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
A mountain of aluminium that upset beer makers and drew the attention of the U.S. Senate is no more. Inventories held in London Metal Exchange-tracked warehouses in Detroit, where most U.S. metal is stored, were as large as 1.6 million metric tons two years ago. Now they’re a fraction of that amount and equal to just two weeks’ worth of U.S. demand. The drawdown has helped cut global stockpiles monitored by the LME to a seven-year low. As the pile is disappearing, so are the lengthy waits to withdraw metal. The backlogs boosted premiums that buyers usually pay to secure supplies. The inflated costs drew scrutiny from lawmakers amid complaints from consumers including MillerCoors LLC, a user of aluminium in drink cans. In response, the LME strengthened its oversight of more than 600...
For those who are still bullish over aluminium prices, buyers need to watch out that the wind might begin to change direction soon for the light metal, which has proved to be the bright spot among base metals over the past few months, Shanghai Metals Market warns. SHFE 1607 aluminium, the most active one, tumbled again after briefly touching 12,500 yuan per tonne. The contract ended down 1.83 per cent at 12,060 yuan per tonne on May 25. It appears weird that steadily falling aluminium stocks, limited output supply, and expanding premiums in domestic spot market, should have given boost to aluminium prices. Then, what caused the recent tumble? SMM learns that some Chinese aluminium smelters will resume production in June, sparking fear that more smelters will follow suit. Meanwhile,...
To facilitate the induction of modern mining technology and equipment, India’s Coal Ministry is looking at merging underground mines in the same geographies and moving away from a trend of converting underground mines to opencast ones. An official in Coal India Limited’s (CIL’s) technical consultancy arm, Central Mine Planning and Design Institute Limited, said that one of the biggest impediments to modernising underground mines was that the country did not have large areas of contiguous underground coal deposits, which made it difficult to deploy longwall mining technology. Longwall mining methods were introduced through ambitious projects in the 1970s and 80s, but failed to achieve the desired results, owing to the fragmented nature of underground coal deposits. The official said that...
SHFE 1607 aluminium will test support at the 60-day moving average and will move at RMB 11,900-12,050/mt today, SMM observed in an early morning forecast. LME aluminium will move at lows of USD 1,540-1,560/mt, despite crude oil breaking through USD 50/bbl. In China’s spot aluminium market, spot premiums of RMB 90-130/mt are expected over SHFE 1606 aluminium contract. Key macroeconomic indicators for base metal prices US durable orders and pending home sales in April will be announced today. Base metals are expected to follow their own trends today. US April pending home sales are expected to fall sharply from March. US home prices climbed recently, though, while housing starts and construction permits in April both increased. New and existing home sales were also upbeat in April, meaning...
LME aluminium will move at highs of USD 1,550-1,570/mt today, with support at the 5-day and 10-day moving averages, observed SMM in an early morning forecast. SHFE 1607 aluminium will test support at the 40-day moving average and will move at RMB 12,170-12,330/mt due to a lack of market confidence. In China’s spot aluminium market, spot premiums of RMB 10-50/mt are expected over SHFE 1606 aluminium contract. Key macroeconomic indicators for base metal prices US crude oil inventories and IFO economic climate index for Germany in May will be announced today. Base metals are expected to strengthen with crude oil today, but a few metals will remain weak. German ZEW Current Conditions in May released yesterday was weak, which is expected to have resulted from the risk of UK exit from the EU....
Aluminium price, though inched higher, is yet to get its sheen back due to a stronger dollar and higher Fed rates. Higher US rates could mean a stronger US dollar, which has a negative effect on commodities demand because it makes them more expensive for buyers paying with other currencies. A Fed official on Monday said US interest rates being kept too low for too long could cause financial instability -- the latest in a line of policymakers hinting that a June rate increase is on the table. "The market is now pricing in a significant possibility of a rate hike next month, depending on data," said Peter Fertig, a consultant at Quantitative Commodity Research. "The China situation isn't as dire as markets think, but the strength we saw in March is unlikely to continue." Latest China data...
The CME Group is talking to several warehouse companies to expand its metal storage network globally, three metal industry sources told Reuters, a move that could further challenge the London Metal Exchange's (LME) dominance. In recent years the CME, the world's largest futures market operator, has been steadily building its storage network - partly as a result of controversy surrounding the LME warehouse system. The U.S. exchange has been negotiating with firms about joining its list of approved warehouses to hold metals such as copper, aluminum, zinc and lead, which on the CME are physically deliverable. "The CME is keen on growing its warehousing system, they want more locations," one source said. "They want to get more companies involved around the world, in Asia, the United States...
The economics of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter continue to slide despite last week's announcement that it will be the largest single beneficiary of proposed national grid payment reforms, says Woodward Partners energy analyst John Kidd. RioTinto-controlled New Zealand Aluminium Smelters was likely to try and plump up its approximately $21 million of savings on grid costs by applying for relief under the proposed "prudent discount policy" that could be applied to heavy industrial users pleading financial hardship. "As it showed in 2013, Rio Tinto has a strong track record of doing exactly that," said Kidd, referring to NZAS's success in negotiating a lower power price with its primary supplier, Meridian Energy, ahead of the generator-retailer's partial privatisation. NZAS operates New...
The 21st CRU World Aluminium Conference 2016 took place between May 9-11 in Shanghai, China. As the setting was the Middle Kingdom, many of the speakers’ presentations were oriented to the subject. CRU’s Michael Insulán delivered a presentation on the changing face of aluminium and bauxite supply both in China and worldwide. He touched upon various sourcing related issues that have grappled China ever since Indonesia and then Malaysia put ban on their bauxite exports, and how Australia and to some extent India have tried to leverage upon the gap in supply of the ore in Chinese market. Insulán went on to describe the bauxite moratorium in detail. According to Insulán, post-moratorium mining in Malaysia should total 1 million to 1.5 million metric tons per month. If local authorities fail...
The US dollar index will hover near current levels while market is waiting for US economic data and speech by Fed Chair Yellen. LME aluminium will trade at USD 1,540-1,560/mt on Tuesday. SHFE 1607 aluminium has found support and will move at RMB 12,250-12,350/mt. In China’s spot aluminium market, spot premiums of RMB 0-40/mt are expected over SHFE 1606 aluminium contract.
About 60 per cent of them see SHFE 1607 aluminium stabilizing at RMB 12,250-12,500/mt and LME aluminium consolidating at USD 1,530-1,550/mt. On the technical side, the 10-day moving average will offer support, while the 20-day moving average will pose resistance. Investors are rolling positions to SHFE 1608 aluminium contracts, which will reduce price volatility on SHFE 1607 aluminium. Besides, stable alumina prices will also give aluminium prices no reason to rise or fall Another 25 per cent are bearish that SHFE 1607 aluminium will fall below the 10-day moving average and LME aluminium will fall below USD 1,530/mt. First, panic ruled the market after ferrous metals prices hit daily downside limit on Monday. Second, downstream consumption has softened in Wuxi after entering May. Some...
Aluminium prices weakened by 0.10 per cent to INR 104 per kg in futures trading today as participants trimmed positions, driven by subdued demand from consuming industries in the spot market . At Multi Commodity Exchange, aluminium for delivery in May month shed 10 paise, or 0.10 per cent to INR 104 per kg in business turnover of 217 lots. Likewise, the metal for delivery in June contracts eased by 5 paise, or 0.05 per cent to INR 104.85 per kg in 6 lots. Analysts said offloading of positions by traders due to tepid demand from consuming industries in the spot market mainly influenced aluminium prices at futures trade.
State-owned major, National Aluminium Company Limited (Nalco) and Iranian Mines & Mining Industries Development Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to jointly explore the possibility of setting up an aluminium smelter in Iran. The signing of the MoU coincides with the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Iran. The smelter- cum-gas based power plant, is slated to be part of a joint venture aluminium company to be set up by Nalco in that country. It will utilize supply of alumina from Nalco's refinery in India. The MoU also envisages tolling arrangement with existing smelters in Iran for producing aluminium from alumina supplied by Nalco and also proposes to look into other businesses. "We look forward to using the low-cost gas-based energy...
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba), a leading aluminium smelter in the world, is pleased to announce the recent appointment of two new managers in key departments of the company - Mohamed Khalil Saeed as Manager Safety, Health and Environment (SHE) and Eskander Abdul Nabi as Manager Power Operations and Utilities. On announcing the appointment of the new managers, Alba’s Chief Executive Officer, Tim Murray said: “At Alba, we firmly believe in the philosophy of developing and promoting employees from within the company. Both Mohamed and Eskander are great examples of this philosophy with both of them starting as operators and now reaching the level of Manager. With their diverse backgrounds and MBA training, I am sure they will add to the strength of the team and deliver strong results."...
London-listed Vedanta Resources has firmed up plans to hike production of both aluminium and alumina in the country during the current fiscal. While the overall aluminium output from its smelters at Jharsuguda and Balco's smelting unit at Korba is expected to move up 60 per cent, production at Lanjigarh refinery would be ramped up from one million tonne (mt) to 1.5 mt, an increase of 50 per cent. The company's aluminium production this fiscal is pegged at 1.5 mt, up from 0.93 mt in 2015-16. "The combined aluminium production in this fiscal from our smelters at Jharsuguda and Korba would be 1.5 mt. While Jharsuguda would contribute 0.9-1 mt, the rest of the production would come from Korba. We have already initiated capacity ramp up of our Balco smelter at Korba and the second aluminium...
The price of aluminium has stabilised since the beginning of 2016. At $1,545 per tonne, the price now is around 3 per cent higher compared to end-December. The increase in price can be attributed to a drop in global aluminium supply from 4.78 million tonnes (mt) towards the end of December 2015 to 4.19 mt in end-February 2016. Nearly 78 per cent of this drop came on the back of reduced supply from China, from 2.53 mt at the end of December 2015 to 2.07 mt at the end of February 2016. According to China’s non-ferrous metals industry association, since December 2015, close to 4.27 mt of smelting capacity has been closed. Last year, global uncertainties and doubts over China’s investment-led growth saw aluminium prices tumble. Aluminium dropped more than 23 per cent, from $1,960 per tonne in...
As part of its commitment to help shape the future of the global aluminium sector, Emirates Global Aluminium ("EGA") will host the 20th Arab International Aluminium Conference ("ARABAL") at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai, UAE, from 22 to 24 November 2016. EGA, through its core operating assets Dubai Aluminium ("DUBAL", also known as Jebel Ali Operations) and Emirates Aluminium ("EMAL", also known as Al Taweelah Operations), has been involved in ARABAL since its inauguration in 1983; and 2016 marks the sixth time that EGA will host the event. More than 2,000 local, regional and international delegates, speakers, sponsors and exhibitors and visitors are expected to attend the Middle East's premium aluminium industry gathering. Combining a strategic conference with an international exhibition,...
LME aluminium will struggle around the 5-day and 10-day moving averages and trade in a tight range of USD 1,540-1,560/mt on Monday. SHFE 1607 aluminium will find support at the 5-day and 20-day moving averages and move at RMB 12,350-12,550/mt. In China’s spot aluminium market, spot premiums of RMB 0-40/mt are expected over SHFE 1606 aluminium contract. Key macroeconomic indicators for base metal prices Major economic indicators due for release this week include May manufacturing PMIs in the Europe and the US, revised Q1 growth in Germany, UK and the US and profit at China’s large industrials in April. The G7 meeting held last week will also remain the focus of markets. Investors hope developed countries will maintain easy monetary policy. Manufacturing PMIs in Europe and US have been...
