Bell Bay Aluminium (BBA), Australia's oldest aluminium smelter, is reviewing its workforce and offering redundancies for a small number of positions, just over a month after receiving an AUD 200 million (USD 137.52 million) government support package aimed at securing the facility's future until at least 2031. Up to 10 roles are understood to have been affected by the review, although the smelter is expected to retain its existing workforce of approximately 550 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees. Some redeployment opportunities will also be available, while the positions identified are not understood to involve frontline services. The changes reportedly include some former participants in Bell Bay Aluminium's graduate programme. Rio Tinto, which operates the smelter near George Town in...
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...
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Aluminium settled down -2.06% at 102.3 as investors squared positions ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday in China. Financial speculators in metal such as hedge funds have been strongly bearish on the market since early November, amid signs of weakening economic growth around the world. The U.S. Department of Labor said nonfarm payrolls increased by 151,000 in January, falling considerably from a downwardly revised 262,000 in December. The sharp declines were blamed in large part to unseasonably warm temperatures over the previous month, which created an unanticipated demand for labor in the construction industry. China imported 4,500 mt of primary aluminum in December 2015, down from 11,700 mt in November, Customs data showed. Some Chinese aluminum processors said orders under tolling...
Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp, which smelts and refines aluminum and mines bauxite, filed for bankruptcy on Monday and joined a growing list of commodity-related businesses in Chapter 11. Over the past year scores of commodity-related businesses have filed for bankruptcy as prices for metals, energy and coal have plummeted amid a slowdown in markets such as China and Brazil. Noranda is putting its profitable flat-rolled products business up for sale to raise cash and is winding down a key smelting plant in New Madrid, Missouri, where production will halt around March, court documents showed. The Franklin, Tennessee-based company, whose competitors include Alcoa Inc and Kaiser Aluminum Corp, said challenging market conditions made business without court protection unsustainable. "This is...
Hindalco Industries Ltd, one of India's leading aluminium producers, will announce its financial results on February 9 for the third quarter ended December 31, 2015. A leading investment research firm forecasts, the company is likely to report a loss of INR 159 crore for Q3 FY16. The firm expects net revenue to decline to INR 8,108 crore at 5.8 per cent y-o-y and 9.2 per cent q-o-q. The EBIDTA margin is expected to go down at 7 per cent, with a y-o-y fall of 3.7 bps. According to the investment research firm, for the non-ferrous space, volumes for most of the players would be higher on a y-o-y basis. Hindalco’s aluminium volumes would be strong on the back of higher output from new capacities.
During the recent visit of the Prime Minister to the Temple City of Bhubaneswar, Shri Tapan Kumar Chand, CMD, NALCO extended him warm welcome on behalf of all the industries in Bhubaneswar and NALCO, the Navratna company, at Raj Bhavan, Bhubaneswar. He also presented a book “Aluminium : The Strategic Metal” authored by him to Prime Minister. The book was earlier released by Central Vigilance Commissioner, Govt. of India, on 6th January, 2016. The book has been reviewed by Dr. Abraham Koshy, Professor, Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmadabad. He has described it as “One Stop Shop” for key information pertaining to the entire value chain of Aluminium making from Bauxite Mining to rolling, casting and high end product making. The book is primarily meant for frontline engineers,...
Government of India has provided relief to the domestic steel manufacturers hit by cheap imports and the global slowdown in commodity price by imposing a minimum import price ranging from $341 to $752 a tonne on 173 steel products. But, the global slowdown has left the aluminium industry still struggling with misearbly thin margins and low production. Addressing banks’ exposure to the steel industry has been given priority over a potential drop in investments in aluminium, pointed a senior Government official. It is to be noted that banks’ exposure to the entire metals sector, which includes aluminium, is around INR1,02,300 crore. Over the next five years, the aluminium industry has planned an investment of INR 1,20,000 crore but this has been put on hold due to existing constraints...
Power utility Eskom will know in a matter of weeks whether its attempt to recover R22.8 billion for cost recovery and revenue adjustments is successful. The National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s (Nersa) hearings on Eskom’s regulatory clearing account (RCA) ended on Friday and the regulator will make a decision on February 25. The RCA application is a cost recovery mechanism that seeks to reconcile the tariffs Nersa awarded Eskom on the basis of a range of forecasts and what materialized, as reflected in the utility’s financial statements. The mining sector, which is a major consumer of power, told the hearings that the application was not affordable in the current economic climate. Major companies and business organizations begged Nersa to reject the application, citing the negative...
Access Bank Plc has filed a petition before a Federal High Court in Lagos against Tower Aluminium Nigeria Plc over an alleged debt of N2.6bn. The bank, in the said petition, is seeking an order of the court appointing the Chief Registrar of the Federal High Court or any insolvency or accounting expert, as the provisional liquidator of Tower Aluminium Nigeria Plc. It prayed the court to empower the said appointed provisional liquidator to take charge of “all identifiable and traceable assets, properties and funds in banks within and outside Nigeria” belonging to Tower Aluminum. It also sought an order restraining the respondent from “transferring or dissipating its assets; and an order restraining it from interfering with or disturbing the provisional liquidator to be appointed.” It also...
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba), a leading aluminium smelter in the world, is pleased to announce the appointment of four new managers in key departments of the Company, which underlines the Company’s belief of promoting from within and cultivating the next generation of leaders. The new managers are: Nezar Hameed Ali as Manager Operation Support Services (OSS); Hussain Al-Malali as Manager Customer Technical Support (CTS); Mohd A. Rahim Zainal as Manager Reduction Line 5 and Khalid Ahmed Shareef as Manager Reduction Maintenance & Services. On announcing the appointment of the new managers, Alba’s Chief Executive Officer, Tim Murray said: “As a priority, Alba always looks to promote from within the company. Alba believes in developing talented nationals by providing them with the...
Although other base metals made new lows in January, aluminium prices held steady. The aluminium MMI fell only one point to 71. What didn’t fare well in January was Alcoa‘s stock price, which fell sharply to its lowest level since March 2009. Lower aluminium prices where the main cause driving the company’s shares down over the past months. In addition, the recent turmoil in stock markets is not helping matters. A combination of both made Alcoa’s stock price to plunge in January. Midwest Premiums Rising domestic premiums help Alcoa to improve its margins. Since September, premiums in US rose from the lows of $0.06 per lb., mainly because of the production cutbacks announced by domestic producers in Q4 2015. However, we haven’t seen falling stockpiles and we’ll probably not see a major...
The US plans to levy petroleum tax, boding well for crude oil prices. The US dollar index took a hit following dovish speech by US Fed official. Risk aversion will prevail on the last trading day before the holiday. LME aluminium is expected to rise to USD 1,520-1,560/mt today. SHFE 1604 aluminium should range RMB 10,750-10,900/mt. In China’s spot aluminium market, spot discounts of RMB 80-50/mt are expected over SHFE 1602 contract.
Aluminium prices edged up 0.44% to INR 103.35 per kg in the futures trading today as participants enlarged positions, supported by strong demand in the spot markets and base metals strengthened overseas. Aluminium for delivery in current month inched up 45 paise, or 0.44%, to INR 103.35 per kg in a business turnover of 141 lots in futures trade at the Multi Commodity Exchange. Likewise, the metal for delivery in March was trading higher 45 paise, or 0.43%, to INR 104.10 per kg in one lot. Marketmen said besides increased domestic demand, strength in base metals pack at the London Metal Exchange as China's central bank sought to support the property market with steps that may spur investment in the country and demand from the construction industry, helped aluminium futures to rise.
SNC-Lavalin has been awarded an engineering services contract by Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) to provide operations support services to EGA’s two aluminium smelters in the United Arab Emirates - namely Emirates Aluminium (EMAL) and Dubai Aluminium (DUBAL). SNC-Lavalin will provide engineering packages and manpower services to DUBAL and engineering and project management services to EMAL Engineering to ensure optimal delivery of a portfolio of projects and operations support. The mandate covers a period of three years, ending in July 2018. The stock is up 4.22% or $1.65 after the news, hitting $40.76 per share. About 233,403 shares traded hands. SNC-Lavalin Group Inc has declined 8.32% since June 29, 2015 and is downtrending. It has underperformed by 1.02% the S&P500. SNC-Lavalin Group...
A former aluminum executive who oversaw China’s biggest mining acquisition was named head of the country’s state-owned assets regulator as Beijing overhauls its bloated industrial sector. Former Aluminum Corp. of China President Xiao Yaqing was appointed chairman and Communist Party deputy secretary of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, according to the agency’s website Wednesday. Xiao replaced Zhang Yi, who remains the party chief of SASAC, which manages non-banking state-owned assets and reports to the State Council, China’s cabinet. Xiao led Aluminum Corp. of China, also known as Chalco, and was chairman of its listed unit until 2009, when he was appointed vice secretary general of the State Council. He managed the aluminum producer’s 2008 joint purchase...
The US government has granted aid to workers at Alcoa's Intalco aluminium smelter in Washington state, after they complained that Chinese dumping threatened their jobs, according to a federal ruling. The US Department of Labour (DOL) granted Trade Adjustment Assistance to the 500 workers at the 279 000 t/y facility, which is slated to suspend production at the end of the second quarter, in a letter signed late last week and published on Tuesday. The programme provides payments and job training to workers who lose their jobs because of competition from abroad. The ruling in favor of the Alcoa workers could serve as evidence in a potential trade case as tensions with China's aluminum industry build. The approval also comes as low aluminum prices have forced U.S. smelters to stop or slow...
Crude oil production cuts will continue cheering commodities market up. Expectations for US rate hike will weaken on poor US economic data. The ECB is expected to maintain loose monetary policy. LME aluminium is expected to rise to USD 1,510-1,540/mt on Thursday. SHFE 1604 aluminium should follow LME aluminium up to RMB 10,700-10,820/mt. In China’s spot aluminium market, spot discounts of RMB 80-50/mt are expected over SHFE 1602 contract.
In view of the slump in the world aluminium market, the National Aluminium Company (Nalco) has developed an all-weather business model to maintain profitability. "Given the tough going in the market, Nalco, a leading foreign exchange earner for the country amongst the central public sector enterprises (CPSEs), has developed a new corporate plan with a new business model that will withstand market onslaughts and keep the company afloat with profitability. The new business model shall insulate Nalco from the vagaries of market," said Tapan Kumar Chand, chairman and managing director, Nalco. The new model is based on reducing the cost of making aluminium making and increasing the volume of production through modernization and brownfield expansion and upstream and downstream integration....
Bell Bay Aluminium, one of Tasmania's largest electricity users, has struck a deal with Hydro Tasmania to use 10 per cent less electricity for up to five months to ease pressure on the state's dams. Water storages have dipped below 19 per cent due to record dry conditions and a prolonged BassLink undersea cable outage. The combination of events has culminated into a pressure build-up on the state's power supply. The company said the plant's decision to reduce power consumption is unlikely to affect its permanent employees; however, there are chances that some contractors might lose their work.
Japan's demand for imported aluminium plummeted to a six-year low in 2015 weighed upon by record-high stocks in the domestic market. The country imported 1.46 million tonnes of primary aluminum in 2015, down 14 per cent from corresponding period previous year, showed data from Japan's Ministry of Finance. The figure is the lowest since 2009. Aluminium imports have been declining since mid-2015 as inventory has been building up at Japan’s three major ports. The stock volume reached its peak in May 2015. Falling aluminium imports allowed the port stocks in Japan to fall to 393,600 tonnes at the end of December 2015. However, the figure was still higher than annual average 250,000 tonnes reported during 2011-2014.
