industry, which is poised to play a crucial role in redefining the country’s infrastructure scenario, is too taking the cause of sustainability rather seriously. Domestic aluminium industry players across the value chain i.e. bauxite miners, alumina refiners, aluminium smelters, aluminium extruders and aluminium recyclers are now seeking technology upgrades that would help them lower the levels of industrial effluents that are part of their respective sectoral processes. From adopting advanced red mud valorization procedure, extracting value from fly ash,...
Positive US ADP employment means US non-farm payrolls will not be bad, which will favor the US dollar. This will pile downward pressure on LME aluminium, with prices expected at USD 1,630-1,645/mt. SHFE 1609 aluminium will move at RMB 12,400-12,500/mt. In China’s spot aluminium market, spot premiums of RMB 60-100/mt are expected over SHFE 1607 aluminium contract. On Wednesday’s night trading, SHFE 1609 aluminium rose to RMB 12,625/mt after opening at RMB 12,410/mt, and closed at RMB 12,575/mt. On Thursday, the most active contract sank to RMB 12,390/mt after opening at RMB 12,580/mt due to exit of longs, and finally ended at RMB 12,460/mt. Trading volumes were up 11,108 lots to 279,126 lots, and positions were up 6,526 to 196,612. Key macroeconomic indicators for base metal prices US...
Primary aluminium exports from Brazil advanced 25.6 per cent to 30,681 tonnes in June as compared to 24,435 tonnes in the same month last year, according to latest figures from Brazil’s foreign trade ministry, MDIC. Meanwhile, revenues from primary aluminium exports in June increased only 2.2 per cent year-on-year to $46.9 million, MDIC data showed.
Aluminium supply in south and east China will tighten further as transport has been several affected by days of torrential rains, SMM expects. SMM learned that aluminium ingot shipments from smelters in northwest China, including Qingtongxia Aluminum and Gansu Aluminum, will be delayed by 4-5 days.
