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 -1.49% at 98.85 tracking weakness from LME aluminium which ended down 2.2 percent at $1,473, having hit a month low earlier at $1,464 despite news that Malaysia is pushing to suspend bauxite mining due to concerns about its impact on the environment, threatening to interrupt supply of the aluminium-making ingredient to China. Earlier lastweek aluminium gained after two separate indicators of manufacturing in China showed factory activity in contracted again, pointing to faltering demand. The downturn came after China's official purchasing managers index stayed in contraction for the fifth straight month in December according to Friday's data, while a separate private index of manufacturing out Monday also showed a decline, posting a weaker-than expected level of...
Glencore converted some of its preferred shares in mid-sized US aluminium producer Century Aluminum into common stock worth about $200 000 at the end of 2015, boosting its stake slightly, a filing showed on Tuesday. The Swiss trader and miner, which was already Century's largest shareholder, converted 456.38 convertible preferred shares into just over 45 000 common shares, taking its overall stake to 37.35-million common shares. The raises its stake to about 42.97%, up slightly from 42.91%. Century's shares have plunged by about 85%, to around $4.30, over the past year as a global aluminium surplus and concerns about slowing economic growth in China, the world's top producer and consumer, have curtailed metal prices. Aluminium prices have lost about a quarter of their value since May last...
Warehouse firm Metro International Trade Services, at the heart of a controversy surrounding queues to get metal released from storage is planning to charge the highest rents for aluminum stocks in warehouses approved by the London Metal Exchange. Data from the LME last week showed Metro is planning rent rises of more than 30 percent for the 12 months starting on April 1 at its warehouses in the United States, Italy, South Korea and Malaysia. Metro's charges for aluminum jump to 72 U.S. cents per tonne per day compared with 54 cents now. The average of all warehouse rents for aluminum from April will be near 50 cents. The company, now owned by investment firm Reuben Brothers, was one of the first to create long wait times for aluminum at its storage facilities in Detroit more than five...
Japan's aluminium premiums for January-March shipments were set at $110 per tonne, up 22 percent from the previous quarter, on higher overseas rates, six sources directly involved in the talks said. The deal, which marks the first increase in four quarters and a rise from a $90 per tonne premium PREM-ALUM-JP in the previous quarter, is in line with a climb in U.S. and European surcharges for physical aluminium amid tighter availability. Japan is Asia's biggest importer of the metal and the premiums for primary metal shipments it agrees to pay each quarter over the London Metal Exchange (LME) cash price set the benchmark for the region. Three end-user sources and two buyers at trading houses said all deals were done at $110, while a source at a producer said all shipments were booked at...
With the sudden rise in aluminium prices just last week, miners across the world are rejoicing, including in Australia where the outlook is expected to improve. According to a report from the International Business Times, an increase in US consumer spending has boosted investors’ hopes of a stronger economic projection for the year ahead. The immediate, short-term result has led to stocks of Australian mining conglomerates rising this past week with an extended rally in raw material prices, helping put an end to the recent commodity retreat. “Mining and metals shares advanced with some expectations of rising investment in underweight commodities stocks in early 2016,” Helen Lau, analyst at Argonaut Securities (Asia) Ltd. in Hong Kong, told Bloomberg. “Signs of improving fundamentals have...
Aluminium settled up 0.2% at 100.35 despite of concern about market surpluses. Japanese aluminium buyers have agreed to pay producers a premium of $110 per tonne for metal to be shipped in the January-March quarter. Japan is Asia's biggest importer of aluminium and the premiums for primary metal shipments it agrees to pay each quarter over the London Metal Exchange (LME) cash price set the benchmark for the region. China looked set for a soggy start to 2016 after activity in the manufacturing sector contracted for a fifth straight month in December, suggesting the government may have to step up policy support to avert a sharper slowdown. While China's services sector ended 2015 on a strong note, the economy still looked set to grow at its slowest pace in a quarter of a century despite a...
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C (Alba), one of the leading employers in the Kingdom of Bahrain, met with a delegation from the Arabian Gulf University (AGU), comprising professors and students on December 27, 2015. Alba’s Chief Operations Officer, Isa Al Ansari, Chief Marketing Officer, Khalid A. Latif, Director Administration Abdul Rahman Janahi and Manager Training Rawdha Al Aradhi and other officials welcomed the AGU delegation. This visit reaffirmed Alba’s commitment to support the Kingdom's educational development by sharing information about the Company’s processes and its contribution towards the development of the Kingdom of Bahrain. Commenting about this visit, Alba’s Chief Operations Officer, Isa Al-Ansari said: "Alba is happy to welcome the members from AGU and share with them the role...
About 29% of the 34 Chinese aluminium smelters surveyed by SMM are bearish toward this week’s aluminium prices. Those pessimists fear that LME aluminium will fall below USD 1,480/mt and that SHFE 1603 aluminium will drop below RMB 10,600/mt, citing a series of negative factors: 1. Downstream consumption will cool as the off-season sets in, which will widen spot discounts; 2. Alumina prices kept falling, weakening cost support for aluminium ; 3. Power tariff subsidies in Xinjiang, Gansu, Yunnan and Sichuan will reduce power costs for aluminium smelters; 4. The price spread between SHFE 1601 and 1602 aluminium contracts widened to near RMB 300/mt due to nearing delivery date. This will force cargo holders to sell at larger discount. Another 29% are optimistic that LME aluminium will rise...
The growth of China’s primary aluminium output slowed for three years in a row in 2015, SMM expects. SMM attributes the slowdown to partly due to the Chinese government’s control over investment in energy-intensive industries, including aluminium. In addition, low-cost aluminium capacity replaced high-cost capacity at a slower pace as falling aluminium prices left producers in losses and gave no incentive to put new capacity online. The country’s production of the light metal is expected to grow 10.5% from 2014 to 30.64 million tonnes in 2015, SMM estimates.
The global commodity free fall and aluminium price slump played havoc with Indian metal companies in 2015, pushing many to the brink of operational losses and capacity shutdowns. The new year will be crucial to see which way the prices move. Metal manufacturers including those comprising the aluminium maket will also be banking on a pick-up in the domestic economy and some support from the government to fend off cheaper global imports. Upcoming Trends Debt restructuring In 2015, banks invoked strategic debt restructuring for a number of stressed metal manufacturers. Over the next 18 months, banks will look for buyers for these assets. The availability of assets at potentially reasonable valuations may give larger firms the option to buy assets and consolidate their hold on the markets....
Empire State Development approved $101.1 million in economic development funding that is expected to create 634 jobs across the state, but St. Lawrence County’s share of the money will go largely to Alcoa in an effort to retain jobs. Statewide the funding supports projects that are creating 634 new jobs and retaining more than 1,500. Of the $101.1 million, St. Lawrence County will receive about one-third of the total, but no new jobs are expected as part of the plan. About $20.6 million will go to Alcoa, while the remaining $8.6 million will go toward the Newton Falls Railroad project. Alcoa Inc. will use working capital grants of up to $20.6 million to subsidize the Alcoa Massena plant to continue operations and retain hundreds of jobs. In November 2015, Alcoa announced its intention to...
The London Metal Exchange (LME) aluminium price has risen from the low $1,400s per metric ton in October to the mid $1,550s last week. At the same time, the Japanese have started settling first quarter 2016 physical delivery premiums at $110 per mt, 22% higher than the previous quarter, the first time they have risen in a year. Meanwhile, probably not unconnected, Japanese port stocks have fallen at the country’s three major ports. Stockpiles fell in November by 7.5% to 401,000 mt according to Reuters. Over the in US, the Midwest transaction price, which includes the LME price and premium that buyers pay to take delivery of the metal, has risen steadily this month to $1,736 per metric ton by December 24, up from $1,599/mt on 28 October, which was its lowest point since May 2009. Perhaps...
Aluminium futures eased by 0.20 per cent to INR 99.95 per kg on the first session of the 2016 today as speculators reduced positions amid weak demand at spot market and weakness in base metals overseas. At the Multi Commodity Exchange, aluminium for delivery in January traded lower by 20 paise, or 0.20 per cent, to INR 99.95 per kg, in a business turnover of 124 lots. Analysts said offloading of positions by speculators due to sluggish demand at spot market and a weak trend in industrial metals, mainly weighed on aluminium prices.
Aluminium in London Metal Exchange (LME) may move in range of 100-103 in the month of December. This week's trading is expected to be volatile in what will be a shortened week as the LME's electronic trading platform will close today and will remain closed until January 4 for New Year holidays. Prices are hovering around the top of their current ranges despite current dollar strength, with the exception of a few base metals which continue to trade sideways. Aluminium fell 0.5 percent to $1,528 a tonne and shows little signs of recovery in the short term.
An agreement has been signed between NALCO, a Government of India enterprise and Chalieco of China, for R&D cooperation in the fields of mutual interest. Projects to be taken up by these two companies include separation of iron concentrate from Red Mud and Extraction of Gallium from Bayer Liquor, according to an official release issued here. “Extraction of marketable iron concentrate from Red Mud will be our first R&D project with Chalieco. This will be a major step in extracting value out of Red Mud, which is otherwise treated as an industrial waste,” said Tapan Kumar Chand, CMD of NALCO. “On successful completion of the project, efforts will be commercialized through a demonstration plant,” Chand added. The agreement was signed on Tuesday at Bhubaneswar by B.K. Satpathy, Executive...
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba)’s, one of the world’s leading smelters and a well-known environmental champion, is the proud winner of the Gold category in the prestigious International Green Apple Awards 2015 for its project ‘Aluminium Smelter to Green Oasis’. The Green Apple Environment Awards - one of the world’s foremost environment award campaigns - recognises, rewards and promotes environmental best practices around the world. Commenting on this occasion, Alba’s Chief Executive Officer, Tim Murray said, “Recognised as an environmentally-friendly smelter, Alba, over the years, has made considerable investments in eco-friendly measures that have enhanced sustainability as well as aided the preservation of a healthy environment for generations to come. Winning the Gold at the...
Aluminium settled up 0.15% at 100.70 as other metals rallied also support seen after the update that China's aluminium smelters have pledged to shut more production this month and not to add any new capacity in 2016, but market participants say this would do little to dent global overcapacity that has ballooned as the world's No.2 economy slows after decades of breakneck growth. Demand in China that alone accounts for a major portion of the industrial metal demand has slowed down due to the country's tepid property market and weaker infrastructure investment growth. China's economic growth has cast a shadow on investors' view of commodities demand and, as a result, brought down demand for metals, leading to price weakness. China's GDP in the third quarter slowed down to a six-year low to...
London aluminium edged lower on Wednesday, December 30th, giving up some of their gains from the previous session as concerns over slowing demand in top consumer China and weakness in crude oil weighed on prices. LME aluminium slid 0.3 percent to $1,530 a tonne. "LME aluminium price is under pressure, the slow demand growth in China is a major concern," said Jackie Wang, a consultant at CRU in Beijing. "The Chinese aluminium market was down at the beginning of this week, which is getting reflected in LME prices." A weakness in crude oil prices also demonstrated concerns over economic growth and ample commodity supplies. Crude oil futures fell more than 1 percent as the market remained under pressure from slowing demand and high supplies, while forecasts that a cold snap in Europe and the...
